Chapter One

Harry and Jake and the kids spent the week getting ready for their weddings. They went to the Jewelry Exchange first and picked out rings. All the kids went with them, no one wanted to be left out of the celebrations and they were in such a happy mood they let everyone come, even the annoying little girls, Violet, Tammy and Amy who were now sixteen and Susie who was fifteen. They all gushed about how happy they were but everyone knew that Violet had had a hissy fit of major proportions when she had found out her precious Harry was pregnant and getting married.
She and Billy had been playing around in his bedroom, having spent the night together and she made him bring her breakfast in bed. Normally he wouldn’t do that, especially since she had such small breasts and he was into large ones, but she also had an incredible mouth and knew how to use it. So he got up and fixed her a nice breakfast and they were eating it when the wedding bells had sounded and she had jumped up to read his email.
“That’s private mail you know,” he called to her, admiring her fine ass, another good quality, thinking it was a damned shame about her boobs. She squealed.
“Hey, Charlie and April are getting married,” she yelled excitingly. He got up to read.
“Nice picture, she’s got nice breasts,” he said peering at the. Violet rolled her eyes.
“Is that all you men can think of?” she teased. Then the next picture came up and she squealed again. He admired Kathleen’s fine pair.
“Now, Kathleen is one hot looking woman, Steve and Synta got a good thing going on there,” he gushed. She rolled her eyes again. Then, of course, the next picture came up and he smiled and she made a face.
“I don’t think those pointy ears are the least bit attractive,” she declared. He looked at her strangely.
“Are you kidding, it’s like fucking a faerie, Nyla is so hot and she’s got an incredible pair of boobs,” he declared and she made another face. Then the next picture came up and she gasped. He grinned.
“What the fuck, my Harry is marrying that fucking Jake, no way in hell,” she yelled and picked up the picture. He reached for it.
“Hey, that’s my mail,” he said and she slapped his hand away. Then the next picture came up and they both read it. She snatched that up and read it again. Then she opened her mouth and screamed. He looked at her with shock. Doors opened down the hall and the door to his room opened. Bobby peeked in and saw them standing there naked, her holding the two pictures and screaming. Billy grinned at him.
“She just found out Harry and Jake are getting married and Harry’s pregnant,” he explained. Bobby nodded. Susie rushed in the room and rushed up to Violet.
“Oh, my God, Violet, honey, what’s wrong?” she asked. Violet handed her the group picture and Susie read it. “Oh, God,” she exclaimed. Violet stomped over and began putting on her clothes.
“That fucking bastard, how dare he take Harry away from me, I’ve been waiting for six years for Harry, he loves me, Susie I know he loves me,” she yelled and Susie nodded.
“I’m sure he likes you,” she said weakly. Violet glared at her.
“Harry loves me, you know that, he said that day at the waterfall that if I waited until I was eighteen, he would be my lover, you remember that don’t you, Susie?” she said and Susie almost nodded.
“I don’t think he said that exactly, Violet, he just said you were too young and to wait until you were eighteen to ask him again, I think that’s what he said,” she told her friend. Violet stood up and screamed again. All three kids looked shocked.
“I’ve waited six years for you, Harry, and you broke my heart; I’ll hate you forever for this. I swear one of these days, I’ll get you for this, I swear I will,” she screamed. Then calmly she walked out of the room and out of the house. They heard her drive off.
“Man, that bitch is crazy,” Bobby remarked and Billy grinned.
“Yeah, but she does give great head,” he commented and Susie giggled.
“You two are pigs,” she said and they agreed and laughed. Then they all looked at the pictures and went over to Harry and Jake’s.
Now, Violet was all sugar and spice smiling at Jake and Harry and all the older kids like she hadn’t said she hated him. Harry and Jake pretty much ignored all the little kids as they searched for the perfect rings to express their love and commitment to each other.
“I don’t want a diamond, diamonds are too flashy,” Harry said as they peered over trays of gold, silver and platinum diamond men’s rings. Jake made a face.
“I agree, babe, diamonds are too common,” he whispered so the girls who were going insane over diamond engagement rings didn’t hear them. They grinned and kissed. Violet saw this and her dark, brown eyes flashed. The boys moved on to the sapphires.
“Sapphires are nice, so are amethyst,” Jake said and added that the purple stone matched Harry’s eyes. Harry smiled.
“Amethysts are not very expensive, besides matching my eyes is tacky and we don’t want to be tacky, honey,” he said. “And I don’t care for sapphires; they look like rhinestones, tacky.” Jake grinned and they moved on.
“Emeralds are really nice, I like green,” Harry said with a sly smile. Jake laughed and kissed him again. These days, he couldn’t resist kissing him, his eyes were so alive and he moved so gracefully and he was just so damned sexy. Jake looked down at the green stones.
“I like emeralds, they’re very elegant and very expensive,” he said and emeralds it was. Now they just had to find the cut they liked. They got rid of diamond right off the bat; that was too feminine. And heart-shaped was too precious and tacky. Round was okay but when they tried them on, they didn’t like the way they looked, on one ring the stone was too small and the next ring, the stone was way too big. They finally decided on a nice square cut, in gold because platinum just looked like silver and silver and emeralds looked cheap and tacky. Gold was nice and elegant and very manly. They loved the way they looked on their hands.
“Very nice rings, Harry, Jake, very nice, I love emeralds,” Kathleen gushed when she saw what they picked out. Harry thanked her and then removed the whole tray that contained about a dozen of the rings in the same style but different sizes. They all looked confused. He grinned.
“Well, I’m not about to sell our wedding ring to anyone else, maybe one of our sons will want to wear them but only family will ever wear these rings,” he said firmly. Jake kissed him.
“Harry, can we have an engagement ring too?” Violet asked as she peered at the one on her finger. Harry laughed and pointed to the tray.
“When you get engaged, Violet, you can have an engagement ring, please return it to the tray, darling,” he told her firmly and with a pout she and Susie returned their rings. He offered all the girls earrings instead.
So they all ran off to the earrings which were fantastic and all the little girls took forever to pick theirs out but they finally choose and they left the store. Violet was mad because she really wanted that ring so she could pretend Harry had given it to her. She sat in her car and watched the other kids drive away.
“Come on, Violet, lets go, I’m bored,” Susie who had rode with her complained. Violet glared at her.
“Wait a minute, I want to watch them leave the store, maybe they’ll forget to lock it and we can get those rings,” she said crossing her finger. Susie sighed. Then finally all the cars except for Jake’s jeep were gone, Violet grabbed Susie’s arm.
“Come on, let’s go,” she ordered and they got out of the car and rushed into the store. The door opened and the bell above it rang. Harry came out of the back room and saw them. He smiled.
“What are you two doing back here, I thought you left,” he said. Violet smiled.
“We want to change our earrings, right, Susie?” she said and pulled her up to the counter. Susie smiled and Harry waved his hand to the earring counter.
“Just leave the ones you didn’t want on the counter and I’ll put them up,” he said, and then he looked down at the tray he was carrying. “Shoot, I’ll be right back, ladies,” he said and went back into the back. Violet saw her chance and ran across the room to the engagement rings and grabbed the one she had been trying on. Susie rushed over and grabbed hers. Then they rushed over and took earrings off the rack and put them on the counter. When Harry came out they were rushing out the door. He grinned and walked over to the earrings and picked up the ones they didn’t want and put them in the right place.
“Who was that, babe?” Jake asked as he came out of the back room. Harry grinned.
“Violet and Susie changed their minds about their earrings and exchanged them,” he informed him. Jake grinned.
“It only took them an hour to pick out the first pair; how long did it take them to exchange them?” he asked. Harry laughed.
“Only a second, they must have changed them back again,” he teased and they looked around the store. “I think everything’s put away except for those rings, will you put them back, honey?” he asked and Jake nodded and walked over to the ring tray and started to put it under the counter. Then he looked at it and paused.
“Harry, exactly how many engagement rings did the girls pick out?” he asked in a funny voice. Harry looked at him.
“One each, why?” he asked and walked over. He glanced down at the tray and counted the empty slots.
“There are five rings missing from this tray, Jake,” he said and Jake looked at him.
“Someone helped themselves to a couple of rings, babe,” he told him. Harry looked confused.
“But all of our friends would just ask,” he began, and then he frowned. “Those two little bitches,” he snapped. “Come on, honey, let’s watch the security camera.”
They went to the back office and watched Violet and Susie shop-lift the rings and play with the earrings and Harry got mad.
“They didn’t even want to exchange their earrings, they just used that as an excuse to get into the store,” he snapped. Jake hugged him.
“We’ll ban them from our stores, babe, that’s the last time they’ll do that,” he said. Harry nodded.
“I’m getting my rings back, Jake, those two little girls are going to learn an important lesson, don’t fuck with Harry when he’s pregnant,” he declared and Jake laughed.
“You go get them, babe,” he said and they kissed. Then Harry looked around the store and his eyes got that slanty gleam in them.
“You ever do it to a pregnant man in a jewelry store?” he asked him suggestively. Jake felt his heart stop and sweat break out on his brow.
“No, I can’t say that I have,” he murmured. Harry grinned and wrapped his arms around his neck.
“Then I would say that you’re about to get lucky, handsome,” he whispered and he bit Jake’s lower lip and then licked it. Jake kissed him hard and they fell to the floor. Gertie and Bo wandered out, took one good look and then wandered back to back room; nothing new or exciting was happening out here.
When they got home Harry called DJ, Hans and Chan over and gave them an assignment, one that they all loved, especially when they saw the video of the two girls stealing from Jake and Harry’s store. This made them very angry. Then when they returned from their assignment Harry called Tammy and Amy and informed them what he had done and why and sent them an email of the theft. They were both shocked and agreed to pass on his message. Then Harry and Jake worked for a while making out the deeds to all of the cars and helos they had given out and then the next morning all the kids delivered the deeds to all the people who seemed surprised to get them but relieved when they realized that they had forgotten to get them in the first place.
The next morning Violet walked into the garage to drive over to Gloria’s, the older woman was taking her shopping for a little surprise for Harry. She took one look around the garage and then stormed back into the kitchen.
“Where the hell is my car?” she yelled and glared at her sister and Tammy who sat at the table eating breakfast. “What did you two bitches do with my car?” she snapped. Amy turned and grinned at her.
“Oh, you mean Harry’s car, oh, he came by last night and took his car back. He said that if you were going to steal from him, then you didn’t deserve to drive his car,” she informed her smugly. Violet looked shocked.
“What the hell do you mean Harry’s car, he gave that car to me, that’s my car,” she said. Amy shook her head.
“Did he give you a deed to that car, I have a deed to my car,” she said and waved the deed. Violet stomped over and read the ownership papers. She looked over at Tammy who waved similar papers.
“What the hell is this, some kind of joke?” Violet asked and tried to laugh. Susie came down and looked at them.
“What’s going on?” she asked. Violet showed her the papers and told her about her missing car. Susie ran to the garage and they could hear her scream.
“My car is missing; what did you two whores do with my car?” she came back and yelled. Amy handed them an email from Harry.
“Return my engagement rings and I’ll return your cars with the ownership deeds,” Violet read and she kicked a chair and screamed when it hurt.
“God damn-it to hell, that fucker can’t get away with this,” she screamed and kept on screaming for a half hour. She called Carl, the police chief, who told her than since Harry hadn’t given her ownership deeds to the car, it wasn’t really her car and she couldn’t arrest him for taking back his property. She, however, could be arrested for shop-lifting since they had both her and Susie on video stealing the rings. Harry and Jake were being really nice by not pressing charges. She hung on him in mid-sentence.
“Well, he can keep his stupid car, I’ll just walk and get rides from people,” she declared. Susie wasn’t so sure; she would rather have her car than a ring that didn’t fit. She sneaked out of the house and walked over to Harry’s and sobbing an apology, returned the ring and got back her car with the deed and was told she was now banned from the stores for the next three years as punishment. She nodded and drove off, happy that she had her car back.
When Violet found out what Susie had done she was first angry but then she smiled and hugged her, now that Susie had her car back, Violet figured she could do without her car. Susie could just give her a ride everywhere. She laughed and went to her room to play with her ring that was only a little bit big, in a few years, her fingers would grow and it would fit. And by that time, Jake would have tired of Harry and would want a real woman instead of a fake one and she would be around. Violet had switched her fantasies to a real man not some little fag like Harry. Anyone who would let a man do ‘that’ to him wasn’t a real man.
The next day everyone drove out to Macy’s to try on wedding clothes, it was the only store in town with wedding dresses and Harry had made them and all the tuxes rentals so that future generations would have clothes to get married in. All of the girls understood but that didn’t make them cry any less when they tried on the dresses.
“Come on, we’re going to be late for trying on the dresses,” Violet yelled at Susie who was sitting on her bed reading a magazine over for the seventh time. Susie looked at her blankly.
“What do you mean?” she asked her friend. Violet sighed; sometimes Susie could be so dumb.
“Macy’s, the girls are trying on their wedding dresses, we have to get something to wear to the wedding, come on, Susie,” Violet snapped. Susie looked like she was going to cry.
“We can’t go to Macy’s, Violet, I’ve been banned from there for the next three years,” she informed her sadly. Violet looked shocked.
“Who, why would they ban you?” she asked. Susie shrugged.
“Harry said that was my punishment for stealing the ring, I’ve been banned from all of their stores for the next three years and I’m pretty sure you’re banned too,” she informed her. Violet screamed and kicked the wall. Then she turned around and stomped off to her room and slammed the door. Susie sighed and went back to her magazine.
“I didn’t even want the stupid ring to begin with,” she muttered to herself and flipped the page.
At Macy’s the three brides tried on every single dress in their size which luckily were different sizes. April was a size eight, Kathleen was a six and Joon was a very slender four. Although pregnant, they were all a size larger, which pissed them off slightly. But they got over it once the layers of taffeta and lace was draped over them and all the other girls were gushing over them. Nyla couldn’t wait to get married now.
The men were trying on tuxes and Harry had decided on a white one for himself while the other grooms had decided on the traditional black. Jake looked fantastic in a formal black tux and Harry looked adorable in his white with a gray cummerbund.
All of the kids got formal wear and they all looked beautiful and then there were shoes which had to be dyed to match and more jewelry to go around long slender necks. Each of the girls got a beautiful diamond pendant, even Nyla who wasn’t getting married. And the boys got diamond cufflinks, except for Harry and Jake who picked out emerald ones.
The next day the men all raced their go-cars around the track while Harry and the girls baked the wedding cakes with Fran. Harry sculptured little brides and grooms that looked remarkably like the actual people causing the girls to weep. They were very emotional because of their hormones. They were also very hungry and ate an enormous amount of food and laughed about it. Harry made them all take a nice long walk afterwards; he wasn’t using this pregnancy to gain a zillion pounds. He made Jake wake up the next morning and they took the dogs out to the beach and he walked while Jake and the dogs ran.
“Oh, man, babe, we need to do this more often,” Jake gasped as he ran back and hugged him. Harry grinned and he bent down to pet the dogs were looked extremely happy.
“They look really happy, are my babies really happy,” he cooed and Gertie barked and wagged her whole body. Jake and Harry laughed. Bo who was quieter just wagged and jumped up on Jake who petted and kissed him. They walked back to the helo and gave the dogs water and had some themselves. Jake rubbed Harry’s belly.
“Good morning, Jackson, Daddy says hello,” he said cheerfully and loud. Harry grinned.
“I think you woke him up, Dad,” he teased him. Jake grinned and they kissed, long and hard. Harry murmured. “How about a quickie on the beach?” he suggested. Jake laughed.
“I like you pregnant, babe, you’re really horny,” he teased and Harry giggled.
“I can’t help it, honey, it’s my hormones or something, but I’m hard all the time, come on, let’s do it doggie style in front of the dogs,” he teased and that’s what they did.
Then they went home all sandy and took a shower and then mucked out the barn and did all their chores and got all dirty because Harry wanted to do it in the barn and Jake thought that was a really great idea. So they had to take another shower which made Fran laugh.
“Twice in one morning, come on, not even Superman could do it that much,” she teased them. Harry grinned.
“Obviously Superman isn’t married to my man Jake, because he’s ready all the time,” he bragged and Jake blushed when Fran laughed again. Then Harry ran to the bedroom and brought out their rings.
“I engraved them yesterday, Fran, do you want to read the inscription?” he asked and she nodded and took one of the rings.
“Your heart, my heart, one heart forever,” she read aloud. “How beautiful, oh, Harry, I’m going to cry,” she said and started to sniffle. Jake grinned and brought Harry down to sit on his lap.
“That’s right, babe, you and me forever, I’m never going to leave you,” he said firmly. Harry looked at him.
“You promise?” he asked. Jake nodded.
“I promise,” he said. Fran beamed at them.
“This is so romantic, I feel like I’m living in a fairy tale,” she gushed. Just then there was a knock on the door. She got up. “Don’t get up, I’ll get it.” She walked to the door. Jake and Harry stayed in the kitchen admiring their rings.
“Harry, it’s your evil mother,” Fran called out. They heard Kate’s voice.
“Really, Fran, don’t exaggerate.”
“Be nice,” Jake warned as they walked into the foyer. Harry made a face.
“Hi, Mom, have you come to apologize?” He greeted her calmly. Kate sighed.
“Yes, Henry, actually I have, I was totally out of line with what I said to you and the other children and I sincerely apologize,” she said and then added. “Now may I attend your wedding?” Harry giggled.
“Yes, you may, see that wasn’t so hard now was it?” he teased and she made a face. Jake laughed and shoved Harry at her.
“Now you two hug and make up,” he ordered and they hugged and Kate kissed him.
“I do love you, Henry, but you do try my patience,” Kate told him. He laughed.
“You should have stopped at my name, Mom; it would have sounded a lot better. Now come and see our rings, I wrote the inscription myself,” he said and led her into the kitchen.
“Oh, how beautiful, I’m going to cry,” she said and sniffled. Fran handed her a tissue. “Barb is really going to sob when she hears this; she always had a softer heart than me.”
“Let me show you our little brides and grooms,” Harry said and brought them out. She gasped when she saw them.
“Oh, these even looked like you and Jake and the others, where did you get them?” she asked. Fran beamed and pointed at Harry.
“You son made them, isn’t he talented?” she said and Kate looked impressed.
“I didn’t know you had artistic ability, Harry, we should have encouraged it more,” she said. Harry shrugged.
“I’ve always drawn diagrams and lab drawings really well, I’ve never done art stuff before, maybe I will with my kids,” he said and grinned. Jake smiled too and they kissed. Kate rolled her eyes.
“Other people have had children before you two, you know,” she said dourly. Harry giggled.
“Well, we haven’t so shut up and let us enjoy every second of ours,” he told her and she laughed. Then she kissed him and left. Harry grinned and looked at Jake.
“I told you she’d apologize before the wedding didn’t I?” he said and Jake grinned.
“You know your mother,” he admitted then he frowned. “And I know my parents and there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell the two of them are coming up here to apologize before Saturday.” Harry sighed and looked sad.
“Maybe your mom will come up, honey,” he said and Jake sighed.
“Maybe,” he said and they went to Kathleen’s for a party.
Sissy couldn’t believe her husband, telling their son that they’d disown him, and without discussing it with her first. Not that she approved of him marrying that boy, no she did not. But not to be invited to her own son’s wedding, that was unheard of. How could Jake do that to her? She was his mother. His own mother wasn’t allowed to come to her son’s wedding. Something was wrong with that picture. She didn’t care who he was marrying, it was his special day and she wanted to be there to see him the happiest that he’d ever be in his whole life. She had been waiting for this day since he was born.
She talked it over with Sarah Emery who was invited and she agreed to sneak her into the church before the ceremony and hide her in Milo’s office so she could sneak into the chapel and peek at the wedding. Sissy had to be happy with that. Now all she had to do was trick Jackson into watching the kids so she could do it. And Jake was having a baby and she wasn’t supposed to see it, now that was just plain wrong. That was Jake’s baby more than it was Harry’s. All he was; was the incubator, the egg belonged to a woman donor and the baby was Jake’s. If they could talk Jake into divorcing him, then the baby could go home with him, Harry legally wouldn’t have any claim to it. She sighed and thought of her boy home with his child. And without that pervert Harry, Jake could marry one of those nice Emery girls. She liked Amy more than Violet even though Violet was prettier, she thought Violet had a nasty streak in her.
The day before the ceremony the boys had a bachelor party and the girls had a bachelorette party. Although Harry was officially a bachelor, he went to the girl’s party because he was pregnant and they called it a mother’s party. All the girls were invited and Violet showed up with Susie and Harry smiled and was nice to her. After all, she chose the ring instead of the car and if that’s what she wanted; then he was happy.
She was not happy, she was miserable, she missed her car tremendously. Violet hated depending on Susie to take her places. Susie whined and made a big fuss if she had to wait for her and sometimes she left her and Violet had to call one of the boys to come get her and they acted like that was a big deal. They also acted like her and Susie taking the rings was a big deal. And this being banned from Harry and Jake’s stores was a big pain in the ass. She couldn’t go anywhere or get anything fun anymore. She kept the videos she rented out of spite but that rat fink Tammy sneaked in and stole them back and returned them.
But Violet had a little surprise for that stupid Harry tonight and her friend Gloria helped her, she couldn’t wait until gifts were handed out. She giggled at the thought.
“Violet is sure happy for someone banned isn’t she?” Kathleen whispered to Joon who nodded. Neither of them liked the sly girl.
“I don’t like her,” Joon said and Kathleen grinned. Harry came back in the room with a big bowl of cheese sauce and some chips. Fran carried more bowls. They put them down on the coffee table.
“Tonight is Mexican fiesta, ladies, we have nachos with cheese, sour cream, salsa and guacamole,” Harry announced and everyone reached for a small plate.
“You expected mothers might want to watch how much you gain, you don’t want to get too fat,” Violet said sugar-sweetly. Kathleen smiled at her.
“Oh, don’t worry, Violet, the only thing on me that’s bigger is my boobs and Steve is loving that, you know how crazy men are about big boobs,” she said just as sweetly. Harry giggled as Violet flushed.
“Your breasts have always been lovely, Kathleen,” he said graciously. She grinned. Then they played a quiz from a magazine about how well do you know your man. They all had to answer questions about their men and their habits and then score points. Everyone answered aloud and they laughed at the answers.
“Okay; here’s a good one, ladies and Harry,” Nyla read from the magazine. “You wake up in the middle of the night and something hard is pressing against your back, is that your man, or the remote control from the view-screen that he left in the bed?” All the girls laughed.
“That’s the view-screen remote,” Kathleen yelled and everyone pealed. She giggled. Harry giggled.
“That’s my man and I know how to take care of that,” he declared in a sly voice, looking at them with his eyes half-closed in that sexy slantly way he had about him and they all squealed.
“I know you do, Harry,” Abby shouted. Violet felt her face flush and took a sip of her margarita. He was so God-damned incredibly sexy, why did he have to be gay, it just wasn’t fair. She wanted to jump on top of him and start ripping his clothes off and demand that he make love to her. She wanted to cry and scream at the same time. She caught that alien Joon staring at her and she glared at her until she looked away.
“I have presents,” Violet announced and got up from her seat. She ran to the foyer and came back with four dress boxes and began handing them out, one to every bride and one to Harry.
“You didn’t have to bring us a present, Violet, sweetie, that’s so sweet, isn’t that sweet, Kathleen?” Harry gushed. Kathleen nodded.
“Kathleen, open yours first,” Violet ordered, her dark eyes gleaming with something Kathleen didn’t like. But she smiled and opened her box. It contained a beautiful lacey nightie in pink, very expensive.
“Its pretty, thank you, Violet, isn’t it pretty?” Kathleen gushed and showed it around.
“Not many red-heads can wear pink but you can, Kathleen, your complexion is fair enough for pink,” April told her. Violet nodded.
“That’s what Gloria said, she helped me pick these out, they’re from her shop,” she informed them sweetly. Joon looked at her and then looked at Harry.
“Not all of them I hope,” she murmured. Then she opened her box to reveal a very lovely nightie in turquoise that would look very lovely on her.
“Oh, that’s very beautiful, Joon, that’s a perfect color for you,” Grace gushed. Everyone nodded and smiled. Then April opened her box to reveal a sexy black nightie and everyone giggled.
“Gloria said blondes look terrific in black,” Violet told her.
“It’s very beautiful, thank you, Violet,” April said. Then everyone looked at Harry who smiled and opened his box. He got a funny look on his face and pulled out a silky, lacey white nightie. It was very sexy but obviously made for a woman. He looked at Violet who snickered.
“This is a joke right? You don’t seriously expect me to wear something like this, Violet,” he said calmly. Violet looked at him calmly.
“But Gloria said this color would be perfect with your skin tones and I mean, after all, Harry, you’re the one having the baby so that means you’re the woman and everyone knows that in a gay relationship one man is the man and the other is the woman so I thought you would like to wear this for Jake, the real man,” she said sweetly.
“Oh, no, the girl did not just say that,” Abby retorted. Harry sighed and put the nightie back in the box and put the box on the floor.
“For your information, little Miss Smart Ass, in a gay relationship there are two men, get it, gay is two men, no women, if we wanted a woman, we’d be straight so no one wears women’s clothes, we have cocks and we wear men’s clothes, because we are men,” he said calmly. Then he stood up and looked at the table. “Mm, did you ladies hear that guacamole is very good for the hair, it moisturizes and makes it nice and shiny, let’s try it out, shall we?” he said and picking up the big bowl of green dip, he dumped it neatly right on top of Violet’s head, soaking her hair completely in guacamole. She jumped up screaming. Everyone laughed.
“What the fuck, why the hell did you do that for, you stupid bastard?” she yelled. Kathleen stood up.
“You know, Harry, I read that cheese sauce is good for the complexion,” she remarked casually and reaching into the bowl, she grabbed a big handful and smeared it across Violet face. The girl looked stunned. Everyone laughed and April quickly got up.
“Don’t forget salsa, it improves breast size and poor little Violet can really need some help there, you can barely see those little titties,” she said and dumped the whole bowl of salsa down Violet’s blouse. The girl screamed again. Joon jumped up.
“Salsa without chips, never,” she exclaimed and picked up some chips and crashed them against Violet’s chest while the girl was still screaming. Then Abby got up.
“Violet, you’re a mess, go clean yourself off, but outside please,” she said and her and Grace grabbed Violet by the arms and half picked her up and half dragged her outside and locked the front door behind her. They all could hear her screaming and having a fit on the porch. Harry giggled and picked up the box and pulled out the nightie.
“Jake would die of laughter if I wore something like this to bed,” he declared and threw it to Abby. “Take it, darling, it’s gorgeous and it would look hot on you.” She grinned.
“Thank you, Harry, it’s really lovely,” she held it up and they all admired it.
When Jake came home from his boy’s night out he smelled a little like those big, fat cigars that Max and Charles liked and he was slightly tipsy but otherwise he was fine. When Harry told him about little Miss Violet and her little prank he giggled so hard he got the hiccups.
“A lacey white nightie and she thought you might want to wear it, oh, Lord, I wish I had been here to see your face, what did you do to her, babe?” he asked. Harry grinned.
“And what makes you think I did something to her?” he asked calmly. Jake laughed and rolled over to face him. He rubbed his belly and then bent down to kiss it.
“Hey, Jackson, your Daddy thinks this Daddy is a fool,” he said and Harry giggled.
“Okay, I dumped a whole big bowl of guacamole on top of her head,” he admitted. Jake laughed. Then Harry grinned and told him what the rest of the girls had done to her. Jake laughed so hard he had to get up to pee again.
“Why do people always assume that one of us wants to be the girl?” Jake asked him. “If either of us wanted a girl we wouldn’t be in this room playing with each other’s cocks.” Harry laughed and reached down to play with his favorite one.
“Mm, this is my favorite one,” he murmured. Jake reached down for his.
“I like this one, it’s so pretty,” he said and they kissed. Then they moved on to better things and finally to sleep.
The next morning they milked the cows as usual and went around and did their usual routine and just kept grinning and kissing. Fran and Harry put the finishing touches on the four cakes and the boys came over then flew them over to the meeting room. Next all the booze went and all the food. They had decorated the Center before the parties the day before and then finally they all got dressed and drove to Church. The girls were all so beautiful and the men so incredibly handsome, they were a sight to see.
“I can’t believe my daughter is over there getting married and I have to see her in her dress through binoculars,” June snapped and glared at Max and Charles who were still in the dog house.
“Don’t blame us, if it wasn’t for them sticking up for that little fagola freak, we could be over there at the wedding,” Max snapped at her. Linda glared at him.
“If it wasn’t for you and that idiot Charles playing your stupid games with Dr. Jackson, another idiot, we’d all be over there right now watching our son get married,” she snapped at him. He sighed.
“I said I was sorry, what more do you want, blood,” he lashed out.
“Yes,” four women yelled. All the men groaned. Charles stood up.
“I don’t care what they said, I’m going to my son’s wedding,” he announced and walking to the door of the hospital, he walked out. They all watched him walk up to the door of the chapel, argue with someone and then march back across the parking lot with as much dignity as he could.
“Well, what happened?” they wanted to know. He sighed.
“That tall, large alien man informed me that I wasn’t on the approved guest list and asked me very politely to leave or he would escort me to jail for trespassing on a private affair,” he told them. Linda began to cry.
“Not invited to the wedding and they’re moving away, we’ll never see our precious grandbabies, oh, sometimes Maxfield Tyler, you make life so God-damned difficult,” she sobbed. Uncomfortable he walked away and went to check on the kids who were playing in the next room.
The wedding ceremony was beautiful. Reverend Phillip was joyous and the music was wonderful and joyous and very uplifting. All the couples exchanged happy vows and promised to love and keep each other in their hearts forever. They each read the inscriptions engraved inside their rings and when Harry and Jake read their, ‘your heart, my heart, one heart forever,’ there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Even Carl had to reach for a tissue.
Sissy hid in the back of the chapel and cried when her son kissed Harry, they both looked so happy. Jake’s face wore the biggest smile. And he looked down at the other boy with the most tender of expressions; you could tell he really loved him. She felt like screaming NO, don’t marry that boy, Jake, Son you’re ruining your life, but how could she, when he looked so happy? She had to duck down really quickly when they all turned around and faced the crowd and then stayed there while everyone walked into the main room. She could hear music and knew that there would be dancing and laughing and wished she and Jackson and the children were in there with them. Sissy sighed and sneaked out the door. She went to her car which was parked behind the Vet Clinic and drove home, crying all the way home.
Harry and Jake sat at the head table with all the brides and grooms and were the happiest they had ever been. Not even the fact that his parents weren’t there was going to spoil this day. They were married and having a baby and surrounded by people who wished them only the best, who needed people who hated them?
“This is so much fun, too bad you only get married once,” Kathleen gushed as they walked out to the dance floor for the first dance as married people. Steve grinned at her.
“Have I told you how truly beautiful you look today, Kathleen Tyler?” he asked. She giggled.
“Well, thank you, Mr. Tyler,” she said primly and they kissed.
“Mrs. Baxter, may I have this dance?” Charlie said to his new wife who giggled.
“Well I do believe so, Mr. Baxter,” she said and they got up.
“I like this human custom, you look very beautiful, wife,” Synta said. Joon laughed.
“You look very handsome, my husband,” she told him and they walked to the middle of the dance floor.
“Mr. and Mr. Jake Talbert, I like the sound of that,” Jake declared as they walked to the dance floor. Harry grinned and he laid his head on Jake’s strong shoulder.
“I love you, Jake Talbert and I always will,” he said firmly. They kissed and the dance began.
“I can’t believe our little boy is married to a man, where did we go wrong?” Kate asked with a big sigh. Barb giggled and their kids looked at them.
“This is supposed to be a happy day Kate, put on a happy face,” she said and all the kids laughed.
“Look at Kate over there, you would think Harry had married a pit-viper the way she looks,” Stuart said to his husband. Phillip laughed.
“You know lesbians hate gay men, she probably wanted Harry to be straight,” he told him. They kissed and their little ones giggled while Eric rolled his eyes.
“Can I go and sit with Joey and Yancy?” he asked his dads who nodded. He ran off to join his friends. His dads were cool and all, but did they have to kiss in public, it was so embarrassing.
When the cakes were brought out everyone gushed over the little brides and grooms and was told Harry did them.
“You did those, wow, Harry, you’re very talented,” Carl said and asked if he could do one of his kids. Harry said he wasn’t very good and wasn’t taking commissions but thanks for the compliments. Everyone got a piece of cake and ice cream and it was a great party and they made sure to get the figurines off the cake before they left. Harry was going to lacquer them so they could keep them forever while they were on their honeymoons. Everyone waved and kissed them goodbye and the happy couples drove to the Elizabeth and flew to their beach houses in Hawaii for a two week long honeymoon.
“What a magical day, except for your mom hiding in the back of the church, it was a perfect wedding,” Harry said with a grin. Jake grinned back at him. They watched the dogs racing out to chase the surf.
“Oh, you saw her too did you?” Jake asked and they both laughed.
“Oh, I was afraid she was going to do something stupid like start screaming ‘No Jake, not my boy,’ when the preacher asked if someone had anything to say, I thought she’d jump right out,” Harry confessed. Jake grinned.
“Me too, I was going to march right up and carry her out of the church, kicking and screaming if I had to but come hell or high water, we were getting married today,” he said firmly and they kissed. Then Harry giggled.
“Ever do it under a coconut palm with a married man?” he teased him. Jake looked up.
“Not one with purple coconuts,” he teased back and they fell to the sand while the dogs came back from the water and sat under the shade of a tree to watch and laugh; it looked a little like they were laughing.
And it was the best honeymoon ever. Sometimes they got together with the other couples and they swam in the lake by the waterfall or in the ocean and the men ran while the women and Harry walked and they talked. Or at night they barbecued and played games and talked and the men drank beer because they could and the women and Harry drank iced herbal teas.
And other times they would run off just the two of them and climb to the waterfall to make love in the little cave behind it and play pirates. Or make love in the mango grove under the fragrant blossoms. And they took long romantic walks along the shore and picked up interesting seashells and pieces of driftwood, it was the best two weeks of their life.
Then they had to fly home to help with the harvest and that was more fun as married couples, especially as married couples with babies on the way. And as they baby-sat the other’s babies they could pretend they were holding their own because soon they would be.
“You know you could have least waited until Barb and I were finished having our three required children before you started your family, Henry, and that’s the last I’m saying about it,” Kate said as they were picking apples. Harry giggled.
“Thank God, Mom, because you’re really beginning to get one my very last nerve,” he told her. She grinned.
“Good because you’ve been getting on that one for years,” she informed him and they both laughed. Barb smiled because she thought they were really communicating.
The following Sunday as they sat in church, a new church that was decorated with lots of rainbow banners and wonderful, colorful pictures depicting the life of Jesus in joyous poses. The children ignored their parents who sat on the other side of the church. Reverend Milo introduced Reverend Phillip to everyone and said that they would now be sharing the church services and bringing new life and new joy to the community. And that they hoped that this new joy would reach out and grab the people and lift them up to God and bring God’s grace into their hearts and bridge the gap between the generations and bring joy and love back into their lives. Harry grinned as he held Jake’s hand and hoped that it would work for his friend’s sake. It was hard to keep a grudge, it took lots of energy and they needed that energy for raising their children.
“May I say something, Reverends?” Max spoke and stood up. His wife smiled beseechingly across the aisle at her son who looked over at her and didn’t blink.
“Of course, Max, please say whatever you like,” Reverend Phillip said and waved his hands. Max turned to faced everyone and cleared his throat.
“I am not a nice person,” he began and a few people laughed softly. He sighed and looked at his children who smiled so he smiled. “I try to be but I don’t always succeed and I am one who holds a grudge, I know its wrong but I do. I am truly sorry to anyone that I hurt recently by my actions and I sincerely apologize to everyone if I said or did anything that offended them or hurt their feelings.” He smiled and sat down. Steve snorted but Harry leaned over and shook his head.
“That was a very nice apology, Steve, let it be,” he told him sternly. Steve nodded. Then Charles stood up and faced everyone.
“I sincerely apologize to Harry and to Jake if anything I said offended or harmed them in anyway, I am in the words of my wife, a big, fat jerk, and I am deeply sorry,” he said and sat down. Everyone laughed.
“Well, at least he said our names,” he whispered to Jake who grinned.
“We are a small community and we cannot afford to be divided into two separate entities, not just because of our size but because we rely on each other for support and guidance,” Reverend Phillip said. “We need our young people to keep our youth and our vitality just as we need our older people to give us wisdom and strength. Together we can face any situation, any challenge. But we must stay together. Now we have hurt and we have been hurt and its time to set all of this aside and make a new beginning and heal. Can we do that?” Linda stood up.
“Oh, please, Steve, Kathleen, please don’t move away, we love you both so much and we want to see your children grow up, please, Harry, stay here,” she begged. Everyone looked at Harry who nodded. Steve grinned.
“If it were up to me, we’d leave tomorrow so all of you had better be thankful that Harry is more willing to forgive than I am,” he informed them. Reverend Milo beamed.
“Let us all exchange signs of forgiveness, kids give your parents a hug, they really need one,” he gushed and all the adults laughed and rushed forward to hug their kids. All except for Dr. Jackson who glared at his son like he was a rattlesnake. Sissy rushed forward before he could stop her and flew into Jake’s arms.
“I love you, Jake, please come home, Son,” she cried. Jake sighed and put her away from him.
“I love you too, Mom, but you’ve got to stop saying that or I’m going to stop talking to you, do you understand?” he asked her sternly. She nodded but when he hugged her again, she looked right at Harry and glared at him. He just smiled.

“What do you mean I can’t have another abortion, Daddy?” Gloria looked at her father with disbelief. David’s eyes got wide and he gasped with shock. Dr. George sighed and looked at the married couple and then down at his scan report and lab tests.
“I’m sorry, pumpkin, I really am, but you’ve had six abortions in four years, another one will kill you,” he told her as gently as he could. She looked shocked.
“But I can’t have a child, David and I don’t want children,” she protested. David nodded his head vigorously. Dr. George wanted to kill him.
“Well, if you felt that way, why didn’t you let me give you the birth control shot, you know its one hundred percent effective,” he said and she frowned.
“Oh, Daddy, you know how much I detest shots, I’m scared to death of them,” Gloria snapped. Dr. George frowned.
“But I gave you birth control pills, did you take them every single day like you’re supposed to?” he asked. She frowned.
“I’m not sure, sometimes I forget, why?” she asked. He shook his head.
“Darling, the pills are only effective if you take them every single day, if you miss one and have sex on that day, you could get pregnant and obviously you missed one,” he informed her. She and David looked at one another and frowned.
“You’re supposed to remind me to take my pill,” she said. He glared at her.
“You’re the woman, you’re supposed to remember,” he said. Dr. George once again wanted to strangle his son-in-law. He sighed instead.
“Well, pumpkin, it looks like you’re going to join Harry and the others and give birth in December,” he said cheerfully. Gloria pouted.
“Can’t you just take the silly thing out?” she asked. Dr. George looked confused.
“Take what out, dear?” he asked. Gloria sighed.
“My utera, whatever, where the damned thing is,” she snapped. Dr. George looked appalled.
“A hysterectomy on a twenty year-old woman, are you insane?” he asked in horror. She snorted.
“A twenty year-old who never under any circumstances desires to have children,” she informed him. David smiled and reached for her hand. They leaned forward and kissed. Dr. George shuddered.
“I couldn’t perform one if I wanted to, you’re too scared, as it is delivering the baby will probably have to be a c-section and Harry will have to heal you after,” he informed his daughter. “And after that, you’ll definitely get the shot whether you want one or not, I’m tired of killing your babies because you’re careless.” Gloria gasped.
“You’re mean,” she sputtered. David looked angry.
“You can’t talk to my wife like that,” he snapped. Dr. George laughed.
“She’s my daughter, you stupid ass, I can talk to her anyway I want so butt out,” he snapped at him and David flushed red but shut up. Then Gloria smiled.
“I know what we can do,” she gushed. “We can get Harry to heal me, then you can perform the abortion and give me the stupid shot if you want, why are you shaking your head, Daddy?” she wailed. Dr. George sighed.
“It’s a good plan, pumpkin, and it would have worked, the last time when I suggested it, remember?” he reminded her. She flushed and pursed her lips in a way that made her look like her mother and he hated her mother.
“I didn’t want him to know about my business,” she snarled and David nodded.
“It’s none of his business and why can’t he do it now?” he whined.
“Because Harry is pregnant now and we don’t know if healing when he’s pregnant will affect his baby so while he’s pregnant we want to keep all of that to only the very extreme emergencies,” Dr. George told them. Gloria laughed.
“Well this is an extreme emergency for God’s sake, I don’t want to have a baby,” she wailed and began to cry. Dr. George got up from behind his desk to console her.
“Sweetie, it’ll be alright, I know you’re scared but having a baby is the most natural thing in the world,” he said. She shook her head.
“I’m not scared of having a baby, Daddy,” she said and he looked confused.
“Then what’s wrong, honey, you can tell me, you can tell me anything,” he said. She shook her head.
“I don’t want to have a baby because I don’t like babies, I think they’re dreadful,” she admitted and began to cry again. Dr. George rolled his eyes and went back behind his desk. Then David looked at him.
“Well, what if there’s an emergency, what if she fell down the stairs or something, then would Harry heal her?” he asked with a sly look in his eyes. Gloria got that sly look too. Dr. George was horrified.
“If you push my daughter down the stairs to abort this baby, I’ll have the both of you up on charges faster than you can blink,” he stated. “Good God, what kind of monster are you?” he looked at his daughter. “Is this the man you want to spend your life with?” She shrugged.
“I thought it was a rather clever idea,” she remarked and he left the office to get her prenatal vitamins before he strangled them both.
Dr. George sent out a happy email announcing the arrival of his grandchild in hopes that this would stop the two from doing anything funny. Gloria immediately got invited to join the happy pregnancy group that the other pregnant ladies and Harry belonged to and decided what the hell, why not. She was invited to Dunkin Donuts for donut bingeing which she adored, exercise classes at the pool which she didn’t, long walks on the beach which turned out to be more fun than she thought and Harry lifted the ban so she could buy baby clothes at Macy’s and even let her buy some stuff for herself, which she really loved.
In October the kids built the Jeep Dealership and Harry put out two hundred Jeeps for everyone to drool over and offered everyone free trade-ins on their cars if they wanted them. Everyone wanted a new car and rushed in to trade. For those who wanted a second car, he offered a fantastic deal, only five thousand dollars for a new jeep.
For Halloween all the pregnant ladies came dressed up as pumpkins, what else could they do? They were big and fat and felt like blimps. DJ remarked then they should have made blimp costumes. He was not their favorite person for the next hour. Then Harry and Jake arrived and Harry was dressed like a big, giant eggplant. Everyone broke out into laughter. It was a marvelous costume and very creative. Jake was a hay-seed farmer complete in bib-overalls and a straw hat with a red bandana tied around his neck. They were very adorable. And, of course, Harry had his two kegs of beer and full bar for everyone so everyone was happy. He even made a special drink for them, a blended junpar daiquiri and everyone loved them. They tasted like the strawberry ones but even better.
The newly married couples danced together and beamed at each other and everyone else and played with the children and gushed over their costumes.
“Harry, who made your costume, did Fran make it?” Linda asked. Harry shook his head.
“I made it Linda, I made Jake’s too,” he said with a big grin. She laughed.
“You should give sewing lessons, I’d love to sew my kids some costumes,” she admitted. Harry smiled.
“I’ve got an instruction video, I’ll make a copy and send it to you,” he promised and she smiled.
When Max announced he had the winner of the most original costume everyone turned around and looked at the big eggplant.
“And the winner is Harry the eggplant, come on up, Harry,” he said and Harry walked up and got his prize, the box of chocolates he had donated. Everyone laughed.
“Hey, Harry, how do you taste in parmesan sauce?” Carl asked and everyone giggled as he blushed when he realized what he had said. Harry giggled.
“Jake and I have never tried that, Carl, but we’ll do it and get back to you,” he remarked and everyone laughed. Max laughed so hard he choked and Harry had to pat him on his back.
“That was a fun party, but your folks stayed way on the other side of the room didn’t they?” Harry grinned as he rubbed butter cream on his belly to prevent stretch marks. Jake took the cream from him and took over the job. Harry sighed and lied back on the pillows.
“You have magic hands, honey,” he said softly. Jake smiled then he gasped as the baby kicked. He laughed and bent down low.
“Go to sleep Jackson, we’re tired,” he said and Harry laughed as the belly moved again.
“I think he wants to play basketball tonight, he’s been moving around and kicking the shit out of my bladder, I have to pee every half hour,” he complained and then with a sigh, he got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Jake laughed and went to join him. Harry looked at him.
“Sympathy pee,” Jake said and they both laughed. Then they washed their hands and went back to bed. Harry sighed as he climbed into bed. Then he glanced over at Jake looked so relaxed and comfortable and decided to get him unrelaxed. He rolled over to face him and moved his hand slowly over Jake’s chest and stomach. Jake rolled over and smiled at him and caught the moving hand in his and kissed it.
“Feeling a little frisky are you, babe?” he asked teasingly. Harry grinned and nodded.
“Well, since Jackson is already up and moving around, we won’t be disturbing him at all,” he said and gave Jake that sexy slanty look. Jake shivered and he felt himself grow hard when he was just a few seconds ago, nice and soft and relaxed. How did Harry do that to him with just one little look? He leaned forward and they kissed. He let go of his hand and moved his hand to the back of Harry’s neck and moved his head closer. Then he felt fingernails running up the inside of his thighs and that caused tremors to race through him setting him on fire. He moaned.
“Oh, God, Harry, what you do to me,” Jake whispered against Harry’s mouth.
“Oh, Jake, honey, I need you so much, please,” Harry whispered and he rolled over and climbed on top of Jake and smiled down at him, his purple eyes half-closed and all sexy. Jake reached up and caressed that round belly where his baby laid, his dark brown eyes open wide and not missing anything. Then Harry lifted up and he was inside that hot, tight body and Harry began to move and they both groaned. Jake used his legs to help, he had nice strong legs and Harry held onto straps they had put into the ceiling just for him to hold onto.
When they fell asleep, Harry was curled up on his side with Jake curled up against his back with his arm wrapped around him. It was their new position since Harry had become too big to sleep on his back. The dogs jumped up and took their usual positions and everyone fell asleep.
In November they built the helo dealership and Chan and Sarek offered free lessons to buyers and a great deal of only five thousand dollars for a helo that on Memphis would have cost twenty thousand. Everyone who didn’t have one rushed to buy and everyone who had one and didn’t know how to fly rushed in for lessons. Soon the whole community was in the air and having a great time exploring Eden and flying to Hawaii for tropical fruit and vacations.
Thanksgiving week was very exciting. Harry couldn’t go hunting because he said there was no way he could possibly kill anything while he was carrying life inside of him. So Jake took both dogs and went without him. He bagged an amazing thirteen birds and David Marshall blew his one to hell as usual. Jake brought home his six turkeys after he ran them through the butcher shop sparing Harry the sight of all that blood and gore. He knew the sight of all that would have probably made him sick and Harry figured he was probably right so he kissed him for it.
For the formal Thanksgiving dinner at the center the two married men sat with Kate and Barb and Harry’s brothers and sisters. There was four and a half year-old Tracey, three and a half year-old Travis, two and a half year-old Alex, one and a half year-old Allison and eight month old Kent. It was a very happy and noisy table. Kate was extremely happy that Harry cooked the damned turkey instead of her and everyone loved his cornbread stuffing.
Dr. Jackson and Sissy sat at their table and glared at the happy Talbert table and asked Abby a million questions about the baby and Jake’s new life. She was only too happy to inform them of all the happy details and rub their noses in it. She hated the fact that Jake had managed to get away from them and she was stuck sitting with them and making them as miserable as she was, was the only benefit.
“The baby is due around Christmas and it’s a boy, Mom,” Abby said and ate a piece of turkey; she could see both of her parents flinch and thought, score one for Abby.
“They know it’s a boy?” Sissy asked and she looked at her husband. “You hear that Jackson, our first grandchild is a boy,” she sounded so happy. He grunted.
“It’s going to be one of those fishy freaks like Harry, I don’t want one of those fishy freaks for a grandson, I bet it doesn’t even like human,” he stated and both women laughed.
“Of course it’ll look human, in fact, there won’t even be much of Harry in it, it’ll be Jake’s and that woman who donated her egg,” Sissy insisted. Abby rolled her eyes.
“It’ll still be one of those things, God damn-it, Sissy, we need to hit that boy over the head with a brick or something to get some sense into him, he’s ruining his life,” Dr. Jackson declared. The two boys laughed. Their father smiled at them.
“At least I got two more boys to give me beautiful black grandchildren,” he stated. Then he looked at Abby. “When are you going to get married and give me some normal grandchildren?” he asked. Abby shook her head.
“I’m never getting married and I’m never having children so you can forget about grandchildren from me,” she said firmly. Her parents looked shocked. Sissy laughed.
“Oh, Abby, you can’t mean that, look at your brothers and sisters, aren’t they the sweetest little things, now don’t you want some just like them?” she asked. Abby looked at the little children like they were rats or roaches or something, the look on her face said it all.
“No, Mom, I don’t think they’re sweet, I don’t like children and I don’t want any,” she said. Her father grunted.
“You should have been one of those nun things and helped the poor,” he told her. She laughed.
“Oh, God, no, I love sex too much, I could never be a nun,” she said and scored another point when they both looked appalled again. Then she ate more food, maybe this Thanksgiving dinner might not be so bad.
Harry and Jake laughed all the way home.
“I counted six shits and four damns, how many did you count?” Harry asked and giggled. Jake rolled his eyes.
“Your sister Tracey is a real potty mouth, she said fuck, I swear Harry I heard her say fuck,” he declared. Harry grinned.
“I wouldn’t be surprised and you know where she gets it from don’t you?” he asked and Jake nodded.
“Kate,” they both said at once and laughed again.
“Well, I know I’m never leaving her alone with any of our children, that’s for sure, they’ll be cursing before I turn around,” Harry said. Jake grinned.
“Barb must love that, every time Tracey said shit, Barb giggled and Kate flushed red, it was so funny, I almost peed myself holding back,” he declared. They drove into the garage and were attacked by dogs.
“Hey, Bo, hey, Gertie, how’s my babies,” Harry cooed and Jake brought in the leftovers because he didn’t want Harry lifting anything heavy. Which Harry thought was the cutest thing ever considering that he could lift it with his mind, but he let Jake play macho man and do all the heavy lifting for him. It gave him a purpose and made him feel manly and he liked Jake manly.
“Next year will be better when your parents and family join us, then everyone will be together,” Harry said and Jake snorted.
“That’ll be the day,” he said and Harry grinned.
“I tell you, honey, once your dad gets a peek at this grandbaby, he’s going to turn into a big, giant teddy bear, you just wait,” he predicted. Jake hugged him and laughed when Jackson kicked him.
“Our son agrees with you, you two are ganging up on me already,” he teased and they laughed.
December came and brought with it the heavy snows and Harry went out in his Jeep and shoveled and poo’ed his mothers who had bitched and complained about doing it when they were pregnant. But it must have been a girl thing because all of the pregnant girls insisted they couldn’t stand being in the car shoveling snow because it made them nauseous. Harry giggled and thought them silly and helped Jake because he felt fine.
“Are you sure you feel okay, babe, because I can do this by myself,” Jake said for the fifth or was it sixth time. Harry laughed.
“Jake, honey, I feel great, really, if I didn’t I’d tell you, honestly,” Harry said. Jake laughed.
“Okay, I won’t ask you again, I promise,” he said.
“That’s what you said last time, you goof,” DJ said and everyone laughed.
“I can’t help it, he’s carrying my baby,” Jake defended himself. DJ laughed.
“Yeah, and you said that last time too, man I hope I’m not such a goof when I’m going to be a dad,” he said and all the soon-to-be’s laughed.
“Oh, you will be, trust me you will be,” Charlie giggled. “I rub April’s feet every single night and I don’t even mind doing it, she glows, she’s so pretty.”
“I make Kathleen ice cream because the smell of milk makes her sick but she loves ice cream, ain’t that weird?” Steve asked and everyone laughed.
“Joon is eating all the broccoli in the house, there is no more left and we have gone begging for more and she farts all the time and it smells like broccoli,” Synta told them and everyone laughed. Steve giggled.
“Its true, she does,” he said. DJ giggled.
“Oh, man, save me from pregnant women,” he declared. “What does Harry do Jake?” he asked. Jake laughed.
“The only thing Harry is doing that’s different is that being pregnant is making him really, really horny, we do it all the time, three, four times a day, the other day, we did it six times, didn’t we Harry?” he said and Harry giggled.
“Seven but whose counting,” he said and all the men were silent. DJ laughed.
“You’re kidding right?” he asked. Jake laughed.
“No, I’m not kidding, its like his hormones have kicked into over-drive or something and he keeps attacking me, and he’s so cute, I can’t resist him. I have to take naps just to keep up with him,” Jake giggled. Steve groaned.
“Would you stop complaining, man, I wish I had your problem,” he gushed. Jake laughed.
“Who said it was a problem, I love Harry pregnant, you were just saying things that were different, and that’s different,” he told them. “Usually we have sex only two or three times a day, but lately, we’ve been doing it four or five times.” Charlie groaned.
“You two have sex two or three times every single day?” he asked with disbelief. Harry giggled.
“Of course we do, once in the morning when we wake up and then before we go to bed and sometimes we like to do it in the afternoon if we can sneak a nap in,” he informed them. “Why, don’t you guys have sex twice a day?” he asked. He heard silence.
“Kathleen and I have sex three or four times a week, occasionally, maybe two or three normally,” Steve admitted. “Sometimes once or twice, well, that’s pretty normal.”
“That’s sounds about right,” Charlie said and Synta agreed. DJ groaned.
“Man, I’m never getting married, I get laid more than that,” he told them.
“Well, being with a woman is more than just sex,” Steve said. Jake laughed.
“Okay, lets change the subject before I start to cry, you boys are making me feel sorry for straight guys, Harry, babe, I really love you,” he said. Harry giggled.
“Hey, Jake, you ever do it in a Jeep buried in a snow drift?” he asked in a husky voice and the question in his voice sent shivers down all the men’s backs.
“No, but you stay right there and I’ll be right with you,” he said and they both clicked off. DJ laughed.
“Oh, man, I’ve got to find a way to turn gay,” he said and all the men laughed.
Kathleen went into labor on December tenth and it was a hard, fast labor with Steve present for her to scream at until Harry rubbed her back and then she was a sweetheart until she realized she had to push again and then she got cranky because she was really, really tired. But she made it through and delivered her twins; a boy and a girl that they named them Stephen and Stephanie to the horror of both sets of grandparents.
“It’s the same name, they named them the same name,” Meri said and Linda shrugged. They were both named after her Steve so she didn’t care. Both babies had Kathleen’s red hair but the little boy had her green eyes and the little girl had his blue eyes. They were both perfect and Synta and Joon were named god-parents.
Joon was the next to deliver and she went into labor on the seventeen and it was an easy labor and delivery. It seemed that minosians had a slightly different system than humans and the baby sort of just popped out and into Dr. George’s hand before he knew it was coming. It was a good thing he had good reflexes or he might have dropped the little boy. They named him Martin and everyone was happy.
April went into labor at two in the morning and didn’t deliver until two the following afternoon. They had to finally give her something to make her cervices open up. It got to seven and stayed there for four hours which was a very long time. Finally she delivered a screaming daughter and they named her May which pleased her mother and made Myra frown. She thought the whole grandmother, mother, daughter, name of the month thing tacky. So did Charles but they did come from old money and had more class than the rest of the colonist so what could they really expect?
Christmas came and all of the colonists came together to celebrate in the community center. From the original sixty-seven they were now a hundred and twenty-six and waiting for two more arrivals. Everyone was filled with happiness and joy as the gazed around at their children and grandchildren with pride. Not even the fifteen inches of snow which had fallen the day before could dampen their spirits, Harry had blown it all away from the Center and the surrounding buildings and roads and most of them had flown to the celebration in helos. Max carried around his precious two year-son Paul beaming like a proud dad with the laughing little boy with Charles who had his two year-old son Nick in his arms. The two angry men had somewhat mellowed with the arrival of grandchildren, much to the relief of the other survivors.
“When is this baby going to come out of me, I’m so sick of not being able to see my feet,” Gloria complained as David helped her to a chair. He smiled and patted her belly gently. She sighed and brushed his hand away. “For God’s sake, don’t do that, you know how it annoys me,” she snapped. He sighed.
“Yes, my princess, I’ll get you some punch,” he said and rushed away. She frowned.
“What I need is a good strong drink,” Gloria snapped. Her father laughed as he held his ten month-old daughter, purple-eyed Doris.
“Now, pumpkin, you know you can’t drink while you’ll pregnant, the alcohol’s not good for the baby,” he chided her. She snorted.
“I’m so God-damned sick of the God-damned baby I could vomit,” she snarled and he and Shelley, who was holding two-year old Andrea, exchanged a worried look. They had wondered what kind of parents these two selfish people would make but figured once they held their child in their arms they would love it. Who couldn’t love a precious baby?
Across the room everyone was patting and rubbing Harry’s belly and telling Jackson they couldn’t wait to see him, would he hurry up and come out so he could meet his little cousins?
“Well, you know in two days it’ll be six months exactly,” Harry informed his crowd. Kathleen giggled.
“Do you think the baby’s going to time it just perfectly like that, Mouse?” she teased him. Jake grinned and shrugged.
“If he’s anything like Harry he will,” he teased and everyone laughed. Harry picked up little Stephanie and kissed her.
“They’re just jealous, darling, because they’re not as organized as I am,” he told her solemnly. “She’s got the prettiest blue eyes; they’re just like Steve’s.” Steve grinned.
“She’s a darling,” he agreed and everyone grinned at the pride in his voice. Kathleen beamed.
“These parties just get noisier and noisier don’t they?” Harry teased Jake as they drove home. Jake laughed.
“You put eighty-five children in an enclosed room and you’re bound to get a little noise, babe,” he teased back and they both laughed.
“Yancy, Joey and Eric are getting to be really cute aren’t they?” Harry remarked and Jake nodded.
“So are the little girls Lisa, Lori and Lucy, how old are they?” he asked.
“I think the twins are nine and Lucy is eight,” Harry replied. Jake grinned.
“I bet they must hate being the only kids in that school,” he said and they both laughed.
“They’ll be joined soon enough by a whole group of kindergarteners,” Harry said and they both nodded. They got home and Jake pulled in the garage. They were greeted warmly by Gertie and Bo as usual. Harry groaned out of the car and Jake grinned.
“That baby’s going to pop out any day now, babe,” he remarked and laughed as his love waddled to the house. Harry made a face.
“I know I look like a walrus, you don’t have to say it,” he commented. Jake grabbed him and kissed him, long and hard.
“Yeah, but you’re an incredibly sexy walrus,” he told him. Harry grinned and gave him one of those sexy sly looks.
“Ever made love to a walrus, honey, in a garage?” he asked and Jake grinned.
“Let’s do it in the bed where that walrus will be nice and comfortable, babe,” he suggested and Harry giggled.
“Okay, I could do with a nice bed, my back in hurting,” he admitted. Jake immediately offered a back rub so they went to the bedroom and he gave a good one which led to him rubbing other parts of Harry’s body which led to other things and a lazy evening in bed. That led to a naked picnic in bed and a movie in bed and more bedroom fun and a good night’s sleep. And Fran was spending the night over at Wendy’s to be with her grandchildren so they didn’t have to worry about excluding her.
Gloria’s water broke the morning of the twenty-seventh when she woke up and felt a swish of water rush out of her and made a face. She turned to her husband and shook him awake. He had gotten back into bed after milking the cow.
“David, David wake up, I think my water just broke,” she yelled and he woke up and looked at the clock.
“It’s only seven a.m., couldn’t you wait at least until nine?” he whined. She laughed.
“Tell that to this brat, she’s the one who decided on seven, help me up and call Daddy, he’ll have to meet us at the hospital,” she snapped. David sighed and got out of bed. He walked around to her side of the bed and they pulled the covers off. That’s when they saw all the blood and they both screamed.
“Oh, my God, I’m bleeding, David, call Daddy, David, just don’t stand there, call Daddy,” she screamed and he went into action. He called Dr. George who said not to panic and he was going to take care of everything. Dr. George called Harry and Roger and Zack who all rushed into action. Then he called Fiona and rushed to the hospital. The firemen rushed in the ambulance which they kept at their house and drove to David and Gloria’s, picked her up and took her to the hospital where everyone else was waiting.
“Don’t worry, pumpkin, I’m here and everything’s going to be just fine,” Dr. George cooed when he saw his rather pale daughter. She nodded and closed her eyes. Her daddy was there and he would make everything alright, he always did. They brought her in and put her on the operating room table and soon had her open and were performing a c-section to take the baby. Harry didn’t have to do anything but sit around and watch in case something went wrong and he had to heal someone. But everything went smoothly and soon Gloria was in recovery and little Emma was sleeping in the nursery and they were both fine and healthy.
“That was amazing, Dr. George is a really great doctor,” Harry gushed on the drive home. Jake smiled and held his hand.
“Well, I’m just glad everything went okay and you didn’t have to heal anyone so close to your own time,” he admitted to being worried. Harry smiled and kissed his hand.
Fran came running when they were taking off their coats.
“How is Gloria, how’s the baby?” she asked in a frantic voice. Jake smiled and patted her shoulder.
“Everyone’s fine, Frannie, they’re both great,” he told her. She smiled with relief. Then Harry gasped and clutched his belly and they watched the front of his shirt exploded with water. His face was distorted with pain. Jake grabbed him before he could fall.
“I think I’m in labor, honey,” he said with clenched teeth. Jake nodded and he rushed him back out to the car.
“Fran, call the hospital and tell them we’re coming back and call all the girls, they wanted to witness this,” he called out as he put Harry in the car. Fran nodded as she grinned and rushed to the phone.
“We’re going to have a baby,” she muttered excitingly as she reached for the call sheet Harry had prepared for this occasion and made the first call.
“Drive nice and safe, honey,” Harry said as Jake reached the main road. It was empty except for them. Jake laughed and he kept both hands on the steering wheel.
“Don’t worry, babe, there’s no one on the road except for us,” he said and they both grinned. They got to the hospital and Dr. George rushed out to help them when they got there. He was grinning.
“My first Dolphin birth, this is very exciting, boys,” he exclaimed as he helped Harry out of the car. Harry grinned and then a pain hit him and he had to stop walking and almost fell. Jake caught him and held him.
“Its okay, babe, lean on me, I’ve got you,” he cooed and Harry did. A blue Jeep SUV pulled up and Kate rushed towards them.
“I’m coming, Henry,” she yelled and joined them. The three rushed Harry out of the cold and into the hospital. Then they all changed into green hospital uniforms and Harry was put onto a bed in the other surgical room. Fiona smiled as she hooked him up to the monitors.
“This is so exciting, the birth of our Savior,” she gushed. Harry grinned and then another pain washed over him and he grimaced. Kate smiled and held his hand.
“Why don’t you rub your belly, Mouse?” she suggested gently and he laughed through the pain.
“Why didn’t I think of that, Mom?” he asked and did so, the pain went away and they all laughed.
“I think you were a little distracted,” Dr. George told him and they all looked at the view-screen. They could see the baby’s head butted up against the belly button hole which had begun to gap a little. “The baby’s in position, now we have to wait for the contractions to open the hole,” he informed them.
“We’re here, don’t start without us,” Kathleen shouted as she, April and Joon, all dressed in green, rushed into the room. They were putting their hair under the stretch hats as they ran. They saw the baby in position and gasped.
“Lord, we just made it,” April exclaimed. Kathleen stood right behind Harry in case the pressure of pushing caused him to fall off the table; she was there to prevent that. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
“How are you doing, Harry?” she asked. He grinned.
“I was in tremendous pain, but it’s better now,” he told her. They all grinned.
“A nice rub from you does wonders doesn’t it?” Joon teased and everyone laughed. Then Dr. George looked at the monitor.
“Here comes a contraction; get ready to push, Harry,” he told him. Harry felt the pressure building and nodded. Jake took one hand and his mother took the other. He felt Kathleen and April standing behind him and Joon stood at his feet. He felt the wave wash over him and began to push. And he did feel some pain, deep inside.
“Shit, it still hurts inside,” he remarked and all the women nodded.
“Just breathe, Henry,” his mother instructed and he did. Then he felt a pop and the baby’s head popped out of him. Everyone gasped with shock. Dr. George wiped the face and eyes off, clearing the mouth and nose with a little hose. Jake gasped.
“He’s not breathing,” he sounded scared. Harry giggled.
“Sometimes they won’t, honey, relax, he’s still attached to the umbilical cord and that will breathe for him,” he assured him and Jake looked relieved.
“He looks just like you, Jake,” Fiona remarked and everyone nodded. Then Harry gasped and another contraction came.
“Here comes another one,” Dr. George announced and everyone tensed. “Let’s see if we can get his shoulders this time,” he said to Harry who puffed and nodded; his face red with exertion. All of the women looked shocked.
“Two contractions to the shoulders, you’ve got to be kidding,” April commented. Kate grinned.
“Dolphin births are remarkably easy, they are designed for this,” she informed them smugly. Harry grinned as the shoulder’s popped out and gave a little yelp. Jake leaned forward and kissed him and then wiped his face with a cool cloth.
“You’re doing great, babe, I love you,” he stated and they kissed. Their son was now half way out and half way in, much like the poor unfortunate spaceman from the Roosevelt. Harry looked down and saw that and giggled. Kathleen saw it and giggled too.
“Oh, Harry, that’s awful,” she rebuked him. He grinned back at her.
“Here comes another, let’s get this baby out of here,” Dr. George declared and Harry nodded, his handsome face strong with concentration as another wave of pain came and he began to push. He clenched the two hands he was holding and pushed with all of his strength. The baby’s body rushed out and into Dr. George’s waiting hands. Harry sighed and fell back on the table. Everyone clapped and cheered. Dr. George carefully tied the umbilical cord and handed the scissors to Jake.
“Here, Dad, you cut the cord,” he instructed and with a steady hand and a solemn look on his face, Jake cut the cord where the older instructed and the baby gave a little gasp and then began to scream at the top of his healthy lungs. Everyone laughed and Jake felt much relief.
Fiona took the baby to take care of him and Dr. George listened closely to Kate’s instructions regarding the handling of Harry’s uterine pouch.
“Now the afterbirth is going to pop out,” she informed him. “Then you flush the uterine sack with solution to clean it out. When the solution runs clear, you use the hose to drain as much of it away as you can and the rest will come out as it shrinks. Then they will be a series of contractions and the belly button will close up. We have to make sure that they aren’t any foreign objects in its path or they will be closed in it and will fester.”
Everyone watched carefully as Dr. George followed Kate’s instructions to the letter. Harry’s uterine sack was washed out and drained. Then a serious of contractions began and his belly wiggled and they all laughed as he giggled.
“It tickles,” he exclaimed and held his belly which was now smaller and a great deal flabbier then the flat one he was used to. Jake grinned as he pinched more than an inch.
“You’re going to be doing a lot of sit-ups, babe,” he teased him and they kissed. All the girls moaned and pinched their own flabby bellies.
“We’ll join you, Harry,” Kathleen exclaimed and they all laughed.
“Oh, crap,” Harry exclaimed and they all looked at him. He blushed.
“What’s wrong?” Dr. George asked; his face worried. Harry giggled.
“I peed myself,” he admitted and the doctor sighed and laughed.
“All of the contractions must have caused your bladder to respond, no worry, we’ll just clean you up and get you clean pants,” he said and patted his hand.
So that’s what they did and then Fiona brought over Jackson who was all cleaned up and wrapped in a blue blanket.
“Here’s Jackson, who gets him first?” she asked cheerfully. Harry and Jake looked at each other and grinned.
“You take him first, honey, I’m exhausted,” Harry decided and suddenly he was extremely exhausted. His face was pale and Jake got worried. He looked at Dr. George who grinned.
“Pushing a human out of your belly button is hard work, we’ll get some green milk into him and he’ll be fine,” he assured him. Jake grinned. Fiona put his son into his arms and Jake fell in love.
“Hello, Jackson Henry Talbert, welcome to the world,” he cooed and everyone gushed.
“He’s so pretty, look at his eyes, I swear they look purple,” Kathleen remarked. And everyone gathered around Jake to see the baby. Harry looked and grinned at his mother who looked confused.
“That’s not possible, the baby shouldn’t have any of Henry’s DNA,” she stated firmly. But when Jackson opened his tiny eyes and looked at her, she could clearly see what everyone else saw, Harry’s purple pixie eyes. She was astonished. Harry laughed.
“Let’s get Dad into his room where he can get some sleep,” Dr. George said and they all rushed Harry into the room next to Gloria and put him into bed. All of the girls left and Kate took some pictures of the happy men and their baby and then went home to show Barb who she said would come with breakfast.
“You did a great job, Henry, I’m very proud of you,” she said and kissed him. He grinned and closed his eyes. He opened them when she left and Jake grinned.
“A little Kate goes a long way huh, babe,” he declared and they both laughed. Jake sat down next to the bed and leaned down to kiss him. Harry looked over into the bassinet where their baby slept and smiled lovingly.
“He’s so beautiful isn’t he, honey?” he said softly. Jake nodded and they held hands.
“He’s the most beautiful baby in the world, babe,” he said and Jackson took this moment to wake up and began screaming. They both laughed and Jake picked him up and felt his bottom.
“He’s not wet, so he must be hungry,” he decided and Harry grinned.
“That sure sounds like a hungry cry to me,” he agreed. Fiona must have heard it because she walked in the room with a bottom of formula and handed it to Jake.
“I knew you would be needing this,” she said cheerfully and then left because Gloria in the next room began shouting for her. “That girl is going to run me ragged tonight,” she said with a sigh. The two men grinned and Jake sat down with their son to fee him. He looked at Harry.
“Do you want to feed him, babe?” he offered. Harry shook his head and laid on the pillow, his arms felt heavy and his bones felt like lead.
“You feed him, honey, I’m exhausted,” he admitted and gave a weary sigh. He did get out the camera and took a picture of Dad feeding baby for the first time and grinned. Then he closed his eyes and dozed until his stomach woke him up.
“You know what I want, honey?” he asked and Jake looked at him.
“What’s that, babe?” he asked. Harry grinned.
“A rare roast beef sandwich with horseradish sauce and a giant pickle, no make that two sandwiches and some of that potato salad Fran made yesterday, would you mind terribly going home and getting that for me?” he asked and Jake grinned. He would have found a way to bring Harry the moon if he had asked for that as he gazed down at his sleeping son.
“Of course not, babe, I’m hungry too, I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said and put Jackson back in the bassinet. Harry frowned.
“Take your time, drive really slowly and bring a gallon of green milk too, honey,” he told him. They kissed, long and hard and Harry felt lonely when he was gone and dozed for a while. He could hear loud shouting from the next room and grinned thinking that Gloria must be the kind of patient that all nurses hated getting.
“Where the hell were you for so long, I was screaming for hours, I couldn’t get up and I had to pee and I was trapped in here. What if there had been a fire, I could have died. What kind of nurse are you?” Gloria yelled at Fiona who sighed.
“I told you Gloria, I was in the delivery room with Harry, he came in right after you and had his little boy,” she explained and looked around the room. “I told David this before I left you, he was supposed to stay until I came back, where is he anyway, he wasn’t supposed to leave you all alone.” Gloria sighed.
“He had to go home, he was tired, it’s not his job to care for me, he’s not a nurse, you’re the nurse, why don’t you do your job,” she snapped. Fiona sighed.
“I’m only one person, sweetie, I can’t be two places at once, he wasn’t supposed to leave you alone,” she said firmly. “Now, what can I do for you?” she asked gently. Gloria sighed.
“I have to pee, can you help me to the bathroom?” she whined. Fiona smiled and walked over and showed her the catheter bag. Gloria frowned.
“You don’t need to pee, sweetie, you have a catheter in you, you’ve just had surgery and you need to stay in bed,” she informed her. “Now I can bring you some broth or some tea. There’s ice water by your bed and here’s the control for the view-screen. DJ and Steve set up some nice videos for you to watch and David can bring some more from home for you. Is he coming back to spend the night with you? That chair folds out into a very comfortable bed and I can bring a pillow and blanket for him.”
“Why would he want to spend the night in the hospital, why can’t Harry come in here and heal me so I can go home?” Gloria complained. Fiona looked surprised.
“Harry’s just had a baby, he needs to recover before he can heal anyone,” she told her. “I’m sure he’ll be in tomorrow.” Gloria sighed.
“I’ll take some broth and tea then and can you bring me two more pillows, these are flat,” she whined and Fiona smiled and left the room. She would be glad when Lily and Cindy came in to relieve her.
Jake came back with the sandwiches and extra clothes for him and Harry and found him sleeping and tried to make as little noise as possible. Harry grinned.
“If that’s my food you’d better hand it over before I have to kill you,” he retorted and Jake laughed.
“I didn’t want to wake you, babe,” he said and Harry tried to sit up and groaned a little. Jake was there immediately to help and they put the bed up and Jake brought over the tray table and soon Harry was munching on rare roast beef with hot and spicy horse- radish sauce, potato salad and a big, juicy pickle. Jake was amazed he could eat after having a baby.
“It was a lot of work, I’m starving,” Harry declared and Jake kissed him.
“It looked like a lot of work, babe, you did great,” he beamed and they both looked at Jackson and beamed so more. Fiona peeked in and grinned. Jake offered her a sandwich and she took one for herself and one for Dr. George.
After the sandwiches and about half of the milk Harry was helped to the bathroom to pee and brush his teeth and then he settled in to sleep.
“I’m so tired I bet I could sleep a year,” he exaggerated and Jake laughed.
“Well, you get some sleep, I’m on baby duty tonight,” he informed him and they kissed. Lily and Cindy came in and got a sandwich and some potato salad, kissed the baby and gushed over how much he looked like Jake and left, promising to look in on them later.
“Well, at least you’re staying with Harry, David went home; can you believe that?” Cindy was appalled. Her Pete had stayed with her every single time, like a husband should. In fact every husband had stayed with their wives during the delivery of their children. All of the children were welcomed to stay also, it was a small community hospital and having a baby was a family affair. The fact that David had deserted his wife and left her alone while everyone was with Harry in the delivery room had shocked everyone. What kind of a husband was he?
Jackson woke up every three or four hours demanding food and a diaper change and Jake, Lily or Cindy was there to take care of him. Harry slept soundly during every single episode and didn’t even blink during any of it. Jake worried about this for a while, but Harry had a very content smile on his face so he kissed his smiling mouth and went back to bed. Jake didn’t bring out the folding chair. He just crawled into the little bed with his love and Harry rolled over and made room for him and they snuggled together. Lily and Cindy thought this was the cutest thing they had ever seen.
“They look so cute together don’t they?” Lily whispered as they watched the two men sleep. Cindy nodded and they exchanged a smile.
“Little Jackson looks just like Jake, it’s amazing,” Cindy remarked. Lily nodded.
“And those purple eyes are so pretty, his mother must have been white, his skin tone is so creamy, he’s going to be so beautiful,” she gushed. Then Gloria screamed and they both frowned and did odds and evens to see who would be forced to see what she wanted. Lily lost and made a face.
“It’s your turn next time,” she said and now Cindy made the face.
Harry woke up a little after eight feeling very refreshed and wonderful. He glanced at his sleeping son and husband and decided that he stunk to high heaven and needed a shower. He looked and saw that Jake had brought clean clothes from home and went in to the bathroom to pee, brush his teeth, shave and shower. Then he felt like a new man, a man with a big, fat, flabby belly. He wiggled it around and giggled.
“A million sit-ups for you, young man,” he told himself sternly and went back into the next room just as Jake was waking up. “Good morning, Dad,” he greeted him with a smile and a kiss.
“Mm, you taste like wintergreen,” Jake murmured. Then he decided on a shower and a shave and went off to enjoy one. Jackson picked that time to wake up and Harry got his first look at tiny hands and feet and count fingers and toes and a very nice sized little circumcised prick.
“You’re going to take after your father, you lucky little man,” he told him son who looked up at him with the most adorable purple eyes. Harry was incredibly in love and kissed his tiny little belly. Then he changed his diaper and went in search of a bottle. He found this in the kitchen and prepared it. Fiona came in and smiled at him.
“I see you finally woke up; how do you feel?” she asked. Harry grinned.
“Like a new man and starving, what’s for breakfast?” he asked and she grinned.
“Your mother is bringing yours and Jake’s, she called and she’s on her way,” she informed him and he smiled again. They both heard a baby cry and she fixed a bottle and left. Harry took his back to his room and passed Gloria’s on the way and heard her shouting, “Nurse, nurse.” at the top of her lungs. He laughed and sneaked into his room, he wasn’t ready to face healing yet, not until he had his breakfast and some more green milk.
Barbara arrived as he was feeding Jackson and Jake rushed out of the bathroom at the sound of breakfast. She gushed and demanded that the baby be handed over and they exchanged baby and bottle for a big basket of food.
“He looks just like you, Jake,” she gushed. “But he has Harry’s eyes, Kate is astonished to say the least, she’s been pouring over Simon’s notes all morning,” she told them and they all laughed.
“Oh, blueberry muffins, my favorite,” Harry exclaimed and took a big bite of one. Barb grinned.
“I wonder why I baked those,” she teased and they all laughed. Jake went to fetch the green milk from the fridge for his love and they ate, talked and laughed for more than an hour before Barb kissed them both and left. Then Harry got up and sighed.
“I guess I’ll go and see how little Princess Gloria is doing,” he said with a big grin and Jake laughed and kissed him.
“Be nice, she’s just had a baby too,” he reminded him. Harry sighed.
“You know she hasn’t even held Emma yet,” he told his husband who looked shocked. “Not even once, not her or David has even asked to see their daughter, I feel sorry for that little girl being stuck with those two as parents,” Harry said with worry in his eyes. Jake shook his head.
“Why did they even have her if they didn’t want her?” he wondered. Harry sighed and picked up a glass of milk to take with him. He walked into the other room. Gloria took one look at him and began yelling.
“It’s about fucking time you showed up, I’ve been waiting all morning,” she screeched. Harry blinked and turned around to leave. Gloria panicked
“Wait, Harry, don’t go, please I’m sorry, don’t go, please,” she begged. He turned around and walked over to her bed.
“That was very rude, you don’t greet someone like that, no matter how bad you feel,” he told her sternly. She nodded and tears filled her eyes.
“I know, I’m really sorry, it’s just that it hurts so much and I’ve been trapped in this bed all night and all day and I heard you all laughing in the next room and I’ve been stuck in this bed feeling miserable,” she explained. He sighed and lifted up the blankets and then the bandages to look at her scar. It was pretty gruesome. She made a face.
“You will be able to get rid of the scar won’t you, my body will be ruined with that thing,” she moaned. Harry nodded. He called for Fiona to take out the stitches and the catheter and when that was done, he drank the milk up and rubbed his hands together and then placed them on the wound. Dr. George came in the room to observe and they all watched with amazement as the wound vanished and Gloria sat up and stretched.
“My God, I feel marvelous, thank you, Harry,” she exclaimed and wrapping her arms around his neck, kissed him right on the lips. He laughed and pulled away from her.
“You’re very welcome, Gloria,” he said and she laughed and started pulling clothes from her case. Fiona came into the room carrying Emma and a bottle.
“Now that you’re healed; Gloria, would you like to feed Emma?” she asked cheerfully. Gloria made a face and shook her head.
“No, I don’t want to feed that brat, I want to take a shower and get beautiful for my David, he’s going to be here any minute and I smell and look dreadful, you’re the nurse, you feed it,” she snapped and Fiona and Harry were shocked by her use of the pronoun ‘it’ when referring to her beautiful daughter. Fiona sighed.
“I’ve got lots of paperwork and it would really help if you would feed her,” she said. Harry grinned.
“Let me help, I’ll feed her,” he offered and Fiona handed her over. Harry looked down at the beautiful little girl with the bright blue eyes and curly blonde hair and fell in love. “Aren’t you a pretty little girl,” he cooed as he walked from the room. “If you were my little girl, I’d want to hold you all the time, you’re such a darling.” Gloria watched him walk away with a gleam in her bright blue eyes as an idea popped into her head. She rushed into the shower.
“What have you got there, babe?” Jake asked when Harry walked into their room carrying Emma. Harry grinned.
“I’ve brought a playmate for Jackson, say hello to Emma,” he said and showed the babies to one another. Their tiny hands touched and they both made little sounds as if they liked each other. Both men laughed.
“I think they like each other,” Jake remarked and they both sat down to feed them. Harry grinned.
“Do you know that that bitch Gloria referred to this little darling as an ‘it’,” he told his husband who looked appalled.
“No, she didn’t,” he retorted. Harry nodded.
“Look at this darling, isn’t she the second most beautiful baby in the world?” he teased and they kissed. When the babies were fed, Dr. George came in with the scanner and Fiona took Emma away and they did a scan of Jackson and found his little uterine pouch and his extra lobe just like his Dad’s.
“Oh, yeah, he’s a Dolphin alright,” Dr. George remarked with much satisfaction. Both men beamed and kissed. Then they put the diaper back on and dressed him in the little blue sleeper they had picked out. It had a little lamb on it and was so precious they wanted to cry. They took pictures for their email announcement and waited for the paperwork so they could go home. They also needed their baby vitamins which would be in liquid form. Jake packed their bag and informed Harry that, of course, the car seat was secured properly in the back seat of the Jeep. They both kissed again and sat down to wait.
“You want to do what?” Dr. George looked at his daughter and her husband with shock. Gloria sighed and held hands with David.
“We want to give Emma to Harry and Jake,” she repeated and Dr. George wanted to kill them both.
“But why, honey, I thought you loved her,” he tried to reason with her. Gloria instead laughed in his face.
“Christ, Daddy, I didn’t even want to have her, how could I love her, I don’t want any children, I told you that when you forced me to have her and I didn’t want her then and I certainly don’t want her now,” she said firmly. David nodded.
“We don’t want any children, it interferes with our lifestyle,” he informed him smugly. Dr. George sighed.
“You don’t want to take her do you?” Gloria whined. He shook his head.
“No, Shelley would kill me if I brought her home, we’re going to have our hands full with the four we’re planning on having, we can’t raise your child for you, it’s about time you grew up and accepted some responsibility, young lady,” he told her sternly. Gloria laughed.
“But, Daddy I am, I’m finding a perfectly good home for her, Harry and Jake love children and he’s a healer, they’ll be great fathers for her,” she informed him. He sighed.
“She’s not a puppy for heaven’s sake, you just can’t give her away,” Dr. George said, his face red with anger. She sighed.
“People do it all the time, its called adoption,” Gloria said firmly. “Now call them in here so we can ask,” she instructed and he sighed and walked over to Harry’s room and informed them that Gloria and David had something important to discuss with them. They walked into the room with Jake holding his son. Fiona brought chairs for everyone to sit on and stood just outside the door to listen so she could tell everyone what was said.
“Emma wasn’t a planned pregnancy,” Gloria began by saying. Harry lifted an eyebrow. “I tried to have an abortion but Daddy refused saying that another abortion would probably kill me and since you were pregnant you couldn’t heal me, something about you not healing people because of possible damage to your baby.” She and David exchanged a disbelieving look. Harry grinned. Gloria continued.
“Now that’s she’s here, we find that we still don’t want her, we don’t like children and there’s no place for a child in our lives,” she informed them. David nodded.
“Children will interfere with our lifestyle,” he told them eagerly. Harry glanced at Jake and they both wondered what the hell that meant.
“We tried to get Daddy to take her but he doesn’t want her either,” Gloria glared at her father like this was his fault. Dr. George sighed.
“I told you, pumpkin, Shelley and I have discussed this and we can’t raise your child for you, its time for you to grow up and learn responsibility,” he told her gently. She sighed.
“Well, I don’t want it in my house,” she snapped. “Babies are disgusting. All they do is eat and sleep and shit their diapers and scream all the time. They demand all your attention and you can’t do anything at all but watch them. They’re annoying.” David nodded.
“I don’t see why you couldn’t just do the hysterectomy and we wouldn’t have to worry about children at all,” he commented. Harry was shocked. He looked at Jake.
“What do you think, honey, are you up for twins?” he asked him. Jake nodded.
“Will this interfere at all with our plans?” he asked him. Harry shook his head.
“Not in the slightest,” he replied. Jake smiled and they kissed. Then Harry turned to the two detestable people.
“We want adoption papers giving us Emma completely,” he stated and they both nodded. “And once this is done, I don’t care if you change your minds five or ten or fifteen years from now and you say you want her back. We’re not giving her back. Once she’s a part of our family, she’s ours forever.” Gloria grinned.
“Oh, don’t worry, we don’t want it back, we never wanted it to begin with,” she declared. Harry sighed.
“She’s not an ‘it’ Gloria, she’s a precious baby girl,” he reminded her. She just shrugged.
“Whatever,” she said and waved her hand. Emma began to cry and she made a face.
“Aren’t you going to pick her up?” she asked. Harry shook his head.
“I’ll pick her up when she’s mine,” he said firmly. He looked at David. “And I want her name on the adoption papers to say Emma Rose, none of this Emma Jean crap; I don’t like Emma Jean; that sounds like she belongs in a trailer park.” Gloria gasped.
“But I like Emma Jean,” she protested. Harry shrugged.
“But she’s not going to be your daughter, she’s going to be ours and we like Emma Rose, don’t we, honey?” he asked Jake who nodded. Dr. George grinned. David stood up.
“Emma Rose it is,” he declared and rushed from the room before anyone could change their minds. Harry and Jake got up and left the room.
“You’re going to have to go home and get another car seat and bring a pink sleeper to put on her and a blanket, I know that they probably haven’t brought anything for her,” Harry instructed and Jake nodded. They kissed and Jake handed over their son. Harry grabbed his arm.
“Drive carefully, honey,” he said and Jake grinned and kissed him hard.
“Don’t worry, babe, I’ll be really carefully,” he said. Harry sat down on the bed and looked down at his son.
“Do you hear that, Jackson, you’re going to get a sister,” he cooed and Jackson looked up at him. He kissed his adorable little face and wondered how anyone could refer to a precious baby as an ‘it’ and shuddered.
Jake drove home as fast as he could as be as safe as he knew Harry would want him to be. When he pulled into the garage the dogs and Fran rushed out. She looked disappointed to see him alone.
“Where’s Harry, where’s Jackson?” she demanded. Jake grinned and rushed to the extra room where the extra baby stuff was stacked, she followed him.
“We’re having twins, Fran,” he yelled as he found the car seat quickly and then opened boxes looking for sleepers and blankets. Luckily Harry in his anal retentiveness had everything marked and he found the right boxes easily and pulled out a pretty pink sleeper with a little kitten on it and a thick pink blanket.
“What do you mean twins, how can he have twins, that doesn’t make any sense,” Fran yelled at him. Jake grinned.
“Gloria and David don’t want Emma so they’re giving her to us, we’re adopting her,” he informed her and then he picked up the car seat and rushed to the garage to attach it to the back seat of the Jeep while she watched in disbelief. He didn’t have time to discuss it with her so he just got into the car and drove off, leaving her standing there in shock. When he got back to the hospital, David was already there with the papers in his hands and they were waiting for him.
They read the papers carefully and all four parents signed them and then Dr. George and Fiona signed them as witnesses and David and Gloria triumphantly left the hospital as quickly as they could before the two men could change their minds. Dr. George watched them drive away and sighed.
“This is probably the best thing that could happen for little Emma,” he stated and Harry put his arm around the older man’s shoulder.
“You don’t have to worry about Emma, Dr. George, you and Shelley can still be her grandparents, we won’t take that away from you and Shelley,” he told him. Dr. George grinned.
“Oh, I never worried about that, Harry,” he said, “I just thought that having a baby would finally help her grow up and become a women instead of a little girl but I guess she’s got more of her mother in her than I hoped for.”
They dressed Emma in her pink sleeper and wrapped her in the pink blanket and took her out to the car. Harry grinned.
“This is nice, now we each have a baby,” he said and Jake grinned as they both the babies securely in their car seats. Then they got into the car and Jake started to drive slowly out of the parking lot. Harry laughed.
“You could probably go a little faster than this, honey,” he said and Jake shook his head.
“I’m driving, you just sit there and hush up, babe,” he chided and Harry laughed. He turned around to look at two sleeping babies and felt his heart fill with joy.
“This is nice, I like having a baby,” he told Jake who grinned and would have reached for his hand but he couldn’t take both of his hands off of the steering wheel. Harry knew this and just patted his knee. They reached home safely and the dogs and Fran rushed into the garage to greet them. Bo and Gertie who hadn’t seen Harry in a whole day acted like he had been away for years. Harry had to pet them for several moments.
“I missed you too Bo, I missed you too Gertie,” he gushed over and over and they whined and Bo peed himself a little which he tended to do when he got over-excited. Jake reached for the cleaning spray and the rags. He wiped it up and then washed his hands. Then they got the babies out of the car while Fran beamed and took pictures. Both babies woke up with all the noise and began to cry. They both had healthy lungs.
“Healthy lungs on those two,” Fran remarked as she followed them into the house, her arms aching to hold either one. Harry grinned and handed her Emma. She gasped with pleasure and sat at the kitchen table. Jake sat with her while Harry prepared two bottles. The kitchen had been rearranged in preparation of the baby’s arrival and everything was within easy reach. He handed two bottles over and went back to the car to unload it and then unpack the bags.
“I’m going to put another bassinet in our room for Emma,” he called out and went into the extra room. Soon he had another bassinet as well as all the clothes she would need for the first three months of her life stored next to Jackson’s in his room and their bedroom. He worked efficiently and quickly as was his nature, smiling happily as he thought of two babies being raised together as brother and sister. Now he knew why Steve and Kathleen were so happy. Two babies was definitely better than one, it was twice as much joy.
They put the babies down to sleep and then Harry and Jake sorted through the pictures and decided which ones they should send out with the announcement email.
“Oh, definitely this one of you feeding Jackson for the first time, honey,” Harry said and put the picture on the right side. Jake beamed.
“He really does look just like me doesn’t he?” he asked as he gazed at the picture for the hundredth time. Harry grinned and they kissed. Fran beamed.
“Which women do you think was the donor?” she asked as she stared at the group picture of Simon Woo and his team. Harry got up and looked at the six women. One was his mother Kate and the other five women were the five women who had all donated eggs for his ovary. He glanced at all of them and then settled on Cheryl Tate.
“I think Cheryl, he has her chin,” he decided and Fran agreed. Jake laughed.
“He has her chin, you can’t tell, he’s too young,” he teased and Fran and Harry ignored him and agreed Jackson definitely looked a little like Cheryl Tate.
“I’m tired Jake, let’s go take a nap,” Harry suggested and Jake got up at once.
“Are you, babe, lets get you to bed then,” he said and they went to the bedroom. The babies were next door in the dining room which had been turned into baby central so they would be close to the boys. All the dining room furniture had been wrapped up and stored in the loft in the barn where it would stay for the next five or six years.
When the bedroom door was closed Harry giggled and Jake looked at him with surprise.
“I take it this means you’re not tired then,” he asked. Harry shook his head.
“No, but I am extremely horny so if you don’t mind making love to a married man with a big, fat wiggly belly, I would really appreciate a nice, hard fuck,” he informed him with a sly look that sent shivers up Jake’s spine.
“I love it when you talk dirty,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around his love and nuzzled his neck. Harry gave a little moan and trembled.
“Oh, Jake, I love you so much,” he whispered. Jake smiled and they made slow tender love, the kind with long, hot tender kisses. Then they slept until the babies woke up demanded a diaper change and a bottle, this time Harry held Jackson while Jake held Emma.
“This way they won’t think we’re playing favorites,” Harry said and Jake agreed. Fran went into the kitchen to start dinner and the dogs went with her to beg for scrapes. Martha and George watched the two newcomers and didn’t like that the bassinets they had been sleeping in were now occupied. George came over to sniff at Jackson and didn’t seem impressed by him at all. Martha didn’t even do that, she just watched at a safe distance.
Everyone got the birth announcement and gushed over the baby pictures and the same thoughts went through their minds. Harry and Jake were nice to adopt Emma and crazy to take on the responsibility of Gloria and David’s child. What if they changed their minds and wanted her back? People did that all the time. And then they thought what cruel and inhuman monsters the two were to give up such a precious and beautiful little girl in the first place.
“You just had to have twins and copy me didn’t you?” Kathleen called. Harry laughed.
“We had to take her, Kathleen, do you know that Gloria called her precious child an ‘it’?” he told her. Kathleen gasped with shock.
“Oh, no she didn’t, Harry, that’s horrible,” she exclaimed. All the kids agreed that Gloria was a demented bitch. DJ came over and fell in love with Emma right away.
“Emma Rose, will you run away and marry me?” he asked her and she cooed at him. Harry laughed.
“See Emma, you’ve gotten your first proposal,” he teased and everyone laughed. Grace made a face.
“I thought you were going to marry me?” she said. DJ shrugged.
“By the time she grows up, you’ll be bored with me and we’ll get a divorce and I’ll be free to marry Emma,” he said and everyone laughed.
“DJ, you have such a romantic soul,” Steve stated and Kathleen shook her head.
“Why bother getting married, why not just have kids,” she suggested. Grace shook her head.
“No, we can’t do that to the kids, we’ll get married and if we get bored, we can always get a divorce later, it’s like we’re soul mates like you guys,” she said. They all agreed that was fine.
Later when everyone had gone home Jake turned to Harry.
“Its okay to do that and to have an open marriage if that makes you happy, but I could never to that, babe,” he said and wrapped his arms around him. Harry smiled and kissed his chin. “I’d get much too jealous if you were making love with another man,” Jake admitted and his hands moved down to cup that perfect ass that he felt was his and only his. Harry giggled and wiggled his ass in Jake’s strong hands. They both began to get hard.
“Don’t worry, honey, I’m yours and you’re mine and we’ll never have to worry about either of us going anywhere, we’re soul mates and we belong together forever,” he declared and Jake nodded and they kissed passionately.
Sunday came and they drove to church with the twins as they were calling them wrapped warmly in blue and pink blankets and everyone came to get a peek at the new babies. Now their little community was a hundred and twenty-eight strong and still growing as three women announced that they were pregnant. Everyone laughed at Jan and Joy who already had seven and announced the arrival in February of number eight and wondered just how many those two were going to have. Kate and Barb announced that Barb was pregnant with her third and last and that they were stopping with this one, having fulfilled their duty to the community and their great-great-grandchildren by producing three children apiece by three different fathers. Everyone cheered and clapped for them
Then Sissy Jackson got up and announced that she was pregnant and with twins this time and that this would be her last pregnancy because if they were going to start coming in twos, then by God, she was through having them. Everyone burst into laughter and Dr. Jackson beamed because they were identical and that meant he had mighty sperm. Now their family was going to be seven and counting Jake and Abby, that meant the two had produced nine children, the most of anyone, expect for Harry and his nineteen.
At dinner Sissy and Dr. Jackson kept glancing over at the babies and she wanted to go over there so badly and see her grandson. Abby grinned.
“Why don’t you just go over there, Mom, and hold him, you know you want to and I know Jake and Harry would let you,” she told her. Sissy made a face and looked at her husband who grunted.
“We’re not interested in no fishy freaks,” he stated and Abby laughed.
“They named him Jackson Henry after you,” she informed them and they both looked shocked and Abby scored another point which pleased her tremendously.
“Jake named his son after his father, that’s a Jackson tradition, to name the first born son after his grandfather,” Sissy said, her eyes filling with tears. Dr. Jackson swallowed and he looked over at the blue blanket covering the baby seat with longing on his face. Then he frowned.
“No way is that thing my grandson,” he stated and they went back to eating. But when they got home he opened the birth email and they both looked at it.
“Oh, my, look at him, he looks just like Jake did when he was born,” Sissy gushed. Dr. Jackson laughed.
“He looks just like me,” he observed and it was true because Jake looked a lot like his dad. They both admired the pictures and then he decided that he was going to take a little drive up the road and visit his namesake.
“I didn’t come to see you, I came to see my grandson,” he informed his son when Jake opened his front door to see his father standing there with a determined look on his face. Jake nodded and opened the door wide. Dr. Jackson walked in and looked around.
“This is really nice, Fran keeps it nice in here,” he remarked as he took off his coat and hung it up. Jake laughed.
“Harry does most of the cleaning, Dad, he’s the neatest person you’ll ever meet,” he informed him and his dad sighed. Then Harry came out of the living room to see who was at the door. He grinned when he saw who it was.
“Hi, Dr. Jackson, come to see you grandchildren, I’ll go see if they’re awake,” he said and turned around. Jake took his dad into the living room and sat him down on the couch and went into the dining room. Luckily for everyone the babies woke up when they picked them up. Jake carried Jackson into the other room and watched his dad’s eyes lit up at the sight of the little boy.
“Jackson Henry Jackson, I want you to meet Jackson Henry Talbert,” he said grandly and put the baby into his father’s arms. Dr. Jackson looked confused.
“Why’s his name Talbert?” he asked. Jake grinned and he patted his dad’s shoulder.
“When I married Harry I took his name, we thought that one Jackson Jackson was enough for the universe,” he told him. Dr. Jackson laughed.
“I suppose you’re right, I used to get teased like hell over that name,” he confessed. Then he looked at his grandson and his eyes misted over. “Oh, Jackson, look at you, why you’re the spitting imagine of your dad. And look at those purple eyes, they’re so adorable, I could just eat you up, yes I could,” he cooed. Harry took several pictures.
“Jackson, meet your granddaughter, this is Emma Rose,” Harry said and handed him Emma to hold and Jake took his son. Jackson cooed over her, calling her the most precious and beautiful girl in the world. Then the babies started to cry and he looked panicked until the boys laughed and said it was just dinner time. Jake and he switched babies and Harry brought out bottles and Dr. Jackson got to feed his grandson while Harry took pictures of this. Then he put him in his bassinet and admired their setup in the dining room and got a tour of the house. They skipped their bedroom and gave him a keg of beer to take home. Standing at the front door, Dr. Jackson did a surprising thing. He reached out and hugged his son.
“You did a great job, Son, I’m so proud of you,” he said and Jake felt tears come to his eyes. Harry did cry as he watched the touching scene and wiped the tears away. Dr. Jackson looked at them both.
“I’ll be back to see my grandchildren,” he told them with a big grin. Both boys nodded.
“Come back any time, Jackson, you and your family are welcome in our home, you’re family,” Harry said and the older man nodded and left. Jake hugged Harry.
“You were right, babe, a grandson turned my dad into a giant teddy bear,” he said with disbelief. Harry laughed.
“Wait until we have all five and he’s got a basketball team to coach, then he’ll be really happy,” he retorted and they both laughed. Then Harry got that gleam in his eyes and Jake grinned. They both turned around and rushed to the bedroom for a quickie while the babies slept. Fran saw them and laughed. Those two might be an old married couple with two children but they were still frisky young men.
The next day Violet knocked on their front door. Harry opened the door and she held out the ring.
“Here’s your damned ring, can I have my car back now?” she said rudely. He grinned at her.
“Don’t you mean, here’s your damned ring, can I please have my car back,” he teased her. She sighed.
“Here’s your ring, Harry, can I please have my car back?” she said super-sweet. Harry nodded and took the ring. He left her on the porch in the cold while he got the keys and the deed. He put his coat on then drove the car out of the garage and stopped in the driveway. Then he got out and handed her the deed which she looked over carefully. Then without another word, Violet got into her car and drove off. Harry laughed and went back into the house. Jake looked up from playing his video game when he sat back down on the couch with his book.
“Who was that, babe?” he asked. Harry grinned and showed him the shiny ring.
“Violet finally exchanged her ring for her car,” he informed him. They both laughed. Then Harry took a good look at the ring and noticed that it looked funny and slightly different than it had before.
“Son-of-a-bitch, this stone’s been replaced,” he swore and he got up and got his coat on. “Stay with the twins, honey, I’m going to the jewelry store and checking this out, I think little Miss Violet and her friend Gloria’s replaced this diamond with a cubic zarconia.” Jake frowned.
“Those two bitches,” he snapped.
Harry drove carefully to the store and checked the ring out and found out that it was in fact a fake diamond. He then replaced it with a real one and put it back on the tray where it belonged. Then he went home and informed his husband.
“Well, I sincerely hope that Violet is happy with her diamond because it’s the last thing she’ll ever get from one of our stores,” Harry said firmly. Jake nodded. They sent her an email informing her that they had discovered her little ploy and that she was now forever banned from their stores for her life time along with Gloria and David. All three were furious.
“This is all your fault,” Gloria snapped at her husband. He looked shocked.
“How is this my fault? It was all your idea, you and that stupid girl,” he snapped back. She glared at Violet who just shrugged.
“I’ll just get Susie to buy me stuff and he’s right, this was all your idea so don’t blame him,” she declared and smiled at the handsome man who looked pleased that she was taking his side. Gloria looked at her with her eyes narrowed. The black girl was younger but she didn’t have any breasts and therefore wasn’t a real threat. So Gloria smiled and decided that Harry would forget about the whole banning thing in a couple of years.
“You’re right, lets’ play Sultan and the slave girls,” she said and the other two grinned, they loved her sex games, she had the best imagination.
In January they took the babies to Hawaii for some sun and had a ball relaxing on the beach and making love in the sand just like they always did. Now they just carried the kids with them and laughed about what they were going to do when they got older. They had to take turns running with the dogs on the beach in the mornings but that was fine. Harry did two hundred sit-ups every day to get his stomach back in its flat shape. The girls were jealous that he was so diligent and able to lose weight faster than they so he took them with him to run the dogs. Kathleen was better than the other two, especially April who whined so much the others wanted to drown her. But by the end of January everyone was back to before baby weight and happy.
“I can’t believe you’re going to have one baby a year, don’t you think that’s crazy,” Kathleen asked one night as they were sitting on the patio having drinks and talking. All the babies were sleeping in bassinets in the living room. Harry shook his head.
“You forget, I’m only pregnant for twenty-four weeks so that’s plenty of time to recover and I’m having five while the rest of you are only having four,” he said. “This way every other time we will have them together.” They all nodded, it would work out fine and they all agreed that he had to use all five of his eggs, he wasn’t like them; they had millions of them. Leaving one or two would be horrible, almost like murder.
In February they went back to Edenville for the arrival of Harry’s last sister and keeping to tradition they named her Karen because they had named the previous baby, Kent. Now they had, Tracey, Travis, Alex, Allison, Kent and Karen, it was almost cute it was so sickening. All the kids laughed at that, almost as much as they laughed at Jan and Joy’s ‘J’s. Those two had another son and named him Jeramy. Now they had Jamie, Jason and Josh, Jon, Jenny and Jasmine, Jonah and Jeramy, that was eight and everyone wondered when they were going to stop.
Sissy had her twins and they turned out to be girls to Dr. Jackson’s disappointment. They were the only ones who didn’t want to know the baby’s sex until delivery. Now they had the two boys, Monroe and Dwight, followed by five girls, Pearl, Charlotte, Mabel and the twins whom they named, Yvette and Yvonne. Sissy immediately got a birth control shot following delivery. Her husband wasn’t happy, he wanted another son, but she remained firm. Nine children was more than even his sainted grandmother Mabel had had and she wasn’t going to have any more.
Everyone assumed that having Fran in the house to help them made the job of raising twins easier for the two men but Fran complained to everyone that getting them to give up a baby for her to hold or take care of was like pulling teeth. Harry and Jake tried to share as much as they could but holding and playing with Jackson and Emma was just so much fun that they hated to give them up.
“Don’t worry Fran, next year we’ll have Adam and we’ll have plenty of babies to go around,” Harry assured her and put Emma in her hands. He went off to the kitchen to bake banana nut bread; a specialty of Frau Ida’s which Jake loved. Humming to himself he worked while listening to soft music and soon the house was filled with the aroma. Jake came out of the basement where he was building a model train town for his son, which meant he was playing with trains.
“What is that I’m smelling?” he asked as he walked into the kitchen. Harry giggled as he lifted a loaf out of the pan and put it on a rack to cool. There were six of them lined up in a neat little row on the table. Jake eyed them and bent over for a deep sniff.
“Oh, man, that smells better than, well, I’ve never smelled anything better. Harry, you drive me wild like this on purpose, I know that you do,” he declared. Harry giggled again. Fran came into the room and laughed.
“You two go ahead, I’ll watch the kids,” she said. Harry picked up a large, square plate and put two loafs on it while Jake grabbed the two pitchers of milk, one white and one green. They rushed to the bedroom before she could change her mind. Jake grinned when he saw the comforter spread out on the floor like a picnic blanket.
“You had this all planned, didn’t you, babe?” he asked. Harry shrugged and started to undress.
“I know what my man likes,” he teased him. Jake grinned and started to undress. When they were both naked they stretched out on the blanket and Harry ripped off a piece of the delicious cake and popped it into Jake’s open mouth. The other man chewed making appreciative noises. Then Harry ripped off a piece for himself and ate it.
“Oh, my, now I know what heaven tastes like,” Jake murmured and Harry giggled.
They ate one loaf slowly like that, ripping off pieces and slowly eating them, kissing in between bites, drinking cold milk, having a naked picnic which Harry always loved. Then they made slow passionate love, licking and sucking, touching every inch over and over. They knew each other’s bodies so well, what one another liked.
Then they at the other loaf and rubbed some of the cake on their bodies and ate it off, laughing at the places they put it and Jake making hungry growling sounds while Harry giggled. Then they made hard frantic love with Jake being so masterful in the way that Harry liked so much and they slept on the floor, wrapped in the blanket for a while until the cries of their children called them to the dining room. Then laughing, they got dressed and went to rescue Fran who was having a time trying to feed two at once.
At one month old the babies still weren’t sleeping all through the night and the boys were at their wits end. Then Harry got the idea of making their last bottle of the night with green milk instead of water and it worked like a charm. The babies slept all night and didn’t wake up until they came back from the barn with the morning milk. It was perfect timing for everyone. They told their friends about it and soon everyone was doing it and Dr. George assured everyone that green milk was very healthy for the babies; it had plenty of vitamins and iron which the little ones needed. Harry was hailed as a hero.
“I guess some things you can’t learn in a book,” he remarked as he put his son in his crib. Jake grinned as he put his daughter in hers. They had solved the dilemma caused by separate hallways by cutting a doorway into their bedroom to the second hall. Now they could easily get to their children.
“You do know that with four more children we’re going to have to add three more bedrooms to the house,” Harry said as they went to the living room. Jake groaned when he saw the architect’s computer out on the coffee table.
“I never thought of that, babe, but you’re right,” he said and they began work. They added four more bedrooms and bathrooms because three was odd to work with and a nice sewing room for Harry and a nice sitting room for Fran so she’d have a place to run and hide when the six kids became too much for her. They decided to make the living and dining rooms larger for the larger family and added windows in the front to open the space.
“Wow, this is a very beautiful house, babe, if I didn’t already live here, I’d want to,” Jake gushed. Harry giggled.
“I’m just picturing all those boys running through the house, you know we need a basketball court out back and maybe a baseball field on the farm for the kids to play on,” he said and Jake nodded, that sounded good to him.
“Harry, what is this room way over here that says Fran’s room?” Fran asked as she looked over the plans. “I don’t want my bedroom moved way over there and look, there’s no bathroom, you expect me to walk way over here and use one of the kid’s bathrooms? That’s not right!” Her voice rose on the last sentence. Harry giggled.
“Fran, that’s not your new bedroom, that’s you new sunroom,” he told her and she looked shocked. He continued. “You bedroom is still your bedroom, we just added a nice little sunroom so that you’ll have a place to run and hide from all the kids when they start plucking your nerves.” Fran laughed and patted his shoulder.
“Well, that’s really nice of you, thanks, sweetie,” she gushed. Harry shrugged.
“It’s your house too, Fran, and I thought that you deserved a special room too. Jake has the study and I’ll have this new sewing room and you get a sunroom,” he informed her. She looked very pleased and went to the kitchen to bake some cookies. Harry laughed and printed out another copy of the plans.


Chapter Two

Spring came and it was back to the fields again and once again the fields were bigger because of all the new babies. No one complained and everyone laughed.
“How many more children are you two having?” Sissy asked Jan who laughed.
“We’ve decided to stop at ten,” she finally admitted the number everyone wanted to know. Everyone laughed again.
“I’ll be glad once all the babies are born and we’ll know for sure the size of the fields,” Kate complained. Harry laughed.
“Well, you and Barbara contributed your share, now it’s our turn,” he informed her and she made a face. But it was true; all the adults were almost finished, they had one more round to go and then everyone would have contributed their three children by three different men other than their husbands who didn’t count because they had the same DNA as the children they produced. She was going to have a fit when Harry and Jake announced later that year that they were pregnant again. But she and Barb had had one baby a year so she had nothing to say about them doing the same thing.
Once the regular fields were planted, Harry announced that he wanted to plant an extra field or two of corn, barley and potatoes. Jake frowned.
“Why corn, potatoes and barley, babe?” he asked. Harry grinned.
“At the rate these people drink eventually they’re going to drink all the liquor in our store and I figure we should get working on replacing it as soon as possible, especially since whiskey and scotch take about ten years to age,” he told him. Jake grinned and kissed him.
“Old David Marshall isn’t going to like that one little bit,” he teased. Harry giggled.
“He’ll just have to take the recipes I know he got with his liquor store and make his own booze,” he replied with a twinkle in his purple pixie eyes. Jake laughed. All of the kids helped them plant their extra fields and then when Harry chopped down twenty oak trees they helped them make oak barrels to age the liquor in. Then they had to build an extra barn in the woods to store everything in and another to put the stills in. It was Harry who got the idea of making a hundred barrels of each kind of liquor and storing it in a barn for a hundred years. All the kids loved that idea and they sealed it with a lock that said: Don’t open until forty-three fifty-six. They left that for future generations.
Once the crops were planted the young people turned to enjoying themselves and their children. Play groups were formed and everyone took turns having fun. All the old pastimes were brought out, the bikes, the scooters and the mini-cars were all raced around the tracks, now just half of them participated at one time while the other half watched the kids. Sometimes they fought over who got to play with the babies.
Playing with the kids in the park became a favorite thing to do and Harry sometimes would bring his younger siblings with him to give his mothers a break which they loved him for. Jake came with him and brought his and they would have a great time. Especially in the pool where all the kids would splash around and have fun. Harry would make up a big batch of ice cream, green and white and none of the kids minded what color they got as long as they got some.
Then Harry brought out small parks and they built them in every farm so that the kids would have someplace close by to play and everyone loved him once again. Now mothers could just walk out of their houses and walk their kids to the park and play with them. They put pools, tennis courts, basketball courts and baseball diamonds in every farm for the kids to play.
“He’s getting so big, he’s going to be tall like Jake,” Kathleen said one day in June as they were swinging the babies on the little swings in the park by their house. Harry grinned. Jackson was now six months old and had a single tooth and was getting another. Emma was getting one. Both were dressed in cute little short sets with sandals and looked remarkably cute. Stevie and Stephie were cute in matching outfits and both parents beamed.
“He eats like a little horse,” Harry said proudly and they both laughed. Just then April and Joon drove up and climbed out of April’s SUV and walked over, they had been to the doctor’s for checkups. They both smiled and waved. Soon all six babies were swinging and they were all talking. Then they went into the covered gazebo for snacks and let them roll around on blankets. Emma was the bravest and already beginning to stand up on all fours like she was ready to crawl.
“Oh, she’s ready, look at her face, she wants to crawl,” April remarked and they all watched the little girl rock back and forth. Then with a sigh, she collapsed and laughed.
“She’ll go soon, she’s almost ready,” Harry said and laughing he picked her up and kissed her smiling face. “Aren’t you, darling?” he asked and kissed her. Kathleen smiled.
“You don’t call anyone but Jake, honey, do you?” she asked. Harry grinned.
“Of course not, he’s my honey, why would I call anyone else that?” he teased. They all laughed.
“I think it’s cute the way you call him honey and he calls you babe,” Joon told him and Harry blushed.
“The first time he called me babe we were fourteen and I almost died, I was so in love with him,” he confessed and they all gushed.
“And now you’re twenty-one and married with two children, that’s so romantic,” April said. Harry grinned.
“Now we’re all married with children. That’s all romantic,” he declared. They all shrugged.
“It’s different with us, Harry,” Kathleen told him. He looked surprised. She laughed. “I’m not saying that we don’t love our husbands, cuz we do, but we all have open marriages and we have sex with each other and with the single people and its all fun. But with you and Jake it’s different. We would never even think about inviting either of you to join us in the bedroom and not because you’re gay but because we know you wouldn’t come. You two are really truly in love and only with one another, you wouldn’t dream of inviting anyone to join you in bed would you?” she asked. Harry shook his head.
“It would break Jake’s heart if I made love with another man and I’m just not made that way, I could only be with one man at a time and I love Jake, he’s the only one I want,” he said. All the girls smiled.
“Now that’s true love,” April told him. He grinned and giggled.
“I smell a stinky poo and it’s not me,” he teased. They all smelled and it turned out to be both Jackson and Stevie so they all went home laughing.
July twenty-seventh Harry threw another big birthday bash for himself and invited the whole town. He invented a new drink, tropical frozen margaritas served with salt around the glasses and the ladies loved them. They had mangos and papaya in them and were cold and delicious. He served lobsters and beer and all the ladies brought salads of every kind and cakes. Dr. Jackson amazed everyone who loved the new man by taking all the kids swimming and playing with them. He carried both of his grandchildren proudly, beaming like the granddad he was. Sissy loved her new husband.
“He gives the children their baths at night and even does the laundry,” she told Harry who held her twins in his lap. He laughed.
“I told Jake all it would take was grandchildren to turn his dad into a big teddy bear but he didn’t believe me,” he said and she laughed and took another sip of her margarita. Dr. Jackson came back with the twins and collapsed on a blanket. Harry put the twins in the play pen and took his children from the tired but happy man. He lifted him a cold beer and Dr. Jackson laughed.
“That’s a handy talent to have around with these two crawling around,” he remarked and they all laughed. Then Jake came back with his brothers and sisters from the rinse off and they all sat on the blanket to eat.
“Listen everyone,” Max stood up and lifted his cold mug of beer. Everyone grinned. “A cold beer, a hot lobster with drawn butter and a hot summer day with family and good friends, what more could a man ask for. Here’s to you, Harry, Happy Birthday, my friend,” he toasted and everyone lifted their glass.
“Happy birthday, Harry,” they all shouted. Harry stood up and waved. Everyone laughed and he sat down to eat. His mothers beamed from their blanket, they loved it when their eldest son was adored.
They were sitting around talking when the three boys Eric, Joey and Yancy came running from up the beach screaming for Dr. George and Harry. Harry handed over Jackson to Jake and rushed over.
“We found a mermaid on the beach and she’s bleeding, you’d better come quick!” Joey shouted and Harry ran back for the milk jug and everyone rushed away with the boys. Harry and the two firemen reached her first; she was still floating in the surf in the battered remains of a rubber raft. They quickly pulled her out and brought her to shore. Dr. George took his stethoscope out of his bag and quickly examined her. She had long reddish blonde hair, lots of it and was wearing a gray uniform of some sorts.
“She’s not breathing,” Dr. George said with panic in his voice.
“Let me try something,” Harry said and he rubbed his hands together and placed them over her chest and closed his eyes. Almost instantly water rushed out of her lungs and she sat up and began to cough it up. They patted her on her back and she looked around her and then pointed to her leg.
“My leg, a big black fish attacked me,” she said in a very charming accent. Dr. George handed Harry his laser scalpel and Harry cut the pants to expose a terrible gash in her leg. It was still bleeding and looked horrible. Everyone gasped. Harry rubbed his hands together and placed them over the wound and closed his eyes.
“Your hands are very warm,” she said. Everyone watched with amazement as the wound closed and the flesh healed completely. She gasped with surprise and looked at Harry with wonder.
“You are a healer,” she said and Harry grinned and held out his hand.
“I’m Harry Talbert,” he said. She took his hand.
“I am Jewel from Nextarus, and I’m very pleased to meet you. I am very hungry do you have any food?” she asked and everyone laughed. They helped her to her feet and then back to the party where shorts and a top were found for her and she showered and sat on Harry’s blanket to eat quickly but in a dainty manner. While she ate she told her story.
“My family and I were vacationing on our seventh moon and I was racing my speeder with my friends,” she explained. “When I got too close to this Galatica ship and the Commander saw me and needed a red-headed Nextarian for his zoo so he caught me in his net and brought me to his planet.” Everyone looked appalled.
“He wanted a person for his zoo?” Max asked her in disbelief. Sarek nodded.
“The Galatican are famous for their zoos, if they ever found out about you humans, they would all rush to this planet to be the first to gather you for their zoos,” he told them. They all looked appalled. Jewel continued her tail.
“I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in a zoo, so I hit a guard over the head, stole his uniform and stole a ship,” she said. “I was making my way home, hoping that my family was looking for me, I know my father would search forever for me. I took a short cut through this system because I knew no one would come through here because of the asteroid storms. Unfortunately I ran into one and the ship crashed in the ocean. I escaped in a rubber craft but these big black fish attacked me and I barely made it to shore.”
“Well, let’s get you over to the hospital and get you checked out,” Dr. George suggested and Harry agreed. Jewel looked at him.
“Will you come with me?” she pleaded and he nodded. She had the most beautiful green eyes. Luckily they had both Jeeps and he drove them to the hospital while Jake took his car home. She checked out fine and Harry took her home with him.
“What a beautiful home you have, you must have a very good wife to keep it so clean,” she gushed. Harry laughed. Then Jake came out and they kissed. Her eyes got wide.
“Two men living together, how wonderful,” she said and clapped her hands. Harry grinned.
“We should take you shopping and get you some more clothes, you can’t wear just those,” he said and her eyes got wide again and she squealed with delight.
“Oh, I love shopping,” she exclaimed. The boys laughed.
“Well, Harry can take you, he loves shopping too,” Jake said and they kissed again.
“Can we go right now?” she asked. Harry lifted an eyebrow.
“You’re not too tired from being shipwrecked?” he asked. She shook her head.
“I feel wonderful, whatever you did when you healed me, made me feel very refreshed,” Jewel said. So they drove and Harry decided Macy’s was the best store for her, she definitely had some class.
“This is a very nice store, who owns it?” she asked as they walked to the ladies section. Harry grinned.
“Jake and I own Macy’s and it’s the best store in town,” he informed her. She smiled, she liked that. And she had the best time trying on clothes and dresses and he let her get anything and everything she wanted, including shoes, purses, makeup, perfume and jewelry. She had a ball! Jake laughed at all the bags and boxes they carried into the house.
“Did you leave anything in the store?” he teased. Jewel laughed and rang up and threw herself into his arms.
“You two are the kindest men, I love you,” she gushed and ran off to the bedroom to change her clothes. Harry laughed and sat on the couch, he was exhausted.
“I don’t know where she gets her energy,” he said. “She’s like a little bird, flying from one rack to the other, picking out this and grabbing that, I was amazed at her choices, she had a fantastic sense of style.” Jake laughed and came down to sit beside him.
“She’s very sweet, I like her,” he said and they kissed again. Jewel came out of the bedroom wearing purple slacks with a cream blouse and high-heels with a coral scarf tied around her tiny waist. With her waist length red-gold curls, she looked stunning.
“How do I look?” she asked and twirled around. The two men clapped.
“You look stunning,” Harry told her. Her eyes gleamed with triumphant.
After two days of living with her and her constant flying around their house the three humans couldn’t wait to get rid of her. Harry suggested that she build her own house right next door to them. She loved the idea and picked a beautiful log cabin like theirs. With all the men working on it, it only took a week to put up and two weeks to decorate because she had to shop at Pier-1 and all of Harry’s stores to find just the right touches before she would move in. But when the house was done, it was a stunning display of artistic flair and fit her to a tee. And all the men and boys flocked to it like bees to a pretty flower and Jewel was as generous with her favors as she was with everything else, everyone loved her except for a few jealous women who envied her. And she loved Harry who liked her well enough but if Kathleen worried that she would replace her as his best women friend, she didn’t have anything to worry about. Jewel was too flighty to be a best friend. She was everyone’s friend.
The morning of September twenty-seventh Harry woke up and sneaked out of bed early and crept into the kitchen and baked a batch of banana nut bread with the bananas he had been hiding for this purpose. He wanted to surprise Jake and make a baby this morning and had made arrangements with DJ to milk the cows and Grace and Abby to come over to help Fran with the kids. This was going to be their special morning and he had every detail from bread to breakfast planned. He giggled softly as he fried bacon and ham. Next came the scrambled eggs with cheese and canned mushrooms, green peppers and onions and toast. When it was all ready, he carried it into the bedroom along with juice, milk and coffee. Fran walked into the kitchen and gave him a hug.
“Go make us another boy,” she said and he laughed.
“I’m going to try,” Harry said and he lifted the door opened. Jake opened his eyes when he smelled the food and smiled at his husband. Harry put the tray on the stand and deposited the pitchers on the floor.
“What’s all this, breakfast in bed?” Jake remarked. Harry grinned and sat on the bed.
“I thought my hard working man deserved a little morning off,” he told him. Jake grinned.
“What about the cows?” he asked and took a piece of bacon and put it in his mouth.
“DJ is taking care of that,” he was told. He nodded.
“And the children?” he then asked. Harry smiled and leaned down for a kiss and got one.
“Grace and Abby are coming over to help Fran, we have all morning, hell, we can stay in here all day if we want,” he told him. Jake grinned.
“Got to pee, I’ll be right back, don’t you go anywhere with that banana nut bread,” he ordered. When he returned Harry had the comforter on the floor and was spreading the food out. His clothes were off and he looked as delicious and the food. Jake admired him for a moment.
“I don’t know what I want to eat first, babe, you or the food,” he teased. Harry grinned.
“Eat the food first, honey, you’re going to need your strength,” he informed him and Jake whistled and sat down.
“Well that sounds like a challenge to me, babe, you’d better be able to pay up on that,” he teased. Harry grinned and sat next to him. He ripped off a piece of banana bread and offered it to him.
“I’m in the mood to make a baby today, honey, so eat up,” he said, giving him that sly look with his eyes half-closed and all slanty. Jake forgot all about the food. He reached for Harry instead.
“We can eat later,” he whispered harshly and kissed him long and hard. Harry sighed with pleasure and he wrapped his arms around Jake’s strong neck and held on tight.
“I want a baby, Jake, give me a son,” he whispered against his mouth. Jake’s mouth and tongue began its descent and this time they knew what to expect and it was better. They teased and tormented one another and made it last longer and harder and both of them yelled at the final release and the others in the kitchen feeding the children heard and all burst into laughter.
“Well, I guess someone just made you a little brother,” DJ told Jackson who giggled and ate some eggs. Abby giggled.
“I bet Harry’s really great in bed, he’s got that look about him,” she remarked and Grace nodded.
“Jake is handsome and he looks powerful but Harry looks like he would really know what to do in the bedroom,” she declared. DJ giggled.
“If you had your choice and could only pick one of them to sleep with, who would you pick?” he asked. They thought about it for a minute.
“Harry,” Abby said.
“Jake,” Grace said. DJ laughed.
“I thought you said Harry would be better in bed,” he said. She grinned.
“Yeah, but I’ve seen Jake naked at the waterfall and he’s got a really big dick and with those strong legs, it’s a miracle Harry can sit down,” she stated and they all laughed. Fran giggled.
“What a conversation to have at breakfast,” she said. Then she looked at DJ. “Which one would you pick?” she asked. DJ grinned.
“Well, if Jake is that big, he’s not coming near me,” he teased and they all laughed. “I’d have to go with Harry,” he admitted. “Sometimes when he looks at you with his eyes all half-closed and all slanted, he looks so sexy, and he doesn’t know how sexy he is, that’s what makes him so sexy. And his ass, my God, he’s got the best ass on the planet.” All the women laughed.
“Sounds like you have a crush on Harry,” Abby commented. DJ shrugged.
“I used to when we were boys, but he would never look at me, ever since we woke up, it’s always been Jake with him, you’ve got to admire that kind of loyalty. I think if Jake hadn’t been gay, poor Harry would have been the loneliest man on the planet.” Then they all heard another yell and burst into laughter.
“What are they doing in there?” Grace asked and then blushed.
“All I know is Harry took two loaves of banana nut bread in there and God only knows what they do with it,” Fran informed them. They all looked surprised.
“Banana nut bread?” Abby asked. She nodded.
“Jake goes wild every time Harry bakes it, they take two loaves in the bedroom and I don’t see them for hours,” Fran told them. They all laughed.
“My brother sure is weird,” Abby remarked.
Harry and Jake lied on the floor holding hands with their legs entwined, kissing and talking softly.
“We made a baby, babe,” Jake said softly and bit Harry’s lower lip and then licked it. Harry sighed and he smiled.
“I love you so much, Jake, sometimes it hurts I love you so much,” he told him. Jake nodded and he pressed his body as close to Harry as he could and held him tight.
“I know, Harry, sometimes I think I would die if anything ever happen to you, please; don’t ever leave me,” he whispered. Harry smiled and he traced Jake’s lips with his fingertip.
“I’ll never leave you, honey, you’re my whole life, without you I have nothing,” he whispered and they kissed. Then Harry giggled when Jake’s stomach rumbled. “I guess I’d better feed you before you starve on me,” he teased and they sat up and ate cold but very tasty food.
Then they cleaned up and took a shower and made love in the shower which they always enjoyed and then crawled back into bed to sleep for a couple more hours because it was their lazy day and they were tired. They woke up around two in the afternoon and got dressed smiling and happy and pregnant and Harry was glowing once again.
“Where are the kids?” Harry asked Abby who was watching an episode of The Barrones and laughing at the grandfather saying ‘Holy crap.’
“Napping, it’s about time you two showed up,” she declared and looked up. She saw his glowing eyes and grinned. “Yep, you’re pregnant.”
“Your brother is very good at what he does,” he informed her smugly and sat on the couch next to her. She laughed.
“I know, we could hear you two yelling in there, what in the world do you two do with two loaves of banana nut bread?” she asked. He blushed.
“That’s none of your business and the bread won’t talk,” he teased and then held out his hands when Jake appeared holding two happy nine month-old children.
“There’s my babies, give me one of those and I’ll let you live,” he said. Jake handed over Emma and laughing sat next to him. Harry kissed her cheeks and smelled baby.
“Why do babies smell so good?” he wondered aloud. Abby made a rude noise.
“They smell like sour milk and do-do, that’s not good,” she snorted. Both men laughed.
“Well, my daughter smells like baby powder and love,” Harry declared and they went into kitchen for yogurt and juice. Harry made them thick sandwiches and they ate with the children and the whole family was happy. Fran came out and Jake took the kids to the park while Harry made chicken and dumplings for dinner with biscuits and a fresh salad. Then he made blackberry cobbler for dessert.
The next morning they took the kids in for checkups and Harry got his scan done and it was another boy which made Jake pleased as he could be. Harry laughed and told Dr. George how Jake had predicted that all of his children were going to be boys.
“That would be terrific; we could really use all of that fresh DNA in the colony,” the older man said. He said the twins were in perfect health and they took them home stopping off at Toys R Us for some toys on the way.
The dining room was baby central with games and was roped off so that the little ones could roam around and stay safe. They could wander the dining, living room and kitchen with no problem. They had gates stopping them from going downstairs to the game room and blocking them from the food prep room.
When they got home they found Dr. Jackson waiting in the living room for them. He had forgotten about their doctor’s appointment but decided to wait. The kids saw him and squealed with delight and wanted down. Harry grinned and put Jackson into his arms.
“There’s my big boy, how are you grandson?” Dr. Jackson said and he kissed him. The little boy giggled. Then of course he had to kiss Emma and he got down on the floor and opened their new blocks with them. Then Jake grinned.
“Congratulate us, Dad, its going to be another boy around Christmas,” he informed him. Dr. Jackson’s eyes widened. He got up and hugged his son and then he reached for Harry and hugged him.
“Another boy, you keep this up, Son and I’ll have a basketball team to coach,” he teased and then went back to the blocks. Harry laughed and went into the kitchen for cups of juice.
“That’s what your son promised me Jackson, he promised me five sons and I’m keeping him to that,” he informed him. Dr. Jackson laughed and he handed juice to his namesake.
“You hear that Jackson, you’re going to have a baby brother to play with,” he gushed. “Not that a sister wouldn’t be nice because, right, Emma,” he said not wanting her to think he didn’t like her. Jake and Harry exchanged an amused glance. Yep, he was definitely a big pussy cat.
Sunday at Church Harry and Jake stood up and announced the arrival of their second son and everyone cheered and clapped for them. Jewel hugged them after.
“I’m so jealous, everyone is having babies except for me, when can I have a baby?” she asked. Harry grinned.
“Jewel, you can have a baby any time you want, you’re a member of the colony now, just pick a father and have a baby,” he said. She grinned.
“Then I pick you, Harry, will you be the father of my baby?” she asked. Jake laughed and he hugged her.
“He’d love to Jewel, Harry loves making babies, don’t you, babe?” he teased him. Harry nodded.
The next day they all went to see Dr. George and explained the process to Jewel who laughed.
“Oh, no, this is not how we do it on my planet,” she told them. Then she explained about her second stomach where her egg was made and how the sperm entered through her mouth and fertilized the egg in the second stomach and the egg was made. She then ‘threw’ it up and the egg was put on a warm bed to grow until it hatched. They were all shocked but if that’s the way it was done in her species then that was the way it was done.
So Harry got a very clumsy blow-job and Jewel barfed up an egg roughly the size of a bird egg. It was light blue and speckled with little flecks of rainbow colors. They made a bed in her house on a double bed with electric blankets and she just left it there. It didn’t have to be guarded or watched or anything. DJ and Steve put cameras on it and a security field around it for protection just in case and they all watched it grow.
“When will it hatch?” Harry asked her. She grinned.
“When is your baby due?” Jewel asked.
“Around Christmas, in twenty-four weeks,” he replied. She nodded.
“About that time,” she told him. He smiled and hugged her.
“That’s nice, our children will be play mates,” he said. She was a little bit flakey but a nice girl.
Both Jackson and Emma were walking at eleven months and Harry, Jake and Fran were running around the house chasing them.
“What walking, these two are going from crawling to running,” Fran exclaimed and the boys laughed.
“Well, think of it this way, Frannie, they’re helping you keep your girlish figure,” Harry teased and she giggled as she picked up Jackson who was headed for the cellar stairs. Jake had gone down for something and left the door opened. Harry pushed it closed by waving his hand. Emma giggled and waved her hand and Harry laughed and kissed her. Jake came up with a case of root beer and a frown.
“This is the last of the soda, babe, we’re going to have to do a bin run, we’re almost out of everything,” he told him. Harry nodded and wagged a finger at him. Jake looked at him and then hit the side of his head.
“Oh, shit, did I forget to close the door again, babe, I’m sorry, I’ll try not to forget next time,” he apologized. He kissed Jackson. “I’m sorry son; your daddy is a feeble minded fool.” Harry laughed and walked over for a kiss of his own.
The next day all of the kids except for Susie and Violet were gathered in the field with Jan, Sarek, Roger and Zach and thirty filled bins and twelve empty bins and Harry was smiling.
“Okay, team, the objective is the same as usual, soda and liquor in those two bins, coffee and tea in those two and the other bins are marked so let’s get to work and have some fun,” he announced and everyone cheered. They went to work and after five hard hours they divided the spoils of their labor and everyone is happy.
The next day Harry sent an email to everyone announcing that coffee and tea was available at the Center as well as packaged goods and everyone rushed to the Center to grab what they can. Sarek and Myla are appalled at the greed of the humans who rushed into the bins snatching at everything they could without the order that the kids had shown the day before.
“Hey, how come there’s no soda or booze in these bins, you greedy kids have taken it all again like you always do and that’s not fair,” Linda shouted and everyone turned around to glare at Harry and Jake who just shrugged.
“All of us kids had to sort through thirty bins to bring this to all of you and there wasn’t that much soda to begin with so be grateful for what you have, we didn’t have to share this with you,” Harry told them calmly. Carl nodded.
“That’s right, all of this food belongs to Harry and he didn’t have to share any of it with us so we should be grateful he is,” he declared and while some people thought that, others thought he was a selfish pig for stealing all of the soda and booze.
“That little fagola takes all of the soda and we don’t get any, that’s not fair,” Max muttered to Charles who nodded.
“Even if it was only two or three cases a house, it would be better than not getting any,” he stated and Max agreed.
“When my father comes to rescue me he’ll take all of us back to Nextarus to live,” Jewel said one day in October as they were picking pumpkins in the field. Everyone grinned and nodded. They had all heard that story before; she had been saying that since they rescued her. Now all she did was tell them stories about the beautiful planet she lived on with its seven moons and two suns. Harry sighed and picked a very large pumpkin and put it on the air-cart. He looked over at Jake and grinned.
“I think this one’s a contender, honey,” he declared and everyone turned to eye the pumpkin. Steve whistled.
“That’s a big one, how much do you think it weighs?” he asked. They all had to stop working and watch Harry put it on the scale.
“Seventy-two pounds, oh, my, that is a big one, that’s bigger than last year by six pounds,” Jan said looking at the book. Everyone grinned. Then DJ laughed.
“You know what we ought to have this year,” he said and they all looked at him. “A pumpkin chunking contest,” he declared. All the boys laughed and nodded. Kate looked confused with some of the other women.
“What’s a pumpkin chunking contest?” she asked. DJ giggled.
“You take pumpkins and you throw them as far as you can, only you don’t actually throw them, you build machines that throw them and the one who builds the machine that throws them the farthest wins,” he explained.
“That sounds stupid,” she declared. All the men booed her.
“You sound like a chicken,” Harry informed her and she looked offended.
“Oh, now that sounded like a challenge to me,” Steve remarked. Barb giggled.
“That sounded like a challenge to me too,” she admitted. Kate sighed.
“I am not going to build a machine that throws pumpkins, Henry, that’s stupid,” she said firmly. Harry grinned.
“Brrwk, Brrwk, Mom; isn’t that what the chicken says?” he teased her. She looked angry.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, I have six children; when would I find time to build this machine?” she asked. Barb laughed.
“I’d watch them,” she offered. Harry laughed.
“And you can have anything you want from any of our fifty-four stores to work with,” he offered and she held out her hand.
“You’ve got a deal, young man,” Kate said and everyone hooted and hollered. Then she looked at Jake. “And Jake can’t help you, Henry,” she called out as they went back to work. He nodded and waved. Then he looked at his husband.
“I’ve got a 217 IQ and she’s worried about your help, she should be worried about that,” he said and Jake grinned.
“I am handy with a screwdriver, babe,” he reminded him. Harry frowned.
“Oh, yeah, shit I forgot that,” he said and Jake laughed.
All the farms were informed of the pumpkin chunking contest and Harry sent out an email informing everyone that any supplies needed by anyone including people banned from his stores would be made available as long as they were for the contest and only for the contest. Everyone got excited and went shopping.
“What the hell would we want to build a machine that tosses pumpkins in the air?” Gloria asked her husband. He giggled.
“It’ll be fun, darling, and think of everyone’s faces when we win,” he said with glee. She sighed and helped him design a machine.
Harry designed his machine using the old catapult and used two giant springs to launch it. The trick was in not letting the thing go all the way to the ground; that just sent your pumpkin straight to the ground. He used the springs to give it extra lifting power and pressurized it for extra zoom. He worked in the garage at night when the kids went to bed.
They waited until after the harvest was complete and then drove out to a big field to launch their pumpkins. Everyone kept their machines under cover until it was their turn at bat and then Doug took pictures and DJ took out his video camera to film the attempts. The failures were just as much fun as the successes and everyone had a great time. They started with Farm One and worked their way to the big event which was the official challenge between Harry and Kate which they left for the last. Max was the MC.
“Okay, this next machine was built by David and it looks like a catapult to me,” he announced and everyone looked excited. David giggled as he lifted a pumpkin and put in on a giant spoon looking thing that was pulled back. Then he pulled a lever and the spoon went off correctly, but it went right onto the ground in front of it taking the pumpkin with it and smashing it all to hell. Everyone broke into laughter. He flushed with anger.
“Well, you try to build a catapult, its hard,” he snapped and Steve and Charlie rolled his machine off the staging area. There were a couple of successes and a couple of failures like Carl’s cannon which blew the pumpkin all over everyone. Frank’s rubber band tossed the pumpkin nicely but not very far. Jan and Joy’s catapult worked fine but once again, not very far. Then it was time for the challenge and Kate went first.
“This contest was harder than it seemed, it seems that it is very difficult to toss a pumpkin,” she admitted and uncovered a giant cannon. Everyone laughed thinking of Carl’s cannon. She smiled and hooked up the water hose, she and Barb had dug a well the day before. Then everyone watched, very impressed as she filled the water cannon with water, pressurized it and shot the pumpkin out and it flew about a hundred feet before it smashed to the ground. Everyone cheered and clapped. She took a bow and gave Harry a triumphant grin. Harry grinned and uncovered his catapult.
“Oh, man, you’re never going to beat her with that,” Roger exclaimed. Harry shrugged and he picked up a larger pumpkin that she had and placed it on the bowl shaped arm and pulled it back. Then he took out the remote control and turned it on. Everyone looked at one another. It wasn’t your typical catapult, maybe he had a chance. Kate’s grin turned to a frown. Then Harry pressed the button and the pressurized springs sprang and the catapult went into action and the pumpkin sailed high into the sky.
“Look at that baby fly,” Max exclaimed. It sailed and then landed way beyond where Kate’s had landed. They rushed out to measure and it was a hundred and sixty-eight feet. Everyone cheered and clapped and Kate fumed.
“I’ll get you next year, you’re going down, little man,” she informed him. Everyone laughed.
“You’re the man, Harry,” Roger high-fived him and they left the pumpkins for the birds and took their machines home. Harry’s winner sat at the Community Center for the entire year until in a place of honor until next year’s took its place. Everyone wanted their machine to take its place and began working on their designs.
For Halloween Harry dressed Jackson up as the Beast and Emma as Beauty and Fran gushed over their costumes. The Beast costume had been made from the hide of a greeny cow and was very scary. Jackson looked adorable in it. Emma was beautiful as Belle; the Beauty who fell in love with the Beast and turned him back into the Prince. Jake was going as a prince and Harry as a broom. Fran was the teapot; the whole family was in on the theme.
“Oh, my God, look at the little Beast, he’s so cute,” Linda gushed when she saw little Jackson. Everyone turned to look.
“Is that a greeny cow he’s wearing?” Carl asked and Harry grinned.
“Don’t worry, we just didn’t kill the cow for the costume, we butchered him in the spring and I saved the hide for now,” he informed them. Everyone sighed with relief. Jewel came in almost wearing a harem girl costume and all the men almost lost it. She was drop-dead gorgeous. Harry grinned when she ran to him and threw herself into his arms and kissed him right on the lips in front of everyone.
“Oh, Harry, you are such a cute little broom, you make me want to sweep,” she declared and everyone laughed. Jake rolled his eyes and pulled her gently from his husband.
“Look, I think DJ wants to dance,” he said and her eyes lit up.
“I love to dance,” she gushed and rushed off. Harry sighed with relief.
“Thanks; honey,” he said and they kissed. Carl laughed.
“The only man whose happy when a beautiful woman leaves him,” he teased and they all laughed. Harry shrugged.
“If it’s not Jake, then I’m simply not interested,” he declared and Jake beamed.
When Max announced the winner of the most original costume was Beauty and the Beast, Harry grinned and kissed his husband. Then he took his little beast on stage with him to accept the prize. Max handed it to him with a big grin.
“You’ve won this how many years now?” he teased. Harry grinned.
“Well, Max, this year I decided to sweep the floor with all of you,” he quipped and everyone groaned and laughed.
“Oh, get off the stage you hack,” DJ yelled and everyone laughed. Jackson giggled and clapped when everyone clapped. Dr. Jackson grinned.
“That’s my grandson,” he told Charles who rolled his eyes.
“I know that’s your grandson, you’ve told me a million times,” he snapped. Dr. Jackson just kept grinning.
Thanksgiving came and Jake went hunting again because Harry was pregnant again and couldn’t kill again because he was giving birth. Jake grinned and kissed him and took Jewel with him because she wanted to join in on the fun. She surprised everyone by being an expert shot. David surprised everyone by actually shooting a turkey in the head and killing it. He jumped up and down for joy and everyone cheered for him.
“Only took you seven years, Marshall, we’re proud of you,” Max gushed and Jan giggled. She had gotten fourteen birds that year. David made a face but took his bird home proudly to show his wife.
Jake got an amazing twenty birds, the best shooting and Jewel got sixteen so everyone brought home eight birds and of course Jake brought home ten for Harry to cook one for their table. He was doing two because their table was going to be so large this year. With the two combined families and Jewel there would be seven adults and fifteen children at the table. It would be the hugest one but the happiest. Harry was really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year and he and Fran cooked up a storm.
When Jake and Dr. Jackson carved the two turkeys everyone grinned and looked around the table with joy. The oldest kids were almost five and so cute it made your eyes hurt to look at them. Then there were four and three and two and one and nine months old. Harry looked around the table and giggled.
“I love this table and all the children, it’s such a happy table,” he remarked. Sissy laughed.
“It’s going to be a messy table once these children start eating,” she said and everyone laughed. Kate smiled as she helped serve food and cut up turkey for the little ones. Everyone had that detail before they could relax and enjoy their meal. Then Sissy and Dr. Jackson tasted Harry’s turkey and cornbread stuffing.
“Oh, my, Harry, this turkey is delicious and the stuffing is to die for,” Sissy exclaimed. Dr. Jackson’s eyes rolled back in his head and he groaned with pleasure. All the kids giggled.
“This is the best stuffing I ever tasted, I’ve got to have seconds,” he said and reached for the bowl. His son Monroe reached for the bowl at the same time. Dr. Jackson laughed and gave him some more too.
“What did you do to this bird to make it so moist and juicy?” Sissy asked and all the ladies laughed. Harry waved his fork at her.
“I would tell you, Sissy, but then I’d have to kill you,” he teased and everyone laughed again. Jake rolled his eyes.
“It’s Frau Ida’s secret recipe, Mom, Harry soaks the turkey in sugar and whiskey for two days before he cooks it,” he informed her and she looked surprised.
“I don’t remember that recipe in the cookbook,” she said and Harry’s moms laughed.
“That little sneak didn’t put all the recipes in the cookbook, Sissy, he kept some out just for himself, he’s like that, sneaky,” Kate told her with a big grin. Sissy giggled while Harry looked all innocent. He kissed his daughter.
“Do you hear all that slander against your daddy, Emma, don’t you believe a word, darling, they’re just jealous,” he told her and she giggled.
After dinner everyone cleaned up and went home and relaxed. Harry lied the kids down for a nap and stretched out on the couch with Bo and they snuggled. Jake played video games, sitting on the floor with Gertie by his side and Fran visited with her four grandchildren at the kid’s house. The three of them had been married in a unique ceremony by Reverend Phillip who said why not, love was love and they were on a new planet and they could make new rules.
Christmas came and Harry was once again big as a walrus and couldn’t see his feet which made him giggle. Jackson and Emma loved to pat his belly and say baby and laughed when the belly wiggled which it did often, Adam was a frisky little baby. Jake rubbed cocoa butter on him every night so he wouldn’t get stretch marks and this made Harry as horny as ever. He attacked Jake at every possible moment which caused much amusement in the house and much amusement in their friends.
“I love Christmas,” Kate gushed as all the kids opened their presents under the huge community tree. Barb hugged her and they kissed. Max was having such a good time he didn’t make a face this year. His son Paul was almost three and racing his little bike around and having a good time banging into his dad who laughed every time.
“Oh, so cute, they’re little cloth dolls,” Kathleen gushed as the twins opened their presents from Harry and Jake. They had gotten all the little ones pink and blue gingham dolls called, ‘My First Dolls’ that were made of cloth and had little bells in their heads. They were very precious. All the girls got weepy of course.
“You know I don’t remember seeing these on the shelf at the store,” April remarked. Harry grinned.
“That’s because they weren’t on the shelf, I pulled them for a surprise, you can do that when you own the store,” he told them smugly and they all laughed.
“You’re a sneaky little devil,” DJ remarked and hugged him. He was holding Emma who loved her Uncle DJ. She was adorable in a red velvet dress with a bow in her blonde curls. Gloria looked across the room at her and smiled.
“Emma looks precious today doesn’t she?” she asked her husband who hadn’t noticed. He liked date nights better when all these brats were in the next room. All this screaming and shouting got on his nerves. He looked across the room and spied his daughter and shrugged.
“She looks okay, probably has a shitty diaper, they always do at that age,” he commented and that made her frown.
“Eew, you’re probably right,” she said, glad that the brat was in someone else’s house and not theirs.
Two days later they had a party for the babies for their birthday and Fran and Harry baked two cakes, a boy one and a girl one. Jackson got a cowboy cake and Emma got a princess cake and both were very precious. Harry, who had woken with a back ached prayed that Adam would at least wait until the party was over before he made his appearance.
Everyone arrived, even granddad George and grandmom Shelley and their family and the party was going great and they had just served cake when Harry leaned over to put ice cream on his sister Tracy’s plate when a great pain rushed over him and he doubled over and gasped. He dropped the scooper and almost hit the floor. Luckily Jake saw his face contort and reached for him. When he straightened up, the front of his shirt was wet.
“I think Adam is coming, honey,” Harry said and everyone went into action. And since everyone was there, they just got into their cars and rushed to the hospital. Jewel who had never seen a live birth came along to witness it for herself.
“This is so exciting, a man giving birth, I can’t wait until February when all the ladies give birth,” she gushed. Harry grinned and rubbed his belly.
When they got to the hospital everyone swung into action and soon he was on the table and Fiona smiled and put a urinal within reach for afterwards. Harry sighed with relief remembering the embarrassment of peeing himself and she patted his hand.
“This one really wants out Harry, I can see his head,” Dr. George remarked and they all looked to see the top of the baby’s head pushing against the little belly button hold. Harry laughed.
“My back’s been aching all day, I guess he’s been telling me he wants out all that time,” he informed them. Jake looked worried.
“Why didn’t you say something babe, we could have had the party in a couple of days, the twins wouldn’t have known the difference,” he chided him. Harry sighed.
“I didn’t think it would happen so fast, honey; I thought it would wait until later,” he said. Then a contractor came and he wanted to push. His face went red and he began to breathe fast. His mother held his hand.
“Remember your breathing Henry, that’s not the way to do it,” she said and breathed with him. The baby’s head popped out and he began to cry at once. Everyone laughed. Dr. George cleared his eyes, mouth and nose and wiped his face off. He looked like Jake once again but with a reddish tinge to his curly black hair. Kate gasped.
“He looks just like Rhonda,” she said and Harry nodded. Rhonda Parks had had red hair.
It took two more pushes just like last time and the screaming Adam was out and Fiona had him over to the side and was taking care of him while Dr. George and Kate took care of his father. And like before the contractions to close the belly button caused Harry to giggle and pee himself but this time they were ready and he didn’t wet himself. They helped him onto a gurney and then Jake got to hold his second son.
“Oh, Harry, he’s so beautiful, I love you, babe,” he whispered and kissed him. Harry smiled and closed his eyes, after working all day on the party, he was especially tired. They put him to bed and fetched a bottle for the hungry little beast. He took pictures of Jake feeding the baby and wanted food. He giggled and Jake laughed.
“What kind of sandwich do you want this time, babe,” he guessed correctly. Harry laughed.
“Smoked turkey, I just took some out of the smoker, with bacon, lettuce, tomato, and lots of mayonnaise, please, honey,” he said and Jake kissed him.
“I’ll bring back the babies when I come back okay?” he said and Harry nodded. When Jake passed Fiona in the hallway she asked him what kind this year.
“Smoked turkey,” was the reply.
“Oh, I love smoked turkey,” she gushed. Jake grinned and said he’d bring her back one too and one for Dr. George also. She grinned and said Harry was her favorite patient. Jake laughed.
When he returned with two children, a massive amount of luggage and the food Harry was dozing but he woke up with all the noise and sat up and held his hands out of his children who were happy to see him. They both crawled into bed with him and gazed with wonder at their brother who woke up screaming at the noise. Jake picked him up and brought him over to introduce him.
“See Jackson, Emma, this is Adam, your new baby brother,” he told them. Jackson patted the blanket.
“Baby,” he said quite clearly. Harry beamed.
“Yes, that’s your baby,” he told him and kissed him. Both children giggled. Fiona brought in a bottle and traded it for two sandwiches. They kids played and watched cartoons while Harry and Adam ate and the two fathers talked. It was a family picnic and Harry brought out snacks for the twins who got cookie crumbs all over the sheets but who cared? They were all together and that’s what counted.
“Maybe we’ll have all of them on the same day, babe, think of the party that will be,” Jake remarked and they both laughed.
“Six cakes, that’ll be fun, think of the sugar rush,” Harry said and they laughed again. He finished and Jake handed over Adam so he could hold him and he gazed at the tiny face and kissed it.
“Oh, Adam, aren’t you the precious one,” Harry whispered and felt tears come to his eyes. Jake took a picture of him crying over his son. Harry sniffled.
“Oh, great, I look like a big, fat sissy,” he teased. Jake kissed him.
“You look like a dad,” he told him. He took the older kids to the play room because he knew Harry was going to zonk out like he did last time and when they came back later he found out he was right, Harry and Adam were both sound asleep. Jake grinned and got the babies ready for bed. He put them in the tub and then pajamas and read them a story and rocked them to sleep and put them in the cribs Fiona rolled in the room for them. Then he took off his shoes and crawled in with Harry.
Lily and Cindy came on and took turns with Jake feeding the newborn and Harry slept through it all just like last time which made them all laugh.
“He’s really knocked out isn’t he?” Lily said and Jake nodded.
“I don’t think anything could wake him up tonight,” he observed. Cindy laughed.
“I was like that too when James was born, all the kids were here making noise and I slept through it all,” she told them.
Harry woke up and found everyone awake and eating breakfast. Barb was there feeding the new baby and they all grinned at him. He smiled and stretched.
“Man, I feel terrific,” he exclaimed. His mother laughed.
“An elephant could have charged through here and you wouldn’t have heard a thing, Mouse,” she teased him. He laughed and went to the bathroom. When he came out he kissed everyone and joined them for food. Then Adam and he got scanned and checked out and they took their family home.
“Finally enough babies to go around,” Fran exclaimed when she met them in the garage. Harry laughed and handed over the newest one. She gushed and ran immediately to the group picture to determine the mother.
“Rhonda Parks,” she called out. Harry grinned at Jake.
“It’s hard to miss with that red hair,” he teased. Jake laughed.
They put everything away and got settled in. The babies were excited to have a new baby in the house and spent hours gazing at him in his bassinet. When they finally realized that all he was going to do was sleep and cry though, they lost interest and went back to playing. He just wasn’t interesting enough to hold their attention. This made the adults laugh.
“Blocks and cars are just more fun and you can throw them,” Harry surmised and Jake laughed. Harry was sitting in the dining room playing cars in the garage with Jackson who loved running them up and down the ramp. Emma loved this too and they made little noises when they did it which was so adorable. The garage had all kinds of sounds, little horns and beeps; it was a lot of fun. Just then there was a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it, it’s probably granddad,” Jake said and sure enough it was. When they heard his voice both kids got up, squealed and rushed to the foyer. Dr. Jackson bent over and they rushed into his arms.
“Where’s my grandbabies, there you are, come here for a big hug,” he cooed and he picked them up and kissed them. They kissed him on his checks and everyone laughed, and then the rest of the family arrived and it was chaos for a bit until Harry got everyone settled down with toys and drinks. Then he brought out the new baby and Dr. Jackson and Sissy got to hold him. Dr. Jackson went first.
“Oh, look at that red hair; isn’t he adorable, he looks like his daddy,” the big man gushed. Sissy grinned and made soft noises in her throat. Harry held their ten month old twins Yvette and Yvonne in his arms while they ate cookies. They were the sweetest little girls. With ten children in the house it was a very happy house. Fran was smiling. Then the doorbell rang again and Harry’s moms came with their six children and it was a good thing the house was so big because now there were sixteen children in the house. Fran passed out sliced fruit for the kids and coffee for the adults and everyone gushed over the new baby and Jake took pictures and they had a lovely visit.
Then Jewel arrived and announced that her egg had started to rock and Harry had to rush her and the egg to the hospital. DJ had set up video so everyone could watch the birth of Harry and Jewel’s child. Dr. George and Fiona were there in case they needed to be and it was very exciting.
“Exactly what’s going to happen, Jewel?” Harry asked her. She smiled.
“The baby inside will start to rock back and forth, that shows that it is ready to be born,” she told them. “Then we take it off of the warm bed and the egg cools. Then the baby begins to kick and punch the shell which is now thinner. If the baby can’t break out then it means that it is too weak to survive and then it dies inside the shell. When that happens then the shell is thrown away and the street cleaners take it away.” Everyone looked shocked.
“You mean you just toss it out the window?” DJ asked weakly. Jewel nodded.
“What else can we do with it, it is not a baby yet, it is just a shell,” she reasoned. The humans looked appalled. Then she continued.
“If the baby is strong enough, it will break through the shell and be born. Then it is a baby and we find out if it is a boy or a girl and welcome it into our family,” she informed them. Everyone looked at the egg that was rocking gently and hoped that the baby inside was a strong one. Harry decided he was getting that baby out of the shell no matter what.
“There goes a piece of the shell,” DJ exclaimed and they all saw a piece break off and a tiny hand appear and then disappear. Jewel smiled.
“This baby is strong, it wants to be born,” she said with approval. Harry sighed with relief. Then a foot broke through and everyone cheered. Another foot broke off an entire section of the shell and everyone cheered again. Then a hand broke off a big piece of the head section and they all heard a baby crying. Then another kick broke the egg in half and they could see the tiny baby and hear it quite clearly. That was enough for Harry. He walked over and fished the baby out. Jewel laughed.
“You humans are too kind-hearted, you would allow the weak to survive and weaken the species,” she remarked. Dr. George nodded.
“Even the weak have the right to survive,” he told her. She shook her head and sighed.
“It’s a girl,” Harry announced and handed the baby to Fiona who took it to take care of it. Everyone cheered and hugged each other.
“I’m going to name her Cassandra,” Jewel told them and Harry hugged her.
“Cassie is a great name,” he said and she kissed him.
She brought Cassie home the next day and they baptized them on the same day and everyone thought it was cute that both babies had red hair, it made them twins. Jewel thought this was funny and they both had Harry’s purple eyes. Cassie’s hair was exactly like her mother’s; a beautiful reddish gold and very curly, while Adam’s was a dark brown red. Jewel brought her over at least three times a week for the men to baby-sit while she ran off to Hawaii with the single people to bathe in the sun, sometimes spending the night and coming back the next day. But Harry and Jake didn’t mind, they had three and a fourth really wasn’t that much of a bother and after all, Cassie was Harry’s too so he should have half custody.
In January they took the whole family to Hawaii for the month but they had to leave in February because it was a baby year, the last one and everyone was having babies. Jewel was fascinated with live births but after watching women give birth she declared eggs were the correct way to go. It was horrific being forced to go through the actual birth process.
Eighteen babies were born in February, eight girls and ten boys but the young people were all waiting until December to have their children so that they could have them when Harry had his third. All of the adults were happy that their duty was over but they were all thrilled with their lovely families. None of them would have had four children if it wasn’t for the Bittermen Legacy Report, they would have stopped at one or two but when they looked at the third and fourth precious child, they were so filled with joy they were thankful they had to have four. Even Max couldn’t imagine his life without his precious little Diana or the new baby they named Rebecca after his grandmother.


Spring came and everyone on Farms One, Two and Three now had the actual size that their fields were going to be and they all gave a fake groan at the size and then laughed. They teased one another about that first year when they had been so afraid of the hard work and only planted half of the little field that Harry had given them. They would laugh at that field now and do it in an hour they all boasted. Now their oldest children rode on the tractors with them and they beamed with pride to show them how to plow a field. They were all experienced farmers and proud of it.
Farm Four still had some children to go before their field size was determined but they seemed resigned, at least the adults seemed that way. The children all laughed. But Jan and Joy with their ten children planned couldn’t say a word. Their house was so crowded that Harry had to give them another house and they attached it to their house to give them more room and more bedrooms. It was a weird looking house when they finished but at least they had plenty of room.
The younger kids were all old enough for pee-wee baseball so they formed leagues and had games and it was a lot of fun. All the farms competed against one another and it was all for fun and no one scored points and some kids played for both teams because Farm Four had more players so when they played against someone, some of their kids went over to the other side.
The summer was filled with games and parks and Harry took the Elizabeth and built two new roads, one a two hundred mile coastal highway up the coast north of town and a hundred miles south of town. The other road led a hundred miles to the mountains where they could go skiing in the winter and camping in the summer and they decided to build log cabins up by a beautiful lake for the summer when they could camp out when the kids got a little older.
Everyone was short of packaged goods so Harry brought out thirty bins and all the kids got together and sorted through them. He did it in a big field and only invited the people he liked like Zach and Roger and Jan plus the kids. He didn’t invite Violet or Susie who didn’t know it was going on until all the people turned up missing and they didn’t know where they had gone. Fran watched the little ones with Wendy so Jake could help and they had a lot of fun and found tons of soda and goodies.
“I get all the cappuccino,” Harry announced and Kathleen made a face.
“And why is that, oh, great master?” she teased. He grinned.
“Because I have the only cappuccino machine on the planet,” he informed her and she made a face.
“Doesn’t Macy’s have one?” she asked and he shook his head.
“You would think a big store like that would have one but they must have not ordered them,” he said. All the kids groaned.
“How about Best Buy, surely they have one,” Jan said and Harry once again shook his head.
“Nope, maybe one of the other people brought one with them, but we’d have to go through all one thousand houses to look,” he said and they all laughed.
“Well, I’m not doing that,” Charlie said and they all agreed that was way too much work. So Harry got all the cappuccino.
When they go all that they wanted and it was a lot of good stuff. Harry took the twelve bins to the center and let everyone else grab all they wanted. There were two bins of coffee and tea to divide up and they did this and this made everyone happy. They had the delicious coffee from Savannah but sometimes instant coffee was a God-send.
Adam was crawling at six months, rushing around the dining room like a little speed demon and bumping into everything. His brother and sister learned early to get out of his way or get knocked down. They didn’t like this one little bit and fussed when he did it.
“Well, next time, Jackson, move out of his way, you saw him coming,” Harry said and picked up his screaming son with a chuckle. Jake laughed and kissed him.
“He got knocked down again?” he asked and Harry nodded.
“Adam is a devil, he just races across the floor and doesn’t pay attention until he hits something and that stops him,” he said and they both laughed.
“You’ve got to move faster, Son,” Jake told his eldest and kissed him. Jackson shook his head.
“Adam bad,” he said. Jake laughed.
“Oh, sweetie, Adam’s just crawling, he’ll get better when he’s walking like you, you’re a big boy, just walk out of his way next time,” he told him. Jackson buried his head in his father’s neck. Jake grinned and hugged him. Emma giggled and threw a block at her little brother. Harry laughed because it was a cloth block and wouldn’t hurt.
“See, she’s defended him, what a little tiger she is,” he said with admiration. “Don’t throw stuff at your brother, that’s not nice,” he admonished her. She pouted. Adam crawled back in and plowed right into her causing her to fall over. She cried and pulled his hair which caused him to cry. Harry laughed and picked them both up.
“Maybe we should have spaced them ten years apart,” he said with a big grin and Jake laughed.
“This was your idea, babe, I just live here,” he teased. Harry threw a block at him which caused all the kids to laugh. Then it was time for yogurt and juice and a nap and the men rushed off to take a nap of their own. Fran sighed when she saw them rush for the bedroom.
“I don’t know where they find the energy,” she muttered to herself as she settled on the couch for some view-screen which she knew she’d fall asleep watching.
June came and the weather got hotter and Jewel decided one day to go shopping for sundresses but when she dropped off Cassie at Harry’s she found everyone was busy and no one could go with her. Harry gave her the key-card to get into Macy’s and told her to take one of the little girls, maybe Amy and Tammy but not Violet or Susie because they were banned. She smiled and kissed him and went in search of a shopping companion.
When she knocked on the door of the girl’s house Susie came to the door.
“Hi, Jewel, what’s up?” she asked. Jewel smiled at her, she hadn’t a clue as to which one this was, she wasn’t good with names or faces.
“I’m looking for Amy and Tammy, Harry gave me the card for Macy’s and I want to take them shopping with me for summer dresses, are you Amy or Tammy?” she asked cheerfully. Before Susie could answer, Violet opened the door wider.
“She’s Tammy, I’m Amy and we’d love to go shopping with you, wouldn’t we Tammy?” she said just as cheerful. Susie grinned.
“That would be fun,” she piped in and they rushed to Jewel’s car before the other two girls could come home and spoil their deception.
All the way to Macy’s the girls had a good time, laughing and talking nice. They got there and Jewel opened the store and they gushed about the great stuff. Then they picked out two bags of dresses and pant suits and shoes to match and hats and even a few pieces of nice jewelry and makeup and perfume. They had a lovely time until they were in the car coming home but then Violet couldn’t resist being Violet.
“So when you barf up an egg, does that mean you’re a bird brain?” she teased her. Jewel frowned.
“What does this mean, bird brained?” she asked. Both girls laughed.
“Like a bird, you know birds lay eggs like you do,” Violet sneered. Jewel frowned.
“I don’t lay eggs, they are formed in a pouch in my stomach,” she told them. Violet giggled.
“I watched the baby being born and I really expected her to come out with tiny claws and a beak,” she said and Susie giggled. Jewel was offended.
“I am not a bird, why should my daughter have a beak, you are being mean. Why are you saying such mean things?” she asked. Violet shrugged.
“It’s just weird, laying eggs to have babies, its not normal, and throwing the eggs out the window, that’s murder, your species are murderers,” she told her. Jewel parked the car in front of their house and the two women got out with their bags.
“Bye, bird brain,” Violet teased her. Jewel frowned and drove to Harry’s.
“Those two girls are mean, I don’t ever want to take them shopping again,” Jewel said to Harry when he opened the door. He looked confused.
“Tammy and Amy were mean to you?” he asked. She burst into tears and he hugged her.
“They called me bird brain and said my species were murderers,” she sobbed. He got angry, when she had settled down; he called Tammy on his phone.
“What the hell has gotten into you and Amy, calling Jewel bird brain after she took you shopping?” he asked and Tammy looked at him funny.
“Harry, calm down, Jewel didn’t take Amy and me shopping and we didn’t call her any names,” she told him. He looked confused. Then he called Jewel to the phone and showed her Tammy. She looked confused.
“That is not Tammy, Tammy had blonde hair and blue eyes,” she said and Harry sighed.
“I’m sorry, Tammy, it seems that Susie and Violet have played a joke on Jewel and pretended to be you and Amy to get into Macy’s,” he said. Tammy got mad.
“Those two bitches, I swear I’m going tear their hair out,” she snapped. He laughed.
“Just inform them that I hope they enjoyed their little shopping trip because it’s the last clothes they’ll ever see from Macy’s and any of my stores because now Susie is banned for life like Violet,” he informed her and she grinned.
“That’s going to make them angry,” she said and they all laughed.
“That’s what they get for tricking Jewel and calling her names, its funny because if they hadn’t have called her those names, they would have gotten away with it,” he said.
When Tammy told Amy what the two had done she got mad but when she told her what Harry was going to do to them as punishment the other twin laughed. Then the two decided that they had had enough of the rotten pair and asked Harry for another house and the men built it for them and they moved out leaving Violet and Susie on their own which they hated because now they had to do their own cooking and cleaning.
“He can’t do this to us, this isn’t fair, we were only joking with her,” Susie screamed when she got the email from Jake and Harry informing her that because of her rudeness to Jewel and her tricking her into taking her to Macy’s before her ban was lifting, she was now banned for life like Violet, Gloria and David. She was cried and blamed it all on Violet.
Harry’s birthday came in July and once again they had a big bash on the beach and everyone had a great time. Jewel was happy with her seven month-old daughter and the two babies, Cassie and Adam played together on the blanket. Gloria came by to have a look at nineteen month old Emma who picked that time to shit her diaper and throw up. Gloria ran back to David grateful that they had given her away. Harry laughed as he cleaned up the mess.
“That mean old lady ran out of here so fast, I guess a little barf isn’t her cup of tea, Emma darling,” he cooed and she giggled. Jake laughed and handed him a wet cloth. Harry wiped the naked butt and expertly diapered her. She was clean and pretty in less than five minutes and back to having fun.
“Harry and Jake are so lucky they have Fran to help them,” Linda remarked as she watched the lady holding Adam. Myra nodded.
“They were smart to grab her up years ago, we should have snatched her up, that Harry is really very clever,” she said and sighed. Four kids at home was a lot. Linda laughed and changed a diaper.
“It’s funny, I’m forty-four but I don’t feel that old, maybe having little ones at home makes you feel younger,” she said and all the women agreed they didn’t feel as old as they were.
“Kids do keep you younger,” Meri declared. “Look at Charles; he looks good for forty-seven.” Myra beamed.
“He played eighteen holes yesterday and still took the kids to the pool, I swear I don’t know where he gets his energy,” she told them. They all looked impressed.
“Max is the same way,” Linda bragged. “He’s forty-six and he played eighteen holes and still had the energy to give me a good time,” she teased and they all giggled.
August was a hot month and Max’s cows got sick and then Carl’s cows got sick and soon a lot of the white cows were sick and then one by one they started to die. Dr. Jackson didn’t know what or how but blamed it on the green cows. Dr. George and Harry did their own investigation and found something completely different. They called a town meeting to show their results.
“This is all your fault; Harry; you should have never brought those damned green cows to our barns,” Max shouted and everyone looked angry. Harry sighed.
“Then how do you explain that my cow and Fran’s two cows and Jan’s cows and some of the white cows that were in the barns with green cows are perfectly fine?” he asked them and no one had an answer.
“This is the cause of the cow’s death, a little parasite we’re calling the Memphis Parasite because we’ve determined by examining the birth chambers that it originated in them,” Dr. George announced and Harry flipped on the microscope to show them the little nasty parasite that had killed their cows. Everyone gasped.
“Are you sure this is what killed our cows?” Kate stood up and asked. Harry nodded.
“This parasite was found in all of the dead cows and in the birthing material in the birthing chambers,” he informed them. “It probably developed during the long sleep, or maybe it was there all along and would have killed them on Galileo. Now watch this,” he said. He added some solution to the slide and they all watched some cells attack and devoured the parasite.
“That’s amazing, it’s eating the parasite,” Carl exclaimed. Harry laughed.
“That’s exactly what it’s doing and this is why my cows and every white cow that’s been exposed to this little soldier has not died,” he explained. “This antibody is found in the saliva of the green cows and from what we determined is passed in the drinking water. You all know how much the green cows drool and when they drink, their saliva is mixed in the water and the white cows that drink from the same water drink some of it and these antibodies enter their body and kill the parasites.”
“Now, all of your white cows were kept separate from the green cows and didn’t drink from the same water so they didn’t drink any of these protective antibodies,” Dr. George continued the explanation. “Harry and the rest of the kids and Jan and Otto didn’t keep their green cows and white cows separate so their white cows got the antibodies.” Everyone looked at each other and sighed.
“We tested all of the animals and this parasite was also found in all of the cattle but we have developed a vaccine so don’t panic, it’s simple to give and we’ll pass them out,” Harry told them and everyone looked relieved.
“But what are we going to do about white milk, I don’t like green milk,” June complained. Everyone nodded.
“Now we can all get white cows again but it’s going to take a few years,” Harry informed them. “Fran has two cows and has agreed to impregnate them; Jan and Joy have four and have agreed to do two of theirs. Roger, Zach and Wendy have two and have agreed to do one and Otto and Lisle have two and will do one. The rest of the kids have two and have agreed to do one. Out of those, at least half or more will be dairy cows and we’ll work from there and use a lottery system to pass out the cows.” Everyone frowned and nodded, it wasn’t the best solution but it was the only one they had to work with.
“You have a white cow, Henry, why can’t you impregnate it, especially since you have to drink green milk for your healing powers,” his mother Kate asked. Everyone looked interested in knowing the answer to that. Harry smiled.
“Because Jake likes white milk, Mom, and he doesn’t have to drink green milk and neither does Fran,” he told her. “Why should they suffer because the rest of you were prejudiced against green cows?” A few people laughed.
“Prejudiced against green cows, that’s funny; Harry,” Roger retorted and more people laughed. Kate didn’t think it was funny and pursed her lips and sat down.
So they went back out to the field and got everyone two green cows apiece and brought them back and while everyone was glad to have milk and butter again they all sighed at the sight of green milk again. David giggled when he milked his white cow Mabel, happy that Harry had given it to him. If he hadn’t, he would have had one of the cows that had died and would be forced like all of his neighbors to drink that horrible green milk. And everyone knew better than to ask him and Gloria to impregnate their precious cow, they knew the selfish couple would never in a million years drink green milk for a year to produce a white cow for someone else, they were much too greedy.
September rolled around again and the harvest came. Everyone went to work and DJ and Otto made a recycling run and everyone got new bags and some cans. Steve and Synta did a toilet paper run and used the cotton from the fields and the tissue was soft and everyone gushed over it. Paper was made for the school and pretty stationary was handed out with everyone’s name on it which everyone loved.
On the twenty-seventh Harry and Jake took off for Hawaii in the wee hours of the morning to make their next baby by the waterfall on a blanket while the sun came up and it was very romantic. Harry wrapped his arms around Jake’s neck and whispered the magic words into his ear.
“Give me a baby, Jake, I want a son,” in his throaty voice, his purple eyes, dark and all sexy, half-closed and slanty and Jake felt wild desire rush over him. He didn’t know how Harry could do that to him after all these years but he still had the power to make him tremble. He nodded and went to work. He wanted another son so desperately. He loved his daughter very much but he really wanted five Dolphin sons just like his husband.
Afterwards they swam in the lake, lazy swimming, touching and holding each other.
“This is nice,” Harry declared as he wrapped his arms around Jake’s neck and floating in the water. Jake grinned and kissed his slowly. Harry sighed with pleasure and wrapped his legs around Jake’s waist. Jake grinned and placed his strong hands around that perfect ass.
“You’re like an otter in the water, babe,” he teased him. Harry laughed.
“Don’t you mean dolphin,” he teased back. Jake laughed and his fingers moved to tease that special hole. Harry moaned.
“Oh, honey, you know how to please me,” he whispered. Jake bit Harry’s lower lip gently and Harry turned around and they made love quickly and frantically, the blue waters splashing around them. The birds called and the sun shone down on them, it was a perfect day to make a third son.
When they got back to Eden, Harry’s purple eyes were glowing and Fran giggled when she saw him. They hugged.
“Congratulations you two, I hope it’s a boy, but if it’s a girl, then I know you’ll be happy,” she said and they both nodded. The next day they took the children in for a check up and Harry for a scan and Dr. George laughed.
“It’s a boy,” he announced and Harry and Jake kissed. Jake beamed.
“I told you, babe, I’m going to give you five sons,” he declared. Dr. George laughed.
“We need all of that new DNA in the community,” he informed them and they agreed. Five sons meant twenty-five different DNA’s for the community and that would be terrific. When Sunday came and the men stood up in church and announced that they would soon welcome baby Ryan into their home everyone cheered and clapped. Kate stood up.
“Five more DNA for the community, wonderful, Harry,” she gushed. Harry laughed.
“Don’t thank me, Mom, thank Jake, it was his super guys,” he told her and everyone laughed. Dr. Jackson beamed.
“That’s right, Jake, you go, Son,” he shouted and everyone laughed again.
All the girls had gone for scans. Kathleen was having a girl and they were naming her Megan, Joon was having twin girls and they were going to name them Sharon and Shannon. Charlie was having a boy and to his father’s delight was naming him Charles the third. Hans and Nyla were having a little girl and naming her Ruth and DJ and Grace were having twins and naming them Isaac and Irene. The two couples had gotten married in a double ceremony in July after the girls got pregnant.
All of the pregnant women and Harry formed a club and went for walks and exercised together and of course made donuts which was an all day affair to make enough for the whole community. And when they passed out ten dozen and six boxes of donut holes everyone knew to take them and freeze the extras. Harry and Jake kept all the food stores opened all the time and everyone could go in and fix anything they wanted anytime they wanted to. But making donuts was hard work and few tried, so when Harry was in the mood and made enough for everyone, they loved him.
Adam who was crawling early decided to walk early too and was making his first attempt at ten months and walking by the end of the month. Now that he wasn’t bumping into his brother and sister they liked him better and the three played together in harmony and lots of giggles.
Harry brought out the potty chair and tried to teach Jackson to tinkle in the pot. Fran laughed and said it was much too early but the little boy liked to play with it and every once in a while actually peed in it and when he did, Harry and Jake clapped and cheered so he did it again. Emma liked this and began sitting on it in her diaper so Harry put pull-ups on her and she got the hang of pulling them down. And Adam didn’t want to be left out and at a year-old was peeing in the potty with his brother and sister. Fran was amazed.
“If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it,” she gushed. Harry grinned.
“Well, there is one good thing to spacing them like this,” he declared and they all laughed.
Actually it was a lot of fun having two almost two year-old and an eleven month old in the house. The house was filled with laughter and joy and lots of game playing and teaching them their numbers and colors, little animals and lots of toys and books and rocking to sleep. It was a very happy house. The only dispute came whenever Harry served the children green cottage cheese with fruit, then Jake had to make his comments. No matter how many times Harry scolded him, Jake would make a face and the comments would come.
“Oh, Harry, why are you feeding our children that ca-ca?” he would ask and the kids would giggle. Harry would roll his eyes.
“It’s not that and stop saying it, Jake, you’re going to turn them away from it,” he would scold him. Jake would grin.
“Good, don’t eat that, Son,” he would tell Jackson who would giggle and eat a big spoonful and Jake would groan which made them giggle. Harry was relieved the kids thought it was a game; he dreaded the day one of them would look in the bowl and decide that it did indeed look like poop and refuse to eat it. On that day he was going to have to kill his husband.
Harvest came and everyone went to work and Farm Four won the biggest pumpkin once again with a seventy-four pound beauty that was carved for the big party. Then they went out the field for the pumpkin chunking contest and everyone laughed at the failures and cheered the successes once again. Kate did a catapult this year and it sailed past Harry’s previous year’s record and she shot him a triumphant glare. Barb giggled and they kissed and then Harry brought out his cannon and everyone laughed.
“Didn’t your mom do this last year?” Max shouted. Carl grinned.
“He’s going to blow pumpkin all over us,” he declared and people stepped back, especially when Harry loaded two pumpkins in. Then he fired the cannon and one pumpkin blew up but the other sailed past Kate’s and she glared at him.
“Cheater, you’re only supposed to fire one pumpkin, Henry,” she declared. He grinned.
“There’s no rule about that, Mom, only that the farthest pumpkin wins and mine is farther than yours so I win,” he said and the judges agreed, there was no rule that said you couldn’t fire two at once. She fumed and his cannon replaced his catapult in the place of honor and everyone laughed.
“How did you know that only one would blow up?” Carl asked him. Harry giggled.
“I practiced, silly goose,” he told him. Carl laughed.
“I guess I should have thought of that,” he said and everyone laughed.
For Halloween Harry dressed the older children as Hansel and Gretel and the little ones as Prince Charming and Cassie as Cinderella. Fran went as the evil witch and Harry as the oven they put the kids in and Jake as the gingerbread house. Jewel dressed as the fairy godmother. Everyone gushed at their costumes and Harry and his family won the most original costume award for the sixth time in a roll. All the women were jealous.
“You win every year, give the rest of us a chance,” Jenna said. Harry grinned.
“I don’t make the costumes to win the silly contest, I make them to have fun at the party,” he informed her and she didn’t believe him but he didn’t care. He loved making the costumes and taking the pictures with the kids. He pretended to put them into his oven and they giggled. It was great fun. And they hung real candy off of Jake so all the kids could eat it and he loved that.
“Is there anything that kid can’t do?” Linda remarked to Shelley as they watched Harry pretend to put little Georgie into his oven. Shelley grinned.
“You should see his house, you could eat off of the floors and they have those two big dogs and I don’t see any dog hairs anywhere when we go over to visit Emma,” she boasted. Linda looked surprised.
“But those Goldens shed like mad,” she protested. Shelley nodded.
“Fran told me Harry is like a neat freak or something and he’s always picking up or cleaning something,” she told her. They both giggled.
“I’ve heard that about them, some of them are like that,” Linda said.
Thanksgiving came and the turkey hunt was on and they found the silly birds in the exact same spot as the seven years before.
“The stupid birds are really stupid,” Charles remarked and David Marshall giggled and his gun went off, blowing a big hole in the ground and knocking him flat on his back like the first year. The turkey’s all flew away and everyone rushed to fire. David rushed to fire and almost blew a hole in Max but missed and only got his gun but the force of the ricochet sent the man wheeling into Jan and caused her to trip into Jewel and four other people went down. Steve on the far end saw this and laughed his head off.
“Marshall, you idiot, you could have killed me, you ruined my gun, I’m never taking you hunting again,” Max shouted and grabbed the rifle out of the man’s hands. David giggled and looked sheepish.
“I couldn’t help it, I think the trigger’s broken, it just went off,” he whined. Max looked at it and found it was indeed broken so he had to apologize.
“You’re right, it is broken, I’m sorry,” he said grudgingly and David looked smug all the way home.
When Harry heard the story, he laughed until he had tears in his eyes.
“Oh, man, I wish I had been there, Max apologizing to David Marshall,” he said and Jake hugged him.
“Just two more after this one and you can go hunting again, babe,” he reassured him. Harry sighed.
“After giving birth, Jake, I don’t think I can, I think I’ll leave the hunting to you,” he told him and Jake grinned and they kissed.
The next day they went fishing and the whole community came out and snatched up shrimp, salmon, cod, flounder and tuna. They were used to the weird colors now and didn’t even blink. Martha, of course, growled and climbed Harry the minute he opened the door and walked in pushing the bin full of fish. They all laughed as he peeled her off his legs.
“Martha, Martha, don’t worry, darling, I’ve got a piece right here for you,” he cooed and put her down on the floor and handed her the big piece of salmon. She snatched it out of his hand with a loud hiss and growled and ran from the room. Jake laughed and put George on the floor and handed him, his. He took it with quiet dignity and walked to the corner to eat it.
“You’d think after seven years that dumb-ass cat would have figured out by now that we’re not going to steal it away from her,” Jake said and Harry laughed.
“She’s got character,” he informed him. Jake laughed.
“She’s a character you mean,” he told him.
They ran the fish through the fish processors making nice fillets and bags of shrimp and Harry made scampi for dinner with salad and garlic bread and all the kids ate it up like it was going out of style.
“I think they like shrimp,” Fran remarked and they all grinned. Adam especially porked out and his little belly got as big and round as the cats. Harry grinned as he carried him in to the dining room to play.
Thanksgiving dinner came and the whole community went to Church and then had dinner. They were just finishing up when they all heard a strange sound outside and it sounded like a spacecraft. They all shot to their feet with panicked expressions. Jewel screamed.
“The Galaticans have found us,” she shouted and a few women screamed and some children began to cry. Then they heard another strange sound, it sounded like bells singing. Jewel threw back her head and laughed.
“It’s my father, he’s found me, we are rescued,” she shouted and ran for her coat. Everyone ran for theirs and soon the entire community was outside and watching a small spacecraft landing in the field just beyond their cars. They all rushed to meet it and a ramp pulled down and three men in fancy robes walked down the ramp. They looked identical to Jewel with reddish gold curls and green eyes. The older man in front held out his arms and with a squeal Jewel rushed to him and they hugged. Then Jewel took him by the hand and pulled him down to meet them.
“Everyone, this is my father Baron Stratsky,” she announced very proudly, “And my brothers Yuri and Chance.” Max stepped forward.
“I’m Mayor Max Tyler and I welcome you to Eden,” he said formally and they shook hands. Then the man turned to his daughter.
“Jewel, you have worried your mother very much, she has become sick with worry, we have searched all over the galaxy for you,” he told her. “You know better than to fly so close to a Galatica ship. It’s only by chance that an asteroid storm made us fly near this system and we decided to check it out and read your signature. Now say goodbye to your friends, its time to go home.” He started to turn away. She protested.
“But father, these are my friends, they have been stranded here, they are from another galaxy, can’t we rescue them and take them home with us?” she pleaded. He looked around at the crowd of people.
“What species are you?” he asked. Max cleared his throat.
“We are humans,” he replied. The Baron nodded.
“I have never heard of humans, you are the first of your kind in this part of the universe. I would like to rescue you, however, it is forbidden for anyone but Nextarians to live on Nextarus,” he informed them. He wagged a finger at Jewel who bowed her head. “Surely you haven’t promised to take them home with you.” He sighed. “You were always trying to bring pets home with you.”
“Excuse me, but we’re not pets, we’re people,” Reverend Milo told him. The Baron nodded.
“Yes, of course, but we cannot take you with us,” he said. Sarek came forward.
“Perhaps you can take me and I can get a ship home and rescue the others,” he said. The Baron nodded again.
“You are minosian aren’t you?” he asked him and Sarek nodded. The Baron gave a big sigh. “Unfortunately our two planets are under diplomatic stress right now and you are forbidden to enter our system. If I were to bring you to my planet you would be arrested and put into prison for only who knows how many decades.” Everyone looked shocked.
“Now come along, Jewel, your mother is worried,” he said and Jewel nodded and turned to walk up the ramp. Harry cleared his throat.
“Jewel, have you forgotten Cassandra?” he called out. Her eyes lit up and she ran towards him and grabbed her little girl.
“Look, Father, isn’t she pretty, her name is Cassandra,” she told him. He looked appalled.
“Jewel, you have made an egg out of your species, you know that is forbidden, what could have made you do such a thing?” he shouted and she looked down at her feet.
“I didn’t know when you were going to come, if you were ever going to come, I was lonely,” she told him, tears filling her eyes. He sighed again and looked at Harry who the little girl looked like.
“You should have known that I would find you, that I would never give up until I did, now give the child to her father and come home with me,” he ordered. She shook her head.
“Why can’t I bring her with me?” she pleaded. He shook his head.
“Jewel, you know better than that,” he chided her. “What kind of life she would have on our planet? She would be ostracized, no one would talk to her, she would not be allowed to be educated; she would be forced to take a menial job as a street cleaner and never make a good marriage and never be permitted to have children. No, leaving her here with her father is the best solution.” Harry snatched his daughter from Jewel and she gasped with shock.
“Harry, she’s my daughter too,” she protested. Harry shook his head.
“That may be true, but she’ll have a better life here with me, we won’t treat her like that and she’ll have people here who will love her and treat her like a normal person not like that, you aren’t decent people,” he stated and everyone nodded.
“You aren’t decent people,” someone in the back shouted and they sounded angry. The Baron nodded.
“You might think that but it is our custom and has been for centuries,” he told them. “You humans should stay on this planet where you are safe and hope that no other species discover you. Most of the species in this galaxy would make slaves of you; put you in their zoos or eat you. I promise not to tell anyone that I found you here since you have rescued my daughter and treated her kindly. Now come along, Jewel, your mother is worried sick about you.”
“Bye everyone, I have to go, my mother needs me,” she called out and without another word; she turned and walked up the ramp. Then the spacecraft lifted up and flew off. They all watched with shock and then Gloria laughed. They all turned around to see what was so funny.
“Well, Harry, it looks like you’ve got twins again,” she said and they all laughed. Harry held his precious daughter and kissed her. He wouldn’t have let her leave the planet anyway, even if Jewel had wanted her and they would have treated her kindly, not without him.
“Let’s go back inside, I’m freezing,” Kate said and they all went back inside for dessert.
Afterwards Harry and the boys went over to Jewel’s house and got all of Cassie’s clothes, toys and bed. The next day they packed away all of Jewels clothes and things for her so that when she got older she would know more about her mother. Then they locked up the house. Harry figured one of his kids could live in it when they got older. He didn’t want anyone else living that close to him. So a few days later when Susie came knocking on his door and said that she and Violet had had a big fight and she wanted to move into Jewel’s old house and would he please let her, he gently told her no. She pouted but he gently pushed her out of his house.
“Why would she want to move in next door?” Fran asked after she left. Harry shook his head.
“I don’t think she does, I think Violet does and once Susie was in, they would trade houses or they would make up and Violet would just move in,” he told her. “You know how she’s always staring at Jake and trying to flirt with him, it’s embarrassing to watch.” Fran laughed.
“That girl’s insane, first she had a crush on you and now she’s got one on Jake, doesn’t she understand that you’re both gay?” she asked. Harry sighed and rubbed his round belly.
“I think the only reason she wants Jake is to get back at me for rejecting her,” he guessed correctly. Then the kids all ran into the kitchen and it was snack time and he forgot all about silly girls, he had more important things to do with his time.
“What did he say, can you move in?” Violet asked when Susie came home. Susie shook her head.
“He said no, he doesn’t want anyone but family living that close to his house,” she informed her. Violet gasped.
“What’s so fucking special about his damned house, he’s not the damned king of Eden,” she retorted. Susie flopped down on the couch.
“Well he said no, so you’re going to have to find some other way to get close to Jake, although I don’t know why you want to, the man’s gay Violet, do you understand what that means, he sucks cock,” she snapped. She was tired of listening to the other girl going on and on about the wonderful Mr. Jake Jackson. First it was Harry, Harry, Harry, all the damned time. And now it was Jake did this and Jake did that and how wonderful Jake was. Why couldn’t she pick one of the single men, why did she have to pick a married man and a homosexual one for that matter?
“Oh, Jake’s not really a homosexual, I was talking with his mother and she agrees with me that Harry took advantage of Jake when he was younger and he just needs the right women to show him the real path his life should be taking and she says I’m that woman,” Violet informed her smugly. Susie grinned.
“From what we saw at the waterfall that day, I think Jake’s real happy with the path he’s on,” she retorted and Violet glared at her.
“He was only nineteen when we saw that, he’s twenty-two now and I’ll bet he’s getting sick and tired of having sex with a man,” she stated. Susie sighed.
“Well I’m not and I’m going to go look for one right now,” she said and walked out the door and over to the boy’s house. Violet sighed and went up to the attic where she had a telescope, a present from her father. She could peek right into Harry and Jake’s living room, they had all those windows and even though the glass was the kind that you weren’t supposed to be able to see through, at the right angle, she could see quite clearly. Right now Harry was sitting on the couch reading while Jake was playing on the floor with one of his brats. Two more were playing next to him. Figures Harry would be ignoring his children and making poor Jake do all the work, she thought and fumed.
“Jake, listen to this,” Harry said and Jake looked up. “By the time a child is two, his moral values have been determined. Now how can they know that? When a child is two, they’re barely potty trained.” Harry threw down the book with disgust and looked at his almost two year-olds. Jackson was coloring with his dad watching and Emma was playing with the cars and the garage with Adam. He grinned and slid down to the floor.
“Those child psychologist don’t know everything, babe,” Jake said and he leaned over to kiss him and rub his belly. “Isn’t that right, Ryan?” he asked the belly. Jackson leaned forward to yell at the belly.
“Hello, Ryan, I love you,” he shouted. Then Emma came over.
“Ryan, come out and play,” she yelled. Then Adam came over to kiss his belly. Harry laughed and kissed him. Violet watched all of this and wanted to puke. Fran came to the doorway.
“Anyone want dinner?” she asked. They all smiled. Jake helped Harry to his feet and took the opportunity to kiss him, long and hard.
“Mm, save some of that for later, tiger,” Harry whispered and the kids all giggled. Jake picked up two and Harry lifted Adam into his arms and they went in to the kitchen. Violet sighed and went downstairs. She had to figure out a way to spy on them some more. Maybe sneak into their house and put up some cameras. That would be fun, if she could get the cameras. Maybe one of the boys would get them for her if she begged and lied and said she was going to put them in Gloria’s house.
Christmas came and everyone except for Harry had had their babies and the community was now a hundred and eighty-five strong. The main hall was filled to the brim with children and Gloria and David were disgusted with how many times people kept asking them when she was going to have her two other children. And Abby who was twenty and living with Chan was getting the same question especially from her mother who wanted to know when she was going to get married and give her grandchildren like her brother.
“Mom, I’m never having children, I told you that a million times, I don’t like children,” she said firmly. Sissy was shocked.
“But, baby, everyone likes children,” she protested. Abby shook her head.
“Not everyone, Gloria isn’t having any more, Violet isn’t going to have any, Tammy doesn’t want any; just because we’re women doesn’t mean that we automatically want to have children. Now, quit asking me,” she said and Sissy nodded. She discussed the matter with Sarah and they wondered if perhaps Abby might be a lesbian.
Just in case Ryan showed up right on the clock like his brothers, Harry had the birthday party the day before on the twenty-sixth and everyone thought that was a good idea. Four cakes was fun and Jackson and Emma turned two and Adam and Cassie turned one. Pictures were taken and sent out via email and Gloria gushed over the cute shots of her adorable daughter in her pink dress. She didn’t like it when they showed her messy chocolate face after the cake was served and she had gotten it all over her mouth, hands and dress. She especially didn’t like the one showing Emma using the potty.
“How could they do that to that adorable child, showing her on the toilet, those horrible men,” she had to lie down with a headache. David giggled and thought the picture cute. They didn’t show anything important, no skin or anything and the little girl beamed with pride, she was adorable. He printed the picture and put it in his desk.
Harry’s water broke while he was serving breakfast and they all laughed at the perfect timing.
“Twenty-four weeks, right on schedule, babe,” Jake remarked as he rushed to the phone to make the calls. Harry finished serving breakfast and they left as soon as Abby and Billy and Bobby got there. Dr. George and Fiona met them at the hospital.
“I was already here, I knew today was the day,” the older man bragged. They all laughed.
“You can set a watch by you, Henry,” his mother Kate said when she walked into the delivery room. Harry grinned as he started to push. She frowned when she realized that she was late. She hurried into position and took his hand.
Ryan arrived like Jackson did and didn’t breathe until the umbilical cord was cut by Jake and then he took a deep breath and screamed loudly. Fiona took him and Dr. George took care of his dad. Kate smiled at her exhausted son.
“You don’t have to have all five you know, you can stop at three like the rest of us,” she told him gently. He smiled.
“I want five, Mom, we need a basketball team,” he teased and Jake laughed.
“Well, if you have all sons, God knows we could use the different DNA,” Kate stated and the men grinned. Then Fiona put little Ryan into Jake’s arms and he fell in love with his third son. Kate looked at him.
“He looks a little like Valerie Clark,” she commented. Harry looked at him.
“He does a little, around the ears,” he stated and closed his eyes for a minute. They took him in and put him into bed. Fiona brought a bottle for Ryan and Harry took pictures of Jake feeding him. Jake looked at him with a question in his eyes. Harry grinned.
“Corned beef with Swiss cheese and hot spicy mustard and a pickle,” he said and Fiona rubbed her belly.
“I love corned beef, Harry, good choice,” she said and they all laughed.
Jake put Ryan in the bassinet and kissed Harry.
“You did great, babe, I love you,” he whispered. Harry smiled and closed his eyes. When he opened them all the kids were there, plus Fran to help. He looked at Jake.
“What about Gertie and Bo?” he asked, worried that they had been left all alone. Jake smiled and kissed him.
“Don’t worry, Mike is spending the night and he’ll take care of them,” he assured him. Harry grinned and sat up, putting the bed up. Kids were deposited on his bed and he began to eat. Cartoons were turned on and they had a party.
The next morning the new baby arrived home and everyone got settled in, the children were sleepy and went down for naps. Then Harry giggled and gave Jake the look. Jake grinned and closed the bedroom door.
“I know what you want,” he teased him and began a strip tease. Harry sat on the bed and kicked off his shoes.
“Oh, yeah, Daddy, take off those pants and show me what I need,” he whispered and gave Jake that half-close slanty eyed look he loved so much. Jake felt his heart stop. He pulled down his pants and wiggled his ass and walked to the bed so Harry could cop a feel. Harry bent down and took a little bite. Jake laughed and he turned around so Harry could take a bite from that side. Harry slid to the floor and took the pants all the way down with him. Jake stepped out of them and leaned back and closed his eyes feeling that wonderful mouth going to work.
“Oh, babe, that feels so good,” he murmured and his fingers came up to caress Harry’s hair. When Jake was as hard as he could be Harry stood up and wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him nice and hard, tongues playing. Jake began to rip the clothes off of his love and soon he had him on his back on the bed and he was all lubed up and ready. Harry put his ankles on Jake’s strong shoulder and Jake bent over him, his strong legs straining. Harry leaned forward and bit Jake’s nipples nice and hard causing him to groan and enter him forcibly, the way Harry liked it. They moved with the rhythm of people who knew what the other liked; Harry scratched the inside of Jake’s thighs gently and drove him insane. When they found release they both gave a loud yell and laughed as Jake fell to the bed beside him and curled up together to kiss and cuddle.


Five babies two and under was as much fun as four and with three people and one who could ‘lift’ things out of little one’s way it wasn’t difficult at all, just everything they did took a while to do. And with Harry being so organized it made it easier to do everything. Little mittens, hats and scarves were always kept with the coats so they were always handy when they wanted to go outside. Boots were always kept by the door so they were always handy to locate. Tub toys were kept in a big plastic bin by the tub and put back after the bath. Laundry was done every day and put away right after so it didn’t pile up.
Everyone shared all the toys in the dining room so no one fought over anything. Harry had a plastic bin for coloring books and crayons and one for paints and one for everything and when they were finished playing with it, it all went into the proper bin so they knew where to find it for next time. Jake and Fran had no trouble at all following his simple organizational guidelines, in fact, they made their lives easier.
Ryan was a different baby from the other four, he was quieter. Sometimes Harry would go into the nursery to check in on him when he felt he had slept too much for his nap time and find him wide awake and playing with his crib toys.
“Why didn’t you cry, darling, and let me know you were awake?” Harry said and picked him up. Ryan just cooed and made a little noise. Harry sighed and changed his wet diaper and gave him his bottle. After that, he made sure he checked on him when the time was up and sure enough, every time Ryan would be awake and playing quietly.
“He’s so quiet, not noisy like Jackson or Adam were,” he complained to Jake who laughed.
“Not all babies are the same, babe, some are noisy and some are quiet, he’s just the quiet, shy type,” he told him. Harry grinned and jumped on top of him. Jake was lying on the couch and had been trying to watch a movie. The kids were all playing on the floor. They looked up and giggled at their fathers wrestling. Jake grinned.
“I was watching the movie,” he teased. Harry reached for the remote and paused it.
“Now, you can pay attention to me,” he declared and Jake grinned and pinched his nipples through his shirt. Harry gasped.
“How about that?” Jake teased. Harry grinned.
“Oh, you’re going to die for that,” he said and bending over he kissed him. Jackson came over and wanted a kiss. Harry picked him up and put him on Jake’s chest. Jake grunted.
“I’m running out of air, he’s two tons,” he protested. Harry laughed. Jackson giggled and bent down for a kiss. When he got one, Harry lifted him off. Then he bent down and kissed Jake again, this time, long and passionately. Jake moaned.
“Oh, man, not fair, in the middle of the day, in front of the kids, you’re nothing but a tease,” he declared and Harry jumped off and turned the movie back on. Then he sat on the floor and picked up a doll and rattled it for Adam who picked it up.
“That’s just something to hold you until later,” he informed him. Jake laughed and adjusted himself. Then he reached down and picked up Emma and put her on his chest.
“Come and watch the movie with Daddy, darling,” he said and she bent down and gave him a kiss. Harry smiled as Jackson raced a car up his leg and made zoom noises. Then it was time to start dinner and he went to the kitchen. Bo and Gertie, ever hopeful on the snacks followed him in.
“You two beggars are not getting anything, or alright maybe just a little something,” he said.
“Sucker,” Jake called from the other room. Harry giggled.
“Like you’re not?” he called back. Martha came in and he decided to feed the cats too and opened a can of food he had made for them. George smelled the tuna and came running. So he fed the dogs too and everyone was happy. For dinner he made meatloaf which Jake loved, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas and carrots and rolls. For dessert he made a junpar pie and fresh whipped cream and he made it from white cream so he didn’t have to listen to Jake whine. He giggled as he whipped it.
In January they all went to Hawaii as usual and had a ball with the kids in the water, all the kids loved the lake by the waterfall and no one wanted to risk swimming in the lagoon where a shark might get in. And the surf on the beach side was much too hard for the little ones. But they did have fun making sand castles and playing in the sand. The friends still got together at night to drink beer and wine and play board games and cards and Violet took every opportunity to flirt with Jake much to Harry’s amusement.
“If that girl wags her tiny titties at Jake one more time, I swear I’m going to punch her,” Kathleen remarked as they sat in the shade watching the kids play in the sand. Harry laughed and handed Emma a plastic star. She filled it with sand and dumped it out over her feet and giggled. Adam and Jackson were filling buckets and dumping them out and making a big pile of something only they knew was.
“She’s only embarrassing herself, Jake’s not even paying attention to little Miss Violet and her little titties,” Harry said and the wives laughed. April frowned.
“You’d better watch her, Harry, you never know with men, just when you think they won’t stray, there they go, look at David and Edna, she never thought he’d leave her and look what happened,” she warned him. Harry shrugged.
“If Jake really wanted to leave me there’s nothing I can do to prevent that, all I can do is be the best husband I know how to be,” he told them and they all nodded. Then the men returned with fresh cold drinks and Jake handed all of his kids a drink. He looked at the big pile of sand and then looked at Harry.
“What is that do you think?” he asked. Harry laughed.
“Whatever they want it to be,” he said and Jake grinned and kissed him. He looked at the bassinet in the shade.
“Do you think Ryan is up?” he asked. Harry grinned again.
“Probably, he’s most likely sucking on his toes, he found them this week and he loves sucking on them,” he told the others who all laughed.
“Megan found hers last week and she’s been sucking like crazy,” Kathleen said. Jake went over and picked up his son who was indeed sucking on his toes. He changed his diaper and brought him over to where everyone was and Harry handed him a bottle. Jake kissed his sweet little face.
“Sweet little baby, don’t you know how much your daddies love you,” he cooed and everyone smiled.
“You’re such a good dad, Jake,” Kathleen gushed loudly so Violet could hear. The girl made a face and rubbed lotion on her naked breasts flashing them to the group but Jake didn’t pay her any attention, his attention was on his son. He glanced up briefly but that was to look at Harry and exchange a smile with him.
“Have I told you today that I love you, babe?” he asked softly. Harry smiled and leaned towards him so they could kiss.
“I love you too, honey,” he said and they kissed. Kathleen smiled as Violet made a face.
In February Jan and Joy had their number ten child, a son they named Jeff, now they had Jamie who was seven, the six year-old twins Jason and Josh, five year-old Jon, four year-old twins Jenny and Jasmine, three year-old Jonah who was Harry’s contribution, two year-old Jeramy, one year-old Jean and now baby Jeff. Their family was complete and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Wendy had her sixth and final child, a son they named Christopher. Now she had three from each man; Luke, Rachel and Matt from Roger and Ray, Debra and Chris from Zach. They were the only babies born in February and once they were born the group decided to try skiing again and headed for the slopes. The kids loved playing in the snow as much as they loved playing in the sand. Jackson got a little cold and fever though and Harry had to heal him. Jake laughed and said it was a good thing he was around, otherwise he would have worried.
The next night Harry was called to Carl and Jenna’s by Dr. George, little three year-old Victor had picked up a virus with chest congestion.
“He’s really sick, Harry, please heal him,” Carl said when he opened the door. Harry smiled and took off his coat.
“That’s what I’m here for, Carl, don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” he assured him. He rubbed his hands together and took Victor from his mom and hugged him. “There, sweetie, it’s going to be alright, you’re going to be fine,” he cooed, putting one hand on the child’s forehead and the other on his back. He closed his eyes and felt the illness leave the little body. Then he tickled him and Victor laughed. Jenna’s eyes got wide and she smiled. Harry jiggled the boy and laughed.
“See all better, now, I bet your mom has some pudding or something good for you to eat, don’t you, Mom?” he asked her and held her son who was laughing and smiling, quite an improvement from the sick, coughing child he had been seconds ago. Jenna grabbed him.
“I have vanilla pudding and Victor loves that; don’t you, honey?” she said and he nodded. Carl had tears of relief in his eyes. He reached for Harry and hugged him.
“Thank God for you, Harry,” he whispered. Harry patted him on his back.
“That’s what I’m here for, Carl, I’m only glad I could help,” he said and Dr. George thanked him for coming. He was called out eight times that week as eight more kids of various ages picked up the same virus. Each time the parents were happy to see Harry and thanked him.
Sunday at church Reverend Milo thanked God for sending down his Savior Harry to heal the little children. Harry sighed and hugged his daughter and thanked God for giving him the gift of healing so he could heal the little children.
Spring came and after the crops were in Harry decided to build two houses on the farm and make them craft housed for the children to get together and have some place to get together and paint and do clay and other crafts. The other farms thought this a great idea and they built craft houses too. It gave the older kids a place to hang out and he made things nicer for all the kids by building a bike path through all the farms and to all the farms and to the community center and to town. Now, even the adults could ride their bikes to town if they wanted to and the athletic ones loved him. Once again Harry was the man of the hour. He sweetened the deal when he and Jake handed out really great scooter bikes to all of the older kids so they could get around town easier. They really loved him then. Their parents thought he was a really nice guy too.
“Oh, Harry’s everyone’s sweetheart but we’re still banned, I hate his guts,” Violet snapped as she watched the kids riding their scooters. Susie groaned, all the kids had gone out to the Disney store and Sunglass Hut and Amy promised to get her a pair but if she couldn’t pick them out, what good would they be?
“I’m going to try to apologize again and see if that works,” Susie declared. Violet snickered.
“That’s not going to work, as long as you’re friends with me, he’s never going to let you in his stores,” she told her. Susie sighed.
“Why does he hate you so much?” she whined. Violet sighed.
“I told you, he’s threaten by me, he knows that Jake would leave him for me in a minute so he keeps me as far away from Jake as he can, but one of these days, I’m going to steal Jake away from him and Macy’s going to be my store,” she said. Susie snickered.
“Jake will never leave his children, he loves them too much,” she told her. Violet shrugged.
“They’re not really Harry’s, they’re more Jake’s than his, so if they got a divorce, David will make sure that Jake gets full custody and Harry will only get visitation,” she said smugly. Susie grinned.
“What are you going to do with all those kids running around the house, you hate kids,” she said. Violet shrugged.
“Fran can watch them, we’ll get the house, whoever gets the children gets the house and me and Jake will spend all of our time together,” she said with a dreamy look on her face. Susie wondered what drugs she was taking. Then she decided to visit her brother for a while, Violet was getting boring with all this Jake crap.
September twenty-seventh Jake and Harry flew to Mykonos to make their fourth baby there in the field by the waterfalls. It was a magical place and with the time difference they would be back around two in the afternoon. They laid a blanket by the shores of the crystal blue waters and looked around them at the six cascading waterfalls. The sun was shining and birds were singing and the smell of flowers was in the air. Harry smiled at Jake and threw himself into his arms. Wrapping his arms around his neck he breathed into his neck.
“Make a baby with me, Jake, I want a son,” he whispered harshly and Jake groaned.
“I love you, Harry,” he whispered just as harshly and they did it with the sun hot on their bodies and sweat pouring off of them. It was hard and fast and so passionate that they screamed with the released. Then they walked down to the warm waters and lazily swam in them. It was a beautiful day. They ate food off of each other’s bodies and drank wine, at least Jake drank cold wine; Harry drank cold green milk and laughed over it. His purple pixie eyes glowed and his movements were graceful and so damned sexy Jake took him again and again; he couldn’t get enough of him. They feasted on each other.
“Now, I know this one is a son, I can feel it,” Jake declared softly and laid his hand gently over Harry’s belly as they lied on the blanket, a cool breeze coming off the water to cool their heated bodies. Harry laughed and put his hand over Jakes.
“Oh, you know that, do you?” he teased him and turned his head for a kiss and received on. He laughed. “You haven’t been wrong so far. What do you think of the name Sean?” he asked. Jake smiled.
“I like it, Sean Talbert, that sounds nice, babe,” he said. Harry smiled.
“I like Daniel too, if we name this one Sean, let’s name the last one Daniel,” he said and Jake nodded and kissed him again. With a sigh they washed off in the lake and flew home.
The next day they took five kids in for check ups and Harry got his scan and Dr. George broke into laughter and shook Jake’s hand.
“You the man, Jake, it’s another boy,” he informed them. They both grinned. Jake leaned down to speak to Harry’s belly.
“Hello, Sean, your Daddy loves you,” he said loudly. All the kids leaned down to say hello to Sean. Dr. George thought that was cute.
“Good thing you two are so young, you’re going to need all that energy to keep up with all these little ones,” he said and laughed. Harry grinned.
“Its really not that hard as long as you stay organized,” he told him. Jake laughed.
“Harry’s really organized, trust me on that one,” he teased and Harry stuck his tongue out at him. So all the kids did the same and Jake kissed them all.
They drove home and told Fran the happy news and called all their friends who were equally happy for them.
“You’ve got super sperm, Jake,” DJ quipped and everyone laughed as they gathered at their house for a barbecue. All the kids ran safely around the secure back yard watched by Gertie and Bo who kept an eye on them. Jake grinned proudly as he turned hamburgers and steaks over.
“Didn’t I tell all you fools I was only going to make sons,” he bragged and they all laughed. Steve patted him on the back.
“Well don’t get too cocky there, old man, you’ve still got one to go,” he teased and Jake grinned.
“Oh, that one we’re going to name Daniel,” he informed them. Kathleen smiled.
“Oh, I love that name, if you have a girl and I have a boy, can we have it?” she asked. Harry shook his head.
“Sorry, but we’re going to be using it, Jake’s only giving me sons,” he told her. She shook her head.
“I’m going to remind you, you said that if it turns out to be a little girl,” she teased. Then she frowned. “Who invited those two?” she muttered. Harry looked around and saw Susie and Violet strolling in the yard like they owned it. He shrugged.
“We sent the email out and invited everyone, so I guess they assumed they could come, it’s okay, they’re part of Farm Four too and it would be rude to exclude them,” he said. Kathleen rolled her eyes. They watched Violet make a bee line for Jake.
“Congratulations, Jake, I hear you’re going to be a daddy again,” Violet said sweetly. Jake grinned down at her and Susie.
“Yep, it’s another boy,” he bragged. She opened her eyes really wide.
“That’s wonderful, but don’t you like girls?” she cooed and put her hand on his arm. He grinned and moved to flip the burgers. Then he looked around.
“Food’s ready everyone, come and get it,” he shouted and everyone shoved her aside to get to the burgers and steaks. She made a face.
“Hey, I’m standing here, don’t push,” she snapped at Billy who shrugged.
“So get a plate and get in line, this is the food line, not the standing in the way line,” he informed her so she had to move aside. Jake got burgers for his kids and steaks for him and Harry and brought them over to the table and sat down. They cut them up and served the kids and Steve and Kathleen and their kids were at that table and Synta and Joon and Charlie and April were at the next and they all talked back and forth and laughed. DJ and Grace and Hans and Nyla were on the other side and the three tables with kids were the noisiest and the messiest but no one cared, they were all having fun.
Violet had to sit across the yard but she had a good view of Jake and Harry who seemed to pay a lot of attention to those stupid brats like the other parents. They were always wiping mouths and handing the kids cups or forks or cleaning up something. What a stupid way to spend your time. Billy noticed her staring and nudged his brother and soon everyone was staring at Violet staring at Jake and Harry. Susie noticed and tried to get her attention but she shrugged her off so she just grinned and ignored her. Violet finally noticed them all staring at her and rubbed her face.
“What, do I have something on my face?” she asked. They all laughed.
“So which one do you have a crush on now, Jake or Harry?” Billy teased and she flushed with angry and embarrassment.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she snapped. Mike laughed.
“Violet, we’re been staring at you for five minutes now and all you’ve been doing is staring at Harry and Jake,” he told her. She glared at him.
“I was looking at the kids, they’re very cute,” she informed them primly. They all laughed.
“You hate kids and we know it, face it, Violet, you’re secret’s out, you’ve got still got a crush on old Harry,” Bobby teased and she got angry.
“I do not like Harry, he’s a fag and I don’t like fags,” she snapped. They all got silent.
“That’s a pretty rude thing to say considering you’re at his house, eating his food and celebrating the birth of his next child. I think you should apologize or get the hell out of here,” Mike told her, his brown eyes looking fierce. Violet flushed and she stood up.
“I’m leaving, come on, Susie,” she ordered and the other girl got up.
“Sorry, guys, I’m sure she didn’t mean it, you didn’t mean it, did you, Violet?” she pleaded with her to take it back but the other girl just stomped out of the yard. Kathleen watched her go and felt some relief. She knew Harry trusted Jake but she didn’t trust Violet Emery as far as she could throw her and the less time she spent around them the better.
Harvest time came and all of the pumpkins got some kind of rot and rotten on the vine on all the farms. They had no clue as to what caused it but they burned them and treated the soil so there was no pumpkin chunking contest that year. That put a damper on the harvest celebration but they picked tons of apples for juice and everyone’s cranberry bogs produced cranberries for the first time so everyone had plenty of cranberry juice to mix with the apple. Harry juiced some of his junpars and mixed that with the apple and it tasted great so everyone else did too.
And the day he had been dreading for so long finally came in October. He was giving the kids cottage cheese and mangoes which they loved when Jake who was supposed to be away from the house racing the mini cars with guys when he came home unexpectedly because he had forgotten his racing gloves. He took one look at the green cottage cheese and made that face.
“Oh, man, Harry, don’t feed my children ca-ca,” he exclaimed. Adam and Emma laughed as usual but Jackson took one look at his bowl and pushed it away.
“No ca-ca,” he declared. Harry glared at Jake who laughed.
“That’s right, Son, don’t eat that ca-ca,” he reinforced it. Harry sighed.
“Jackson, that’s not ca-ca, that’s cottage cheese, Jake, tell him its cottage cheese, honey, before I have to kill you,” he said and Jake laughed. He reached into the fridge and pulled out a bowl with white cottage cheese and dumped some in a bowl and transferred the fruit and placed it in front of his son who looked at it suspiciously.
“Now that’s cottage cheese, Son, go ahead and try it,” he told him. Harry sighed as Jackson took a bite and grinned and took another. Adam watched him and then looked at his bowl and then went back to eating. Harry grinned and kissed him.
“Get out of my kitchen, Jake Talbert, before I reach for a knife,” he warned him. Jake laughed and ran for the door.
“Don’t you be feeding my children that ca-ca,” he teased him. Harry laughed and picked up the bowl Jackson had refused and began eating it.
“This is cottage cheese,” he told them and they all giggled. After that Jackson refused to eat any green dairy products just like his dad. Harry was pissed at Jake who just grinned and said his son was just like him.
“But he has to drink green milk for his powers, Jake,” Harry told him. Jake shrugged.
“He can drink it when he’s older,” he reasoned. Harry sighed and left it alone. When the other kids started levitating and healing stuff, he knew Jackson would want to do all that too and he would come back to green milk.
Halloween came and Harry dressed all of his kids as beautiful tropical fish from Memphis. He got them out of a book and used silky fabric and wires and they were so cute. He, Jake and Fran were tropical fish too and the whole family was bright and colorful and stood out in the crowd at the center. Everyone gushed over their costumes and of course they won the original costume award again but no one was jealous, Harry deserved it for his creativity.
Thanksgiving came and David Marshall almost ruined it by going out hunting by himself before the others went and scaring away all the turkeys. He got one but they had to go further and find another group to shoot theirs. No one knew where he got the rifle because Max refused to lend him one after he almost killed him the year before. But they found some and Jake got his twenty and brought home nine for Harry who cooked two for their dinner. It was their eighth Thanksgiving on the planet and everyone thought they should plan a special celebration for March ninth, fourteen forty-two; fifty-eight when they would have been on the planet for ten years. Harry thought this was a splendid idea and starting writing a speech, because after all, he was the first one awake and he had to be the one to tell the story of how they got here.
“This is the best turkey and stuffing I’ve ever tasted, Harry, you’ve done it again this year,” Dr. Jackson gushed as he stuffed his face. Jake laughed as he watched his dad eat. Everyone grinned. Kate laughed.
“One of these days, young man, you’re going to have to share this recipe,” she declared and all the women nodded. Harry grinned.
“A man’s got to have some secrets, I’ll share with my kids,” he promised as he wiped Cassie’s mouth and handed her a cup to take a drink. She blew bubbles so he took it away, she must not have been thirsty or she would have drunk instead of doing that. Jake grinned.
“This is fun, I really love all of us sitting down eating together like this,” he said and Sissy smiled and wiped one of the twin’s mouths.
“Nothing is more important than family,” she gushed and Abby rolled her eyes. Jake smiled at her. He knew she’d rather be anywhere but here, but he really like these family affairs and being surrounded by all these children. He winked at his two brothers who giggled.
“Monroe, Dwight, why don’t I take you roller staking tomorrow,” Jake said and they both nodded. He turned to the other side. “Tracey, Travis, I’ll pick you up too,” he offered and they grinned.
“That’s nice of you, Jake,” Kate said, hoping that he’d take the next two but he didn’t offer so she didn’t say anything. Harry grinned knowing what she was thinking but four kids were all Jake could handle on his own and he knew his limitations. Eight would have been too many.
The next day while Jake took the four older kids skating Harry played with his kids in the yard. They were raking leaves with little rakes and he was doing work while they were having fun and the dogs were running around and it was fun. Ryan was inside with Fran and it was a nice time.
“Hey, Harry, that looks like fun, can I come play?” Susie called from the gate. He looked up and saw her standing there. So he waved and she came in. He wondered what she wanted and figured it had something to do with her being banned. She walked over and stood next to him and looked nervous.
“Harry, I’m really sorry about what happened with Jewel, really I am, but I want you to know that I didn’t say anything bad to her, it was all Violet, I just went along with her, she was the one who came up with the idea of pretending to be Tammy and Amy. I was going to tell Jewel I wasn’t them but Violet said we were and I didn’t want to make her out to be a liar and I didn’t say anything mean to her, it was all Violet’s fault, she’s always getting me into trouble. I’d move out but then I’d be all alone and I don’t want to be alone. Please don’t ban me anymore from your stores, if you don’t I’ll tell you everything Violet’s planning. She really has this thing for Jake and she wants to steal him from you,” she rushed everything out before Harry could say a word but when she got to the thing about spying on Violet for him, he couldn’t take anymore. He used his power to lift her off the ground. She gave a little squeal and shut up. Then he gently put her down.
“Susie, for heaven’s sake, slow down and take a breath,” he told her. She took a deep breath. “I understand about you not wanting to be alone and I wish I could lift the ban for you, darling, but if I did then you would just get stuff for Violet and you know you would,” he said and she blushed.
“Now I know that you probably didn’t mean to deceive Jewel and you didn’t say anything mean to her but you did go along with Violet when she did and you did steal from me and you know that was wrong,” he said firmly and she nodded sadly. “I’ll tell you what, you bring me everything that you stole, everything, even if you’ve worn it and I’ll only ban you for three years, how about that, that’s the minimum first sentence for shop-lifting back on Memphis.” She looked excited.
“Really?” she said and he nodded. “Okay, I’ll be right back,” she rushed away and drove off. He shook his head and went back to raking.
“You’re not really given him everything are you?” Violet asked as she watched Susie fold all of the clothes neatly into the Macy bags. Susie nodded.
“That’s pretty dumb, how’s he going to know, I’d keep the jewelry at least,” Violet advised her. Susie looked at the pretty earrings for a moment and then shook her head.
“Every time I listen to you I get into trouble, no way, everything goes back,” she decided and put it all into the bags and drove back to Harry’s. He accepted the bags with a smile.
“You do know that I’ll know if everything is in here,” he told her. She looked confused. He explained. “I can watch the security video and see what all you girls picked out and compare it to what’s in the bags and I’ll know if anything’s missing,” he told her. She shook her head.
“Harry, it’s all in there, I promise. Violet tried to convince me to keep some of the jewelry but I put it all in the bag, I swear,” she said and he believed her. He smiled.
“Okay, three years from today you’ll be officially un-banned, I hope you’ve learned something from all of this, Susie, I really do,” Harry said sternly. She nodded.
“I’m never stealing again, never,” she promised. She hugged him and left. He took the bags in the house and put them in the closet to sort through later. At least she learned something and maybe the next time Violet came up with some wild stupid plan, Susie just might tell her to go to hell, just maybe.
Jake came back from the races to find the house quiet and Harry lying on the couch, he smiled and crawled in with him. They kissed and cuddled and Sean kicked him. He laughed.
“Someone’s awake,” he teased. Harry grinned.
“He’s going to be a soccer player this one, forget about basketball,” he groaned. Jake rubbed his belly.
“Poor, babe,” he nuzzled his neck and felt Harry grow between them. Harry laughed.
“Someone’s feeling frisky, you must have won,” he teased. Jake nodded.
“I beat the pants off of DJ, he must be getting old,” he declared and his hands came down to unzip Harry’s pants and slip in. Harry moaned and moved a little to allow him access.
“Nice hands,” he murmured. Jake smiled.
“Where’s Fran?” he asked softly. Harry grinned.
“She’s over at Edna’s and won’t be back until late, she’s having dinner there,” he said with a sly look. Jake shivered. He stood up quickly and began to undress. Harry grinned and was naked before he was. Jake reached for the lube Harry always kept in his pocket and Harry knelt on the couch with his back towards Jake and his face leaning on the back of the sofa. Jake grinned as he looked at that fine ass. He knelt on the floor and buried his face in between the cheeks and pulled them apart. His tongue came out and Harry groaned.
“Oh, God, honey, you drive me crazy,” he muttered. Jake grunted and went to work; he wanted to drive Harry more than crazy; he wanted to drive him insane.
Down the street Violet was peering in her telescope and couldn’t believe her eyes. Jake was not doing what it looked like he was doing, was he? It looked like he was licking Harry’s ass but that couldn’t possibly be real, people didn’t do gross stuff like that. That was totally disgusting. That was where the shit came out of and he was putting his tongue there. Then he stood up and smeared some stuff on his dick, the biggest and most beautiful one she had ever seen and stuck it in Harry’s asshole. My God, she thought, he’s going to get shit all over it. And he wore the most wonderful expression on his face, Harry did too. Like what they were doing was the most enjoyable thing in the world when it had to have hurt. That big thing up that little hole, my God, Harry must in tremendous pain but by the look on his face; he was loving it! And Jake was playing with his little titties like he would a woman’s and Harry seemed to like that too.
Then they both gave out a yell and Harry shot his load into his shirt and Jake must have did his inside of Harry because she didn’t see it come out anywhere and then they lied on the couch and cuddled and kissed and Jake rubbed that big disgusting belly which made Harry looked like a beached whale and then laughing they picked up their clothes and went into their bedroom. Violet thought the whole scene totally gross. Is that what gay men did to each other? She had thought all they did was like blow jobs and she could understand that. But this other; how could Harry like that? She could understand how Jake could like it. It was a tight hole and all men liked a tight hole. But what did Harry get out of that?
Christmas came and the whole community celebrated in the main room of the center and everyone gushed over the children who were getting bigger. Now all of the children were had been born on the planet were now seven and everyone wondered where all the years had gone too. No one looked any older though and no one felt any older, they put it down to healthy food and clean air and water and no pollution.
“Look at Emma in her red velvet dress, doesn’t she look darling?” Gloria gushed. David looked across the room and shrugged. The two girls, one in red and the other in pink did look very pretty. Harry was holding them and Emma picked that moment to stick her fingers in her nose and spoil the picture. Gloria made a face and sipped her wine.
“Kids are so disgusting,” she said and she was glad she had gotten rid of that one. David agreed and they left the party early liked they always did.
“Take your finger out of your nose, Emma Rose; are you digging for gold?” Harry teased and she giggled and brought out a big piece of snot and showed it to him. He rolled his eyes and Jake took out a hankie and wiped it.
“Next time use a hankie, darling,” he whispered and she nodded. Harry grinned and Jake kissed him. Violet saw this and shuddered. How could they show their faces in public knowing what they did? How could they touch their children after what they did? She looked over at the other gay couple Phillip and Stuart and figured they did the same thing. Gay men were disgusting; she went to see her father and told him that. He looked shocked.
“Now, Violet, it was our Lord Jesus Christ who said, Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, it is not our place to judge, Judge not lest ye be judged,” he told her. She shrugged.
“But Daddy, don’t you find that what they do in bed is disgusting?” she asked him. He nodded.
“But God loves the sinner and hates the sin,” he told her. She shook her head.
“It’s hard for me to separate the two, I can’t hate the sin and not hate the sinner,” she said and he patted her hand.
“Harry, Jake, Phillip, and Stuart are good people and good fathers, in time they will see the light of God and they will turn from their life of sin and find a better life, until then, all we can do is pray for them,” he said and she nodded.
“Maybe, Daddy, but I feel so sorry for poor Sissy, she must be going out of her mind knowing that her son Jake is with that disgusting Harry,” Violet spat and Reverend Milo was shocked, he had thought she still had a crush on Harry and now it appeared that her crush had switched to Jake. He looked over at the two men who looked so happy with their five children and sighed. Sometimes it was so hard for him to keep the hatred of the past from making him feel so guilty and it made him feel ashamed about the way he had treated all of the homosexuals he had come in contact with back on Memphis. Now that he had lived with Phillip, Stuart, Jan, Joy, Kate, Barb, Harry and Jake and knew them for the kind, gentle, good people that they were, he knew that everything he and his fellow Church members had been told about homosexuals had been told out of ignorance and fear. He sighed and patted his daughter on her back and hugged her.


Chapter Three

They had the children’s birthday party the day after Christmas as they had done the previous year and Fran and Harry made five little cakes which everyone gushed over and Dr. George and Shelley came with their children to see Emma turn three. She was the most adorable little girl with her blonde curls and bright blue eyes and for a moment they both regretted not taking her. But Jackson kept hugging his sister and she obviously adored him too so they decided they had made the right choice. Especially since they had Georgie who was seven, Andrea who was five, Doris who was three and little Ted who was one. They had their hands full with their own children, they didn’t need twins. They didn’t know how the boys did it; even with Fran to help, five little ones and a sixth on the way; that was way too many children in their eyes.
“Great party, Daddy,” Harry gushed to Jake that night as they climbed into bed. Jake grinned.
“I think they got more cake on them than in them, babe,” he teased. Harry giggled.
“I think so too, but that’s the fun of it, what’s the sense of turning three if you can’t eat cake with your hands?” he teased back. Jake reached for the cocoa butter.
“You look like this one’s going to explode out of you,” he remarked and they both laughed.
“This one wants out something fierce, he’s been kicking my belly button and trying to force his way out,” Harry giggled. Jake grinned.
“Sean, it’s not until tomorrow,” he told the belly sternly and Harry giggled again. Then Harry got that look in his eyes.
“Say, have you ever made love to a man with five kids on the night before he gave birth to his sixth?” he asked suggestively with his eyes half-closed and slantly. Jake shivered and wrapped his arms around his love.
“No, babe, I never have, but I’d love to,” he whispered and kissed him hard and passionately. Harry whimpered and they made love nice and slowly and then fast and hard the way he loved it. The dogs lied on the floor and laughed at them.
A terrible pain in his gut woke Harry up at four in the morning and he felt a gush of water rush out of him. He groaned and shook Jake.
“Honey, the baby’s coming, you’ve got to get up,” he said sleepily. Jake shot out of bed and reached for his clothes and turned on the light.
“Oh, my God, Harry; are you alright?” he asked with panic in his voice. Harry sat up and giggled.
“I’m just having a baby, I’m not dying,” he declared and began rubbing his belly. Then he looked down at the gaping hole. “But we’d better call everyone fast, this one wants out and he wants out now,” he said gasping. Sticking out of the belly button were two little feet.
“Jesus Christ,” Jake swore. He rushed Harry to the car and on the way called everyone and told them to rush to the hospital. They even called Fran to wake her up and didn’t take the time to stop by her room Jake was in so much hurry.
When they got there they were the first to arrive so Harry used his I.D. to get them in and they turned on all the lights and everything was all set up. Jake helped him get out of his clothes and into the hospital clothes and he got into his and a contraction hit and he helped him onto the table and Harry just had to push.
“I have to push, Jake, get ready to hold your son,” he yelled and Jake sat down and nodded.
“Okay, babe, I’m ready,” he said and Harry pushed and the baby came halfway out. Then Harry relaxed for a moment and Jake held onto the tiny body with a cloth feeling very calm. Then Harry pushed again and the tiny shoulders came out and just the head was left in and another contraction came and the head was out. Jake cleaned the face like he had seen the doctor do four times before and then Dr. George was there huffing and puffing like he’d been running.
“I see you boys started without me this year,” he teased and both men grinned. Dr George tied off the cord and Jake cut it and Sean let out a fierce scream and they all laughed. Then Fiona rushed in right on time to take the baby and laughed when she found out that Jake had delivered his own son.
“Well, after three you should know what to do,” she teased. Jake grinned and kissed Harry who grinned at him. Dr. George took care of him and ran for the urinal and everything was fine.
“Kate’s going to be pissed that you forgot to call her,” he remarked and Jake slapped the side of his head.
“Oh, shit, I knew there was someone I forgot to call,” he said and Harry kissed his hand.
“Oh, well, she’s going to have to understand, honey, its not every day you get to see your baby’s feet sticking out like that, you panicked and I panicked,” he told him and they all laughed.
“Here’s Sean Talbert and he’s got pretty feet,” Fiona declared and they all laughed again. Jake held him.
“Hello, Sean, guess you really wanted to say hello,” he whispered and kissed him. Harry smiled and kissed him too. Then they put him in his old room which was beginning to feel like home and Jake got to feed him. Fiona peeked in.
“You know, Harry, I could really go for a cheeseburger,” she declared and Harry’s eyes lit up. Jake laughed.
“Cheeseburgers it is, you guys want bacon on those,” he asked and they both grinned and nodded. He laughed again.
“With onions and pickles, honey, and lots of mayonnaise,” Harry said. Jake leaned forward to kiss him.
“Thanks for my son, Harry, you did a great job,” he whispered. Harry touched his cheek.
“You did a great job, Jake, you were fantastic,” he told him. Jake beamed and looked down at his son.
“I can’t believe I got to hold him first, even before the doctor,” he gushed and Harry grinned, then he closed his eyes to snooze. When he woke them it was eight in the morning and the whole family was there and he was having cheeseburgers for breakfast and having the time of his life.
Ryan took one look at his new baby brother and declared him ‘my’ which made everyone laugh. But the little boy obviously meant it because once they took Sean home; Ryan spent every second he could and followed Sean around. When he was sleeping he would sit near the bassinet and wait for him to wake up. Harry put them both in the same room because Ryan was so attached to the baby and fussed when they were apart. And the new baby was a happy babe and Ryan changed overnight from a quiet shy little boy to a laughing giggling boy and Harry didn’t want to take the chance of him changing back. Now Ryan would sit for hours with his brother and the two of them would giggle together speaking a language only they could understand. It was wonderful.
“You should stop now, Henry,” his mother Kate told him. “All of your children have playmates, Jackson has Emma, Adam has Cassie and now Ryan has Sean. The next child will be a lonely child with no one to play with. Why do that to him or her? Stop now.” Harry was appalled.
“Mom, the next child will have four brothers and two sisters to play with and he’ll only be a year younger than Sean, of course the other children will play with him. Don’t be silly and he’ll have me and Jake, he won’t be a lonely child, where do you get these things you say, out of a hat?” he retorted. She shook her head.
“Mark my words, you’re going to regret having the seventh,” she warned him. He wanted to kill her.
“Well, the next baby will definitely be Ester Chang’s baby, don’t you want to see her genes passed on?” he teased her and she flushed.
“Of course I do, I loved Ester, she was brilliant, oh, never mind what I said, have the baby, Ester’s genes deserve to be passed on to future generations,” Kate declared. Harry giggled and went to the kitchen for apple slices to pass out to the kids. She frowned
“They’re going to get all sticky and smear that all over the furniture, for heaven’s sake; why not do that in the kitchen?” she snapped. He grinned and showed her the wet towel he had brought to wipe sticky hands.
“I’ve got it covered, Mom,” he informed her and she smiled.
“Of course you do, Henry,” she said and kissed him and the new baby and went home.
Dr. Jackson came to see the new baby and all the little one squealed and raced to meet him. He knelt on the floor so they could all rush into his arms for a group hug.
“How are my grandchildren?” he boomed and they all giggled as he kissed them and they kissed him. He loved his grandchildren and they loved him. He picked up all five and carried them laughing into the living room and sat on the rug with them. Harry and Jake laughed and Jake brought out the newest one for him to hold.
“Another son, you the man, Jake, you’re getting me that basketball team to coach, I just know you are,” he bragged and Jake laughed. Then he told his dad how Sean had arrived feet first sticking out of Harry’s belly and he had to deliver him at the hospital before anyone else arrived. Dr. Jackson was really impressed.
“You delivered him yourself, I’m proud of you, Son, mighty proud, you hear that Sean, your daddy brought you into this world, that’s impressive,” he gushed and he kissed the baby while Harry took pictures. Then he had to feed him and while he was changing him, Sean peed on him and this made him laugh up a storm. Then he played with the little ones and guess accurately that Emma’s picture was a purple frog when Jake couldn’t.
“Oh, yeah, Son, see the legs, that thing’s gonna hop right off the page,” he declared and hopped the picture off of all the children’s heads to make them all giggled. Harry could have kissed him; he was so good with the little one. When he left he invited him and the family to dinner Friday night.
“Bye, Jackson,” he said and gave him a big hug and got one in return. Dr. Jackson smiled down at him.
“You did great, Harry, those are beautiful children,” he gushed. Harry grinned.
“Your son gave them to me,” he said and the older man laughed.
“Yes he did, see you Jake,” he hollered. Jake waved.
“I never thought I’d live to see the day when my Dad would hug you,” he said wrapping his arms around his love and nuzzling his neck. Harry shivered and grinned.
“Hey, you just have to know what to give the man, I just gave him six grandchildren,” he teased. Jake’s hand went down to see if the nuzzling had an effect and it had, Harry was nice and hard. He laughed.
“Works every time, that’s what I love about you, babe, you’re so easy,” he teased. Harry turned around and wrapped his arms around his neck.
“You’re mighty brave considering I know all your buttons, honey,” he warned him. Jake laughed.
“Yeah, but all the children are awake, you can’t do anything,” he bragged. Harry laughed.
“Nap time,” he announced and Jake laughed again.
“You don’t play fair,” he complained and his hands came down to cup that perfect ass. Harry shrugged.
“You started this, now I’m going to finish it,” he informed him, and then he grinned. “Besides, it really is nap time and now you’ve made me nice and frisky so if you turn me on, now you’ve got to turn me off,” he told him. Jake kissed him.
“Why do you think I turned you on, babe, I was feeling frisky myself,” he teased him. Harry giggled.
“I figured that’s why you did it, you’re a rascal Jake Talbert, good thing for you I happen to love rascals,” he declared and Jake grinned. He rather loved being called a rascal. They put all the kids down for a nap and when they were all sound asleep in their beds they sneaked off to their beds for some frisky playtime. Fran giggled and went to lie down in her room. Six children were fun but she needed a nap sometimes too.
January came and the whole family rushed off to Hawaii for fun in the sun. For the first time in years they didn’t have to rush back in February for the birth of a baby and stayed for the whole rest of winter and it was so relaxing. Some of the other farms came over too and soon the whole town was there. Who wanted to stay in the snow when they could relax in the sun? Harry brought all of the chickens and farm animals and put them in the barn so he wouldn’t have to go back and forth to care for them and this worked out fine.
Little Miss No Boobies continued flashing them to Jake every chance she got but he was so busy with his six kids he didn’t pay her any attention which frustrated the hell out of her. Violet did everything she could to get him to notice her but if he wasn’t with Harry and the kids, he was with Steve and the men racing Jet-skis or surfing and she couldn’t do either because she was terrified of sharks. This amused Kathleen and the other wives who watched her little maneuvers and wanted to smash her face in. How dare she try to beak up the best marriage in town!
“Ryan is really a different kid isn’t he?” April remarked as they watched the giggling little boy chatting with Sean as the two sat in the shade. Sean was sitting up in his carrier playing with his toes while his brother played in the sand next to him. Harry grinned.
“It’s great, he used to be so quiet and I worried about that. I know that some kids are quiet but he was too quiet, now he’s so happy, I guess he just had to have a twin of his own,” he said and they all laughed. Kathleen hugged him.
“I worry about Megan feeling left out with the twins, that’s why I’ll be glad next year to have another and I hope it’s a boy, then I’ll have two of each,” she said and they all nodded. Then Harry told them what his mother had said and they all agreed that with four brothers to play with a fifth brother wouldn’t be lonely.
“Besides, Harry, you have to have the fifth one, you can’t leave an egg in there, it would be like murder,” Grace said and he nodded.
“That’s how Jake and I feel, to leave an egg inside would be like murdering the baby; how could we do that?” he asked softly and rubbed his now flat belly and grinned. “Two hundred sit-ups and day, ladies and Harry is back in shape,” he bragged and Kathleen threw an ice cube at him.
“Don’t remind me, this time next year we’ll all be trying to lose baby fat,” she moaned and they all giggled. Violet watched them and envied their closeness. She didn’t have close women friends like that and wondered why. She was nice, why didn’t anyone sit in one place like that for hours and talk with her? They all got up and left her after a few minutes saying they had to do this or go there, it wasn’t fair. They all sat with Harry. Whenever he showed up anywhere people would stop what they were doing and rush over to chat with him, and not just the women, the men too. What was it about him that made him so God-damned special? She fumed as Jake and the other men returned from their fishing trip and joined the men. He picked up Emma and Cassie and sat next to Harry and kissed him like he always did. The two of them were always kissing like they couldn’t get enough of each other. God, they have been married for four years now and together for almost ten years, did they really have to kiss each other all the damned time? It was revolting to see that all the time. She made a face and returned to the book she was pretending to read.
“I caught us three tuna for dinner tonight, babe, big ones,” Jake bragged and Harry kissed him again.
“My mighty hunter,” he declared and Jake grinned. DJ waved his hands.
“Man those fish were really biting today and we saw this really big shark, it must have been twenty feet long, wasn’t it guys?” he asked and they all nodded. Grace shuddered.
“I hate those things,” she declared.
“I don’t see how you guys can Jet-ski knowing that those things are in the water with you,” Abby told them. Jake grinned.
“The trick is to go faster than the sharks, Sis,” he informed her smugly and all the men laughed. Harry giggled.
“As long as you fools stay on the skis,” he said and all the women nodded.
“You wouldn’t catch me on one of those things,” Nyla declared. All the women agreed. Then it was time to take the kids in and get ready for dinner so they rounded them up and headed for home. Jake took three and Harry grabbed three and they laughed trying to figure out how they were going to manage number seven.
“Well, I’ll just lift that one,” Harry said and Jake laughed.
“I knew that talent would come in handy, babe,” he declared and they kissed before they went inside. Violet saw this last kiss and fumed. Christ they were at it again, did they ever stop!
Jake got the kids all washed up while Harry cleaned and grilled the tuna and set the table. Then they carried the bowls of food that were all ready, Harry had made salads earlier and they fixed the kids plates and filled glassed with iced tea and sat down to eat. All the kids loved fish and they gobbled up the food because playing in the sun made everyone one hungry. There was freshly made bread and butter to go with it and everyone smiled and munched away.
“This bread is really good, babe, you like the bread, Jackson?” Jake teased his son who grinned and ate more. Harry laughed and wiped the butter from his face. All of his men had hearty appetites. And his girls too, Emma was gobbling up her tomato and cucumber salad like a starving man while Cassie was eating all of her tuna. He and Jake exchanged a pleased smile; they did love to see the kids eating well. For dessert there was fresh fruit with ice cream which all the kids loved. Harry wiped hands and set the kids in front of cartoons which they allowed in the evenings after dinner while Jake started the cleanup. When the kids were settled and Sean was in bed Harry came to help, but it was almost done so he wiped the table and swept and mopped the dining room floor and then did the kitchen while Jake sat with the kids. They had it down to a fine art.
Then it was time for baths and Harry did the two younger boys first and they let the older kids stay up a little bit longer since they were older. Then the younger ones got stories and bedtime. Then Harry did the two girls and Jake did the two boys, they took turns and switched every other night. Then it was stories and kisses and bed time. Then Harry and Jake cleaned up and Harry did two loads of wash like he did every night, you had to keep up or you got over-whelmed and they snuggled on the couch and watched a movie while the clothes ran. They talked about their day and held hands. Then they folded the clothes and left them in the laundry room and checked on the kids before they went to their room for the night.
“Oh, what a lovely day it was today,” Jake sighed as he climbed into bed. Harry grinned as he hopped in his side. He snuggled in and reached for his favorite play toy. Jake grinned and rolled over to face him and reached for his.
“You’re not too tired after doing laundry?” he teased. Harry reached out to bite his lower lip.
“I’ve been thinking about this all day, lover boy,” he whispered in that husky voice that sent shivers up Jake’s spine. Jake trembled and he nuzzled Harry’s neck and felt him grow in his hand. He laughed and bent his neck to tease one of those perfectly round cinnamon color nipples just to hear his love moan. He wasn’t disappointed. He felt the power rush through him and then felt sharp fingernails lightly scratch his inner thigh. He shivered.
“Oh, now you’ve done it, babe,” he declared harshly and climbed on top of Harry and pulled his legs apart and up over his arms. “You’re mine now,” he told him and reached for the lube. Harry’s eyes were half-closed, dark and gleaming with lust and all slanty like Jake loved them.
“Promise?” he whispered and lifted his arms up to hold on to the rails of the bed in anticipation. Jake grinned and took him fast and hard the way he knew he liked it and the way he liked it, God, he loved this man. Harry reached up and pinched and licked Jake’s dark nipples driving him insane and they both yelled harshly trying not to wake the kids or Fran when they came. They laughed softly against each other’s body while they snuggled afterwards.
“Oh, God, Harry, I love you,” Jake whispered and he held him as close as he could. Harry wrapped his arms around Jake and pressed his cheek against his strong chest, feeling those curly black hairs against his cheek.
“I love you so much, Jake,” he whispered back. They fell asleep holding each other. The dogs hopped up on the bed and took their positions, Bo at Harry’s feet and Gertie at Jake’s and soon the whole house was fast asleep.
March came and they were back in the fields planting their crops and everyone was happy. They did another run for toilet paper and another run for recycling and this made everyone happy. Harry went fishing and this made everyone happy again. Everyone did spring cleaning and people decided they were sick of their old furniture so Harry brought out bins of furniture from houses he had and everyone loaded up their old and switched to new and they didn’t even mind putting the new together. Harry and Jake kept their old stuff, they liked it and they didn’t want new, they were very happy with the old.
They brought out thirty bins of packaged goods and sorted through them and Kathleen had scored a cappuccino maker so Harry had to split the mixes with her but he didn’t mind at all, he wasn’t a greedy person. Everyone laughed at her delight though when she informed him he had to share. He just shrugged and they split them. He insisted that she take all the French vanilla because he didn’t care for it and had only drunk it because it was there. That took some of the fun out of her gloating and spoiled her good time and she stuck her tongue out at him. This made everyone laugh and he hugged her.
“Sorry, darling, to rob you of your good time,” he apologized and she giggled.
“Leave it up to you, Harry, to take all the fun out of gloating,” she declared and he laughed.
“Is that what you were doing, Red,” he teased her and she slapped his arm.
“Don’t call me that, you know I don’t like that,” she said and he giggled.
“That’s why I called you that, darling,” he said and she giggled.
They got lots of soda which made them all happy and they split it up as evenly as possible and then split up all the goodies. Then they took the bins to the center and called everyone to bring their trailers and let them have at it and they tore the bins apart grabbing at everything. Everyone frowned when they realized that all of the soda was gone and thought it extremely unfair of the others to take it all. Harry shrugged.
“All of this stuff is mine really and there wasn’t a lot of it to begin with and not enough to go around, all of us would only get like a six-pack so I took it all, call me greedy if you want but that’s life,” he told them and they glared at him but what could they do?
“Actually these bins belong to all of us,” Kate informed him. He just looked at her.
“And how do you figure that, Mom?” Harry asked her calmly.
“They came from the Roosevelt, they belong to the whole community, Henry,” she told him smugly. He shook his head.
“No, they belong to me, I picked them out, I brought them down for me, they belong to me and me alone and I’m being very generous in sharing the stuff out of them with all of you,” he informed her and the rest of them. “If you had wanted extra bins you should have told me to bring you extra bins and I would have brought them down for you.” They all looked sheepish. She frowned at him.
“That’s a very selfish attitude, Henry, I’m ashamed of you,” Kate snapped. Harry shrugged.
“Reality sucks sometimes, Mom, get used to it,” he told her and more than a few people laughed.
“I wanted extra bins but you wouldn’t bring them down for me,” David snapped. Harry laughed.
“Because you waited until the ship was breaking up, David,” he said and David flushed.
“You could have gone back up and got them,” he insisted and everyone looked shocked. Harry shook his head.
“All of those bins either burned up in the atmosphere or floated off into space, I was not risking my life trying to find them because you waited until the last moment to ask for them,” he told him firmly. “My ship could have been hit by an asteroid and I could have been killed, then none of the houses or barns would have built and where would all of us been now?”
“We’d be out of coffee, that’s for sure,” Carl exclaimed and everyone laughed. Then they went back to grabbing stuff and Harry took the leftover stuff to Fran and Myla’s Wal-Mart.
Jake and Harry divided up the children nicely. Someone took the four oldest who were three-ish and two-ish and someone took the two little ones and everyone was happy. They marched them into the big SUV and drove them everywhere they went, to the stores to get stuff they needed, to Church where everyone gushed over the beautiful kids, to the park, to the pool, they went everywhere together. And sometimes one would take the older four skating or bowling without the babies and they would have fun and laugh and giggled and jump around. They loved each of their dads and it didn’t matter which one they were with. Whoever announced they were going somewhere, the kids would jump up for joy and come running for the door.
Kate was amazed at how well-behaved they were, they actually listened to the boys and did what they said when they said it. And they never threw any temper tantrums. Harry laughed and said of course they did, once. But when they learned it didn’t work, they just didn’t do it again. She rolled her eyes but was wise enough not to say anything.
“What does that little bastard think, that he’s a better parent that I am?” she sneered to Barbara later. Barb shrugged and looked around for any children that might have heard that bad word. She didn’t see any and sighed with relief. Just then though, little three year-old Karen, their youngest came running into the kitchen.
“That little bastard Kent stole my cookie,” she said loudly. Both women gasped with shock. Kate flushed red as her mate glared at her. Barb handed her daughter another cookie and she left the room. She wagged her finger at her.
“Kate Talbert, all of our children have potty mouths and it’s all your fault. I’ve told you time and time again to watch your mouth. For heaven’s sake, all the other parents make fun of us,” she wailed and Kate came over to hug her.
“I know, I know, I’m so sorry, Harry never used that kind of language, I don’t know why the others do,” she tried to defend herself. Barb shook her head.
“Harry was a genius, he knew better, the others are just normal kids, they do it for the shock value because they like hearing the gasps and the laughter and they know it embarrasses us,” she told her and they both laughed. Kate promised as she usually did to watch her mouth and Barb forgave her but they both knew it was a lost cause. When Kate got angry, she used bad language and the kids picked it up.
Summer came and all the kids played softball again and all the parents came out to cheer them on. Dr. Jackson coached the Farm Four team and all the kids loved him Harry got out the t-ball from the store for his and they loved hitting the little plastic ball and Gertie and Bo running to fetch it.
“When the boys get older you know they’re going to want dogs of their own don’t you, babe,” Jake told him one day watching the dogs fetch the ball for the kids. Harry grinned and put the ball back on the tee for Jackson to hit again. Jackson picked up the yellow bat and gave it a good swing and the ball went soaring off and the dogs took off.
“Good swing, Son, way to go, little man,” Jake picked him up and kissed and the little boy giggled and hit his father over the head with the plastic bat. All the kids giggled and Harry laughed. Jake laughed too and put him down.
“Watch where you’re swinging that, Son, you’ll going to knock me out you’re so strong,” he declared and Jackson grinned. The dogs brought the ball back and it was Emma’s turn at bat.
“So the boys all get their own dogs, we’ve got a big house, five boys, seven dogs, sounds good to me,” Harry declared and Fran groaned.
“Five more of those monsters, that’s it for me, I’m moving to the garage,” she swore. The men laughed.
“Don’t worry, Fran, we’ll only get one or two more dogs and make them share,” Harry informed her and she grinned.
“Good, seven dogs and you’ll have to open your own kennel,” she said and they laughed.
“Maybe one or two of the boys will like cats,” Harry said and Jake made a rude noise.
“My boys will be dog men,” he informed him smugly and both Harry and Fran laughed.
“Oh, your boys are going to be macho boys are they?” Harry teased him and Jake nodded and picked up Ryan.
“Ain’t that right, Ryan?” he asked, “You’re a dog man ain’t you, Son?” he asked. Ryan giggled.
“Bo,” he said and Bo barked and jumped up on Jake. They all laughed and Jake bent down so Ryan could pet Bo who wagged his whole body and licked the little boy’s face. Bo and Gertie loved all the children.
The end of summer came and they took all the kids camping up at the lake everyone was calling Crystal Lake because the waters were so blue and sparkling. They set up big tents for the kids and themselves and Fran and the other young people came with their children and they had the best time walking in the woods and swimming in the lake and decided to make it a yearly event.
“It’s so pretty up here,” April gushed as they sat by the campfire late one night. All the kids were snug in their sleeping bags just a few feet away with a security field around them. Harry didn’t believe in taking any chances with his life.
“It’s beautiful,” Harry agreed and they all tried to remember old camp songs to sing. Harry who had never been to camp remembered them from books he had read.
Then it was time for the last baby and Harry and Jake decided to make the last one at home in their own bed so Harry woke up early and made a batch of banana nut bread and Billy, Bobby and Abby came over to help Fran with the kids. He went into the bedroom with a nice big breakfast and ignored their laughter. Jake was waiting for him and they locked the bedroom door. He grinned when he heard their laughter.
‘What are those apes laughing at?” he wanted to know. Harry shrugged.
“They think we do something nasty with the banana bread,” he informed him. Jake rolled his eyes.
“We eat the damned bread, what else could we do with it; they’re stupid,” he declared and Harry giggled.
“Dirty minds, honey, that’s what they all have,” he said and Jake took the tray from him. He got undressed and they sat on the floor and stretched out and looked at each other.
“Well, this is it, babe, the last one,” Jake said with a sigh and reached to take his love’s hand. Harry sighed and moved in as close as he could to Jake’s strong body.
“I know, number five, there won’t be anymore after this, honey,” he said and tears filled his eyes. Jake laughed and he kissed them away.
“Oh, babe, don’t cry, we have six wonderful children, we don’t really want more than seven do we?” he teased and Harry buried his face in Jake’s chest and shook his head.
“No, it’s just so final, I can’t have anymore after this,” he cried and Jake lifted his head and kissed him.
“Oh, Harry, you goofy man, I love you, just because you can’t have anymore children after this, that doesn’t mean I won’t still love you,” he told him solemnly. Harry nodded.
“I know,” he said but he didn’t sound convinced. Jake smiled and kissed him again.
“Didn’t I fall in love with you when we were both fourteen and I didn’t know you could have children?” he asked him gently and Harry smiled and nodded. Jake kissed him again. “I loved you then and I love you now and I will always love you, Harry, you are my life, with or without children. They’ll grow up and leave us but you and me, we’ll be together forever, babe,” he said and Harry wrapped his arms around his neck.
“Give me a baby, Jake, I want a son,” he whispered harshly, his breathing hard and fast. Jake nodded and kissed him hard. Then he began his descent and this time they took their time because they knew it would be the last time and they wanted to make it last but they couldn’t because it was so good and the pleasure was so intense that they had to have it. And they both shouted when they found release and it was heard out in the living room where Fran had turned up the view-screen so they couldn’t be heard and she giggled and looked at Abby who giggled and the two men high-fived each other.
“There’s the basketball team,” Billy announced and Billy stood up and picked the two girls up.
“And here are the cheerleaders,” he declared and the two girls giggled as everyone laughed.
In the bedroom Harry and Jake lied in bed with the legs entwined and holding hands, kissing slowly, knowing that this was their last baby and the last time Harry’s eyes would gleam with that special glow. Jake kissed them and felt an over-whelming sadness.
“Oh, babe, I love you so much, thank you for my sons and my daughters,” he whispered. Harry smiled.
“Thank you for giving them to me, honey,” he whispered and they kissed and kissed for over an hour. Then finally hunger drove them to eat and they ripped apart the bread and laughed about what they could possibly do to it sexually and joked about what the others thought they were doing with it. Then they made love again and slept and then took a shower and made love in there, fast and furious the way Harry liked it and finally got dressed and went to greet the others with Harry’s eyes glowing and Jake beaming with pride.
“Yep, he’s pregnant,” Billy announced when he saw Harry standing in the foyer. He got up and hugged them.
“Congratulations, Dads,” he said and they all hugged. Fran’s eyes got misty.
“Our last little one,” she cried and wiped tears from her eyes. Harry’s eyes got wet too.
“I know, Frannie, I cried too,” he admitted and they cried a little together while Abby rolled her eyes.
“You’ve got six already and you’re crying because you’re only going to have seven, what’s wrong with this picture,” she retorted and they all laughed.
“If Harry had ten eggs, we’d probably have all ten,” Jake declared and they all laughed again except for Abby who said they were crazy.
“If he had twenty eggs, would you have twenty?” she snorted. They looked at each other and decided that twenty was probably too many.
“Probably not, but definitely if he had ten,” Jake told her. She rolled her eyes and decided it was time for her to go.
At dinner that night as they watched their family eat Jake and Harry looked around at the happy children and then exchanged a pleased look. They had a wonderful life and should be satisfied with what they did have and what they will have shortly. Seven happy, healthy, beautiful children and what more could two people hope for? They were truly blessed.
The next day they took the kids in for their six-month check up and Harry’s scan and Dr. George let out a big excited yell and everyone looked at him. He grinned.
“It’s a boy, you did it, Jake, you gave Harry five sons just like you said you would,” he declared and the two happy men kissed while their kids grinned.
“I never doubted for a moment your super swimmers, honey,” Harry said and Jake nodded, pleased as he could be. Fiona laughed as she handed out lollipops to the laughing kids. Harry let them play outside until they were done with them and then wiped the sticky off with a wet cloth he always carried with him before they got into the car then they drove home to tell Fran. On the way home they decided to have another big barbecue and invite everyone then the guest list kept growing so they decided to have it at the Center and invite the whole town.
Harry got home and sent the email off announcing the happy arrival of Danny, their fifth and last son and inviting anyone and everyone who wanted to show up to the community center with their grills. He informed them that they were bringing the booze and the beer and the steaks, all they had to bring was some salads and breads and stuff. He even hinted that sodas would be served to entice them and called the kids to get volunteers to donate and everyone did.
Everyone showed up and all the men lined up their barbecue grills together and Dr. George stood up and made the happy announcement and was very excited about twenty-five different DNA’s to mix with theirs.
“We will not have another Bittermen tragedy on Eden, thanks to our brave women and thanks to Jake with his super swimmers and Harry for giving us five Dolphin sons and twenty-five different DNA’s to mix with ours,” he announced proudly and everyone cheered. Max and Charles nudged each other.
“They’ll all probably be little fagola’s like their dads,” Max remarked and Charles giggled.
“Probably, but think of all the different DNA they’ll bring to the community,” he said. Max shrugged.
“As long as my Paul doesn’t marry any of them I don’t care,” he said and both men agreed none of their sons were going to be gay, not if they had anything to do with it.
Harvest came and the pumpkins were fine so they had the pumpkin chunking contest and surprisingly DJ won with the biggest cannon anyone had ever seen. He put three pumpkins in it and all three sailed over everyone’s pumpkins and landed one by one the farthest an amazing two hundred and twenty-three feet. Everyone cheered and his cannon replaced Harry’s in the place of honor.
Halloween came and everyone waited to see what Harry would dress his children up as. When they all walked into the center dressed as rainbow butterflies everyone gushed and Phillip exclaimed that Harry could have gotten a job on one of the cruise ships as a wardrobe mistress. That made Max and Charles giggle hysterically and Jake rolled his eyes.
“They’re little kids costumes gentlemen, not fag clothes, get a grip on yourselves,” he told them. This only made the two men laugh harder and they had to walk away. Harry just shook his head and put the baby in his chair and hand him his bottle of juice.
“Those two really think they’re being funny, don’t they?” he remarked and DJ grinned and patted his wife’s round belly.
“We’ve got a soccer player here, Harry, Cheryl’s been kicking poor Grace all day,” he informed him. Harry gave her a healing back rub which took all the pain away.
“Thanks, Harry, you’re a lifesaver,” she gushed and he had to do the same for all the pregnant women. Nyla was having twins as well as April and both complained of feeling like walruses. Harry laughed as well as all the pregnant women and they all agreed on that feeling.
“When do you think Tammy and the other girls are going to start getting married and having kids?” Linda asked her group of women as they stood around drinking martinis and thanking God they weren’t the ones pregnant. Myra giggled.
“I overheard Sarah and Sissy in the bathroom and they both think Tammy and Abby are lesbians,” she told them. They all gasped with shock.
“But doesn’t Abby live with that alien boy Chan?” June asked and Meri nodded.
“But Tammy lives in that house all alone with Amy, Sarah’s daughter and Sarah’s afraid that she’s turned her daughter into one of those kinds of women,” Myra said. They all giggled.
“Well, Amy is kind of butch, not at all dainty like Violet,” Shelley said and they all looked at Violet who was dressed in a harem girl’s costume and hanging around Susie and they were both floating around Jake and Harry’s table.
“What are they doing over there with all the kids, they should be over with the boys,” Meri said and Shelley giggled and they all looked at her. She smiled smugly because she knew something they didn’t. Linda grabbed her arm.
“Okay, sister, spill it,” she ordered. Shelley giggled again.
“Okay,” she said. “I overheard Kathleen and April at the kid’s birthday party talking about Violet hanging around Jake all the time. It seems she’s been flashing her naked boobs at him when they were in Hawaii trying to get him to notice her, she’s trying to steal him away from Harry,” she told them. They all gasped.
“Doesn’t she realize he’s gay?” June said. Shelley shrugged.
“According to Edna, Susie’s mother, Violet’s got a telescope up in her attic and she uses it to peek into Harry’s living room and spies on them,” she told them and they all laughed.
“Oh, that poor girl’s got it bad,” Meri remarked. Linda frowned.
“Didn’t she used to have a crush on Harry?” she asked. They all nodded.
“Well, now she’s got one on Jake,” Shelley said and they all thought that was slightly demented and stupid. Why waste your time on a gay man?
“She’s always been a strange one, even when she was a little girl,” Myra declared and they all agreed on that.
Thanksgiving came and they let David come with them so he wouldn’t chase the turkeys away and Max made sure he stayed on the other end of the group so David wouldn’t kill him. This made everyone laugh but no one wanted to be next to the clumsy man so they put him on the far end by himself. He got two birds than year but only one in the head; the other he totally annihilated and no one could eat. Jake got his usual twenty and brought home nine to Harry, stopping off at the butcher shop to run them through to save his love that duty. Harry kissed him for his thoughtfulness.
Dinner was a happy affair as usual and everyone was excited about the last baby and Monroe and the older kids were happy because Jake told them he was going to take them skating as usual the next day. Dr. Jackson overate as usual taking three helpings of turkey and stuffing and everyone laughed at him but he insisted Harry’s stuffing was better than his grandmother’s. Sissy nagged Abby about when was she going to give them grandchildren and Kate nagged Harry for his turkey recipe. So it was a typical holiday meal.
“That was fun,” Harry gushed as they put all the kids to bed that night and he stretched out on the couch. Jake smiled and sat next to him. He looked out the windows and waved. Harry gave him a strange look.
“What are you doing, honey?” he asked. Jake grinned.
“Did you know that Violet has a telescope in her attic and it’s beamed to our house and at the right angle she can see right into our living room?” he teased him. Harry looked appalled.
“You’re kidding me?” he asked. Jake shook his head.
“Nope, Dr. George told me, Shelley heard it from Edna who heard it from Susie. Violet peeks into our living room every single day to see what we’re up to,” he told him. Harry giggled.
“Do you think she saw us that day we fucked on the couch?” he asked and Jake leaned forward to kiss him.
“I certainly hope she did, maybe then she’d stop giving me the goo-goo eyes and leave me the hell alone, that girl’s fucking annoying,” he declared and Harry laughed and wrapped his arms around Jake’s neck.
“Oh, you’ve noticed that have you?” he teased and Jake nuzzled his neck.
“Babe, its hard not to notice when she’s flashing those itty bitty titties at me all the time and batting her eyes and saying ‘oh, Jake you’re so strong,’ God, I love you, Harry,” he said and kissed him hard. Harry laughed.
“Talking about Violet makes you love me?” he teased. Jake laughed.
“No, feeling your dick get hard against me makes me love you, babe,” he said and Harry smiled and touched his cheek.
“I love you too, Jake,” he whispered and they kissed long and hard. “Let’s go to the bedroom, I don’t feel like giving Violet a show tonight,” he said and they got up and went to bed.
The next morning Harry used his Astro Mathematics to figure out the trajectory of Violet’s windows to his living room and put up a little shade awning to block her view. It was very decorative and made his house prettier and she hated it and couldn’t figure out why he put it up. Then she heard from the grapevine that he was getting a nasty glare from that side of the house and that’s why he put up the awning and she fumed and cursed the damned sun. But what could she do about that? She took down the telescope and had a hissy fit and broke it. Susie felt guilty because she had told her mother and had heard gossip about it and knew that Harry had heard about it and that’s why he put up the awning but knew better than to confess so she left it alone.
DJ and Grace had their daughter first on the second of December, a little girl they named Cheryl, so now they had Isaac, Irene and Cheryl. Then Hans and Nyla had twins they named Noah and Naomi to join their daughter Ruth. Charlie and April had twin daughters they named Patsy and Penny to join their son Charles the third who they called CJ which pleased DJ who called him his twin and their daughter May. Steve and Kathleen were next with their second son they named Cameron since Harry had picked the name Daniel, so now they had Stevie, Stephanie, Megan and Cameron. Synta and Joon had a little girl they named Elise to join Martin, Shannon and Sharon.
Christmas came and Harry was of course the last remaining pregnant person and everyone teased him but he just grinned. He wasn’t due for two days and he was like a clock and knew he would be on schedule as usual. All the kids made the center a noisy place and David and Gloria swore they were going to stop attending these affairs until the children got older and learned how to behave properly. They did agree that Emma and Cassie in their cute little dresses looked adorable. Emma ruined it by getting into a fight with her brother and pulling her dress over her head. Harry laughed and pulled it down but she kept pulling it up so he changed her into a pink pants outfit which she thought was stupid. Emma was a girl and girls belonged in dresses, not pants. She should have taught not to pull her dress up.
They had the party for the kid’s birthday the next day and six different and completely adorable little cakes were brought out and everyone cheered and sang Happy Birthday. Pictures were taken and everyone had a good time. Two proud granddads beamed and held their grandchildren on their laps and four grandmothers insisted they didn’t feel old enough to be grandmothers. It was a very happy occasion.
The next day Daniel waited until two in the afternoon to announce his pending arrival and Harry’s water broke a little after two as the kids were waking up from their naps. They called the boys in to baby-sit and called in the troops and everything went smoothly. Danny came out head first unlike his anxious brother before him but weighed an amazing nine pound, the biggest of the babies.
“When they start coming out nine pounds, it’s time to stop,” Harry declared and they all laughed. Jake smiled as he looked down at his new son.
“He looks more like you than me, babe,” he said and it was true. Daniel was half Chinese and his slanted purple eyes looked exactly like Harry’s. Jake was in love once again. Harry closed his eyes and snoozed while they put him in the bed. Daniel was the last baby born in the Edenville Hospital.
“What’s it going to be this time, babe?” Jake teased as he feed his son. Harry grinned.
“Chicken salad with lots of celery and bacon, mm, that sounds good,” he declared and Fiona laughed.
“That sure does, bring me two of those, Jake,” she instructed and both men laughed.
“You got it, Fiona, I’ll bring two for Dr. George too,” Jake said and he placed his son in the bassinet and leaned down to kiss Harry.
“Nine pounds, babe, that’s really terrific, you did great, I love you,” he whispered and Harry smiled.
“I love you too, honey,” he whispered and closed his eyes. But when Jake left he opened them and looked at the baby who opened his eyes and looked at him. Harry smiled and picked him up.
“Daniel Simon Talbert, my, you do have my eyes, you look like Ester Chang, young man and Simon Woo and me. Us slanty eyed people have to stick together,” he told him solemnly. The baby just moved his mouth like he wanted to talk and wiggled. Harry grinned, kissed his little mouth and rocked him back to sleep. This was his last precious baby and that made him special.
Jake arrived with the sandwiches and all of his children and Fran and the boys who wanted to see this baby who looked like Harry instead of Jake and they all agreed he really did look more like Harry even though he was dark like Jake. Fran cried when he opened his eyes and said he looked just like Harry. They all laughed at her. Jake grinned and kissed him.
“Your mothers going to have a fit, she swears none of the babies have any of your DNA but they all have your purple eyes and she can’t explain that,” he teased and Harry grinned.
Kate took one look at Daniel and gasped.
“Oh, my goodness, he looks just like you, Henry,” she exclaimed and everyone laughed. Then she frowned. “But that can’t possibly be, he has done of your DNA,” she stated firmly. Harry shook his head.
“Actually, Mom, he does, all of the boys do, we tested them and they all have some of my chromosomes,” he informed her smugly and she gasped again.
“That can’t be, Simon was convinced that none would pass from the birth father,” she informed him. Harry shrugged.
“Simon couldn’t be sure of everything, it was all a crap shoot from start to finish, these babies are the first known humans to contain three sets of chromosomes in their DNA, it’s a medical miracle,” he told her and she nodded.
“I must study this, oh, my God, on Memphis they must be going mad studying this, the break-through, the cutting edge of medical science and I’m on the edge of the universe. We all could have made the history books, shit, we all probably did make the history books but we’ll never read them,” she sounded sad. Harry patted her hand.
“Well, you’d be dead right now so think of the bright side,” he told her and she laughed.
“Now you’re beginning to sound like me, Henry, I don’t like that one little bit so stop it,” she said sternly and they all laughed.
The next day everyone checked out fine so Dr. George released them and they all went home, their family was complete and all that was left was raising them. Harry put them into the SUV and laughed. Jake glanced at him.
“It’s a good thing we stopped at seven, honey; there’s no room in this car for any more,” he teased and Jake grinned.
“We’d just two cars and put them together like Jan and Joy did,” he informed him. They both laughed at the thought of Jan’s blue SUV which was really two cars welded together to form one giant car. It was a funny looking vehicle but it did do the job and all of their kids were safely buckled in.

In January the whole town went to Hawaii for the rest of the winter and they had the best time enjoying tropical nights with warm breezes off the ocean and nice hot sunny days in the shade with the kids playing in the sand and building sand castles and playing in the surf. Jake took Jackson and Emma down to the beach and they had a blast riding the waves with Daddy while Harry sat on the beach under an umbrella with the little ones. Then he took Cassie and Adam for an ocean ride while Jake sat with the others, they all had a good time.
When they were all sound asleep Fran sat with them and Harry and Jake would enjoy a moonlight stroll on the sand, splashing in the surf, holding hands and kissing. They felt like newlyweds again and not some old married couple with seven kids. Jake grinned as they stood in the surf and gazed at the moonlight.
“Do you believe we’ve got seven children, babe?” he whispered and Harry giggled as they held each other. A waved crashed against their feet.
“No, do you think it’s too late to put them back in?” he whispered back and Jake laughed.
“I think it is, babe,” he said and they both laughed.
“I’m so happy, Jake, sometimes I have to pinch myself, I love you and my life so much, I wouldn’t want any other life,” Harry said. Jake reached up and pinched Harry’s nipple and he gasped.
“You rascal,” Harry retorted and they laughed. Then they kissed, hard and passionately and Harry glanced around and got that look in his purple eyes and Jake shivered.
“We got a nice comfortable bed at home and you want to do it on the beach?” he teased him. Harry shrugged and he ran his fingernails up the inside of Jake’s thigh causing him to tremble.
“I can wait until we get home if you can,” he said with his eyes half-closed and all slanty sexy. Jake growled and nuzzled his neck.
“I can’t wait, babe, I need you now,” he was practically snarling. Harry trembled and they raced for some trees and ripped each other’s clothes away. Harry handed him the lube.
“Hurry, Jake, I need to feel you inside of me,” he begged and fell to all fours. Jake’s eyes gleamed at the sight of that perfect ass in the moonlight and he quickly dropped to his knees and his hands parted the cheeks and Harry wiggled back in his hands.
“Oh, babe, I need to be inside you,” he whispered harshly and soon he was and they were moving in a dance they knew so well and they did so well. When they exploded Harry was on his knees and Jake’s hands were on him and he went all over the sand which made them laugh. Then they fell to the sand and kissed and held one another and the moonlight on their bodies looked so right. Jake’s strong body gleamed almost purple in the light and Harry’s hands gently caressed it. Jake trembled and he took and hand and kissed it.
“Oh, babe, I do love you,” he whispered and Harry smiled and put his head on Jake’s strong chest and sighed.
“Oh, honey, I love you so much,” he whispered back and they dozed for a few minutes. Then it got a little cold now that they weren’t moving around so they laughed and found they clothes and dusted the sand off each other and walked home.
“I’m going to have sand up the crack of my ass for a week now, but it was worth it,” Harry remarked and they both giggled.
March first they flew back to Edenville and everyone was excited about the upcoming Ten Year Anniversary of their arrival on the planet. They had arrived on March fourteen but they had awoken on March ninth and everyone thought they should have a party on both days. A Wake-up Party and an Arrival Party, both were planned and Harry was asked to give a speech telling the story of how he had waken up first and what he and his mothers had done on the Roosevelt before they had woken everyone else first. He got out his notebook from those days and peered over it to prepare his speech and Jake helped him. It had to be perfect.
They put off spring planting until after the celebration and everyone gathered in the main hall which was decorated with pictures that had been blown up in Kate’s printing store. They all showed the colonist getting ready for the trip, packing their clothes and shots of them onboard the Roosevelt and some pictures of the ship’s crew and even one of the sleeping pods they had all slept in for the voyage.
“My God, it’s a sleeping pod, where did you get that picture?” Max exclaimed when he saw it. Kate smiled.
“That’s from Henry’s camera, that’s the pod we slept in,” she informed him. Everyone gushed over it. And they laughed over the picture of Kathleen in those dorky blue sleep pajamas. She made a face.
“That fink DJ took this picture,” she said and glared at her brother who snickered. Steve hugged her.
“I thought you looked really cute in them when we woke you up, your hair was so pretty,” he told her. She grinned.
“Yeah, well, you thought that witch Gloria was pretty when you woke her up too,” she reminded him. He made a face and shuddered.
“Eew, don’t remind me,” Steve exclaimed and everyone laughed.
The saddest picture was the big one of the accident and everyone looked sad when they saw the ship sticking into the side of the Engineering section. Linda looked at it closely.
“Oh, look, you can see that poor crew man sticking half-in, half-out,” she stated and everyone had to look.
“That’s dreadful,” Kate remarked and everyone agreed it was.
“Well, you do know there’s nothing sticking out on the other side, don’t you?” Harry asked them casually and they all looked confused.
“What do you mean?” Carl asked. Harry shrugged.
“Organic matter can’t exist in a vacuum,” he informed them. “The part of him that was sucked out exploded into tiny bits and got scattered all over space.” They all looked appalled. His mother laughed.
“We all could have lived a lifetime without knowing that, Henry,” she told him and everyone laughed and agreed.
Then Harry took the stage and smiled down at everyone and began to speak.
“I was having the most lovely dream,” he began and they all smiled. “I was running through this field of high yellow-green grass when I came to the shores of this lake that had the bluest water I had ever seen before. In front of me were six high cliffs and from each cliff was a cascading waterfall. It was spectacular and all I wanted to do was swim in that lake but all I kept hearing was this annoying beep, beep, beep; noise that keeping ringing in my head. Eventually it woke me up and I opened my eyes and all I could see was white and that was really funny cuz how did all this white get into my bedroom?” Everyone laughed. Harry continued.
“I turned my head and saw my mother sleeping next to me and I thought that was really weird; when did she start sleeping with me?” he asked and everyone laughed again. “That’s when I realized that we were onboard the Federation Colonist Ship, the Eleanor Roosevelt and I was awake and that was wrong because that’s not supposed to happen. Then I realized that that annoying beep, beep sound was the ship’s emergency alarm and no one was answering it and that something seriously was wrong and I had to get up and wake my mothers and get help. So that’s what I did.” Everyone cheered and clapped.
Harry took them through the whole wakeup story as they had never heard it before. About worrying about the two-headed alien space spiders, to cutting their fingernails, to turning off the alarms and starting the vacuums and finding the three crew members dead in the lounge. He didn’t leave anything out and he didn’t spare his mother’s feelings, he said everything they did and said, almost to the last detail.
When he got to the point of waking up the Jackson’s he talked about falling in love with Jake from the moment he opened his eyes and he saw how beautiful they were and he said how their hands had sparked when they shook hands for the first time. Everyone thought that was so romantic and they laughed over Dr. Jackson saying he was an alien who was going to eat his son alive.
“You got one part right,” DJ quipped and they all laughed except for the Jackson’s who luckily didn’t get it. Kate frowned at DJ who just grinned.
Then Harry remembered in detail exactly who was wakened up next and they all piped in with their memories and soon everyone was standing up and sharing their personal story and this made the evening better than just one person doing it. All the little kids loved it and loved the pictures of the ship they had heard of but never seen and the places they had heard of but never seen. When it was over they all cheered and clapped and swore they would do this every five or ten years so they would never forget where they came from.
“You did great, babe,” Jake said and kissed him when Harry returned to their table. Harry kissed him back and kissed all of their children one by one making them giggle.
“I did fall in love with you the very minute you opened you eyes,” he informed him softly. Jake smiled and they kissed again. Violet rolled her eyes and took another sip of her martini. Those two were always kissing. Love at first sight my ass; she didn’t believe that for a minute. That Harry was full of shit.
As Harry stood around the drink table with Dr. George, he remarked on how well the colonist looked for ten years on the planet. The older man nodded.
“I know, I couldn’t believe it myself when I looked in the mirror to shave this morning. I was thirty-eight when we landed and I’m forty-eight now, I look almost the same,” he bragged. Harry grinned and put his arm around the other man’s shoulder.
“It must be all this healthy food and exercise you’re getting working the fields,” he teased him and they both laughed. Dr. George wagged his finger at him.
“Don’t fool yourself, a diet like we’ve been eating with no added preservatives and extra crap like the old diet we used to eat is better for us and we’ll all live longer,” he informed him. Harry grinned and spotted Jake looking around for him.
“Got to go, looks like my better half needs help,” he said and rushed back to the table. Jake smiled in relief when he saw him and handed him Daniel.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re back, I’ve got to potty, babe,” he said and rushed off leaving Harry to laugh at his choice of words. A few years ago he would have said he had to pee, but now it was potty. How cute they had become.
Spring planting came and Farm Four was finally settled in their field size. Theirs was the largest farm, out of the hundred and ninety-eight colonist that was on the planet, a hundred of them lived on Farm Four. But that was because all of the children had married and had children. When the other farm’s children got married and had children they expected their farm size to grow also. If the children stayed on the farm, Harry expected that the children would probably build their own farms and live on them but he kept that info to himself.
After the planting the kids went back to school and Harry was asked to teach a class on Ancient Earth History and Math and of course he accepted and added teaching to his busy schedule. Jake was proud of him and helped out and, of course, they had Fran to help so it was just a matter of adjusting the schedule around Harry’s teaching job. He was proud to do his part for the community and when his kids started school, it would be easier; he could just take them with him when he went.
When Violet heard about the teaching job she was pissed and said who cared what happened on some planet millions of miles away thousands of years ago but everyone was shocked by her attitude and told her how important it was for all humans to know where they came from and how they got from there to here. Harry had started to write a history book of their journey and asked them all for their piece of it and said he would publish it a little at a time as they lived it and it would continue as the planet evolved. Everyone thought this was a splendid idea and spent weeks on their contributions. Violet decided that was stupid too, whoever heard of writing your own history? She failed to write her parts and refused to contribute anything so Harry just added her in as the twin sister of Amy Emery.
July twenty-seventh came and Harry had his yearly birthday bash at the beach and everyone came out to celebrate and Max gave his usual sloshed toast and everyone laughed. Jackson, who was five now, giggled and clapped his hands. Jake at him and ruffled his hair.
“You like it when they cheer for your dad don’t you?” he teased and the little boy nodded and grinned. Jake leaned over to whisper.
“They’re only cheering for the free booze you know?” he teased again and Harry rolled his eyes.
“Don’t teach him any bad habits, Jake,” he teased and they grinned at each other and kissed. All of their kids now giggled. Violet rolled her eyes. Those two idiots were always kissing and in front of all the children, it shouldn’t be allowed.
Violet thought it was egotistical of Harry to throw himself a birthday party and remarked cattily to everyone around her. They all ignored her because they knew Harry only threw it because he wanted everyone to get together to have a party in the summer and he used his birthday as an excuse. He would have used Jake’s if his had been in July instead of May or one of the kid’s or any other reason.
“For someone who used to love Harry, she sure hates him now,” Tammy remarked to Amy who nodded.
“Violet’s always been like that, she’s used to getting her own way and if she doesn’t get it, then she turns into a real bitch, it’s my parents fault, she’s been the pretty one for so long, she believes she can have anything she wants and when she couldn’t have Harry, it twisted her head up,” she said wisely. Tammy nodded.
“Well, I fell in love with the right twin then,” she teased and Amy blushed and looked around. Tammy sighed. “Your parents are going to have to know eventually, darling.” Amy sighed.
“I know, but you know how my dad feels about homosexuals, he’d die if he found out I was a lesbian,” she said. Tammy sighed.
“Well, my parents are fine with it, my dad thinks you’re terrific,” she said and Amy smiled.
“I love your parents, I wish they were mine,” she said and with a brave grin, she leaned forward and kissed her in front of everyone. Tammy grinned and reached for her hand. Jan and Joy saw the kiss and smiled.
“Aw, baby dykes, how cute, honey,” Jan said and they kissed. Reverend Milo saw this and looked around to see if any of his children witnessed this and sighed with relief when he saw that they didn’t. He didn’t mind that they were homosexual, but couldn’t they keep it private where the children couldn’t be influenced by their behavior, what if one of his daughters saw that?
Max and Charles relaxed on loungers and sipped glasses of cold beer and enjoyed the ocean breeze while they puffed on big, fat cigars away from the crowd. Their wives had sent them away from the kids because of the stench of the tobacco. Harry grinned and brought them two more frosted mugs. Both men grinned and accepted them.
“You do know how to throw a party, kid, I’ll give you that,” Max gushed and Harry grinned down at them.
“Well, thank you, Max, I appreciate the compliment,” he said. Charles laughed.
“You’re not the only one with a birthday this week, I turned fifty just two days ago,” he informed him smugly. Harry looked down at the young looking man and whistled.
“Wow, Charles, you don’t look a day over thirty-five, I mean it, you certainly don’t look fifty,” he said and Charles beamed.
“It’s all this field work and good food, I swear, Harry, I don’t feel fifty, I feel marvelous. I feel better than I did when I was your age and I must say you don’t look twenty-five at all, does he, Max, I would say you were no older than twenty, twenty-one,” he gushed and Max grinned.
“He’s right, Harry, you don’t look twenty-five, I’d say you look twenty,” he declared and Harry decided the two men were quite drunk. He laughed and thanked them and carried the empty glasses back to the bar. Then he went back to the blanket where his kids were. He looked at his mother Kate who was playing with the girls.
“Mom, do I look twenty-five to you?” he asked her. She looked at his handsome face and shook her head.
“No, actually you don’t, Henry, you don’t look older than twenty-one,” she told him then she laughed.
“How about me, do I look like a forty-eight year-old grandmother?” she teased and he shook his head.
“Actually, Mom, you look exactly the same age you did when we first arrived, in fact, all of you adults look exactly the same age you did when we arrived,” he said looking around at all of them. “I’d swear you haven’t aged a day.” She looked confused.
“If you’re saying what I think you’re saying; how do you explain you children aging and all of the children aging?” she asked him. He shrugged.
“I don’t know, maybe we age to a certain age and then it stops, I’ll have to run some tests and do some scans. Let’s not tell anyone but let’s form a team, you, me, Myla, Dr. George, DJ and Steve, maybe Brian and Carl and do some scans on everyone and see what we get,” he suggested and she nodded. There was nothing the scientist in her liked more than a mystery to solve.
The next day the team met for the first time and Harry ran his hypotenuses by everyone and Dr. George seemed the least surprised by it. This surprised Harry and the rest of the team. He told them why.
“I’ve noticed for years now that whenever I do a scan on everyone the age scan is always incorrect, it shows the same age year after year and I just assumed it was broken,” he told them. Harry laughed.
“Why didn’t you ask me to look at it and fix it?” he asked him. Dr. George shrugged.
“It was the only thing that malfunctioned, everything else worked fine and the age scanner isn’t that important, we all know how old we are,” he explained and they all laughed.
So they pulled everyone in the hospital one family at a time and scanned them, telling them it was a routine scan to check the medical equipment but no one believe that, they knew something was going on; especially by the people involved in the project. Then Harry pulled out everyone’s age scan and developed a program to sort them out by the tiniest degree so they could tell the minutest differences and they were very minute. He had to go to the thousandths for them to see the differences in yearly scans. Then they split up the team into sub-teams with him alone and Dr. Myla and Dr. Kate on one team, Dr. George, Carl and Brian on the other and Steve and DJ on the last and everyone calculated the figures. They took all of a week and into the next until they all met back in the little conference room with the results.
“Well, did we all get the same results?” Dr. George asked as he looked at the solemn faces around the table. Harry raised his eyebrow.
“If you mean, did we all reach the conclusion that everyone ages normally until they reach the age of twenty-one and then the aging process slows down,” he said and everyone nodded. Harry continued. “Then we age one year for every six hundred and seventy-two years that we live on this planet. That is the result that I got, did all of us get the same results?” he asked and they all nodded. DJ grinned.
“This is one great planet you found for us, Harry,” he said and everyone grinned. Dr. George laughed.
“I was thirty-eight when we got here and I’m going to be thirty-eight for another six hundred and sixty-two years. That’s fucking amazing, pardon my French, ladies,” he said and Kate laughed.
“No need to apologize, George, I feel the same way, I feel like doing cartwheels. I’m going to be thirty-seven for another six-hundred and sixty-two years,” she exclaimed and they all laughed. Then Harry giggled. They all looked at him.
“Actually, Mom, if you count the three years we traveled to Galileo and the hundred years it took us to reach Eden, you’re really a hundred and forty-one,” he told her and she blanched. Dr. George laughed.
“And I’m a hundred and forty-two,” he said.
“I’m a hundred and twenty-nine,” Steve said.
“I’m a hundred and twenty-eight,” DJ said. Carl laughed.
“Well, then I’m a hundred and thirty-seven,” he told them. Brian nodded.
“I’m a hundred and thirty-eight,” he informed them. They all looked at Harry who grinned.
“I’m a hundred and twenty-eight, DJ and I are the same age,” he said. Myla laughed.
“I’m still forty-five,” she said and everyone laughed. Kate snickered.
“Do we really have to be a hundred and something?” she whined. Harry shrugged.
“Only if we want to be accurate and face it, Mom, when you’re twenty thousand and forty-seven years old, that hundred and three years isn’t going to sound that old,” he teased her. She looked shocked.
“You’re absolutely correct, Henry. An average life span for a human female is eight-five years old and I’m thirty-seven, I have forty-eight years to go. Multiply that times six hundred and seventy-two and you get, oh, my God, thirty-two thousand, two hundred and fifty-six years,” she informed them. They all looked shocked. Then she continued.
“If a young person ages to twenty-one and lives to just eighty, then they would have lived fifty-nine years in an average life, but that’s thirty-nine thousand, six hundred and forty-eight years here on Eden,” she told them. They all grinned. Harry laughed.
“I think we’re going to have to have a party for this,” he said and everyone laughed. Then they called a town meeting to tell everyone their findings. Harry explained it all to them. They were shocked. Lily stood up.
“Explain it again but make it easier to understand, Harry,” she said and he nodded.
“Okay, Lily, you were twenty-four when we landed on Eden, correct?” he asked and she nodded.
“Well, you’re still twenty-four and you’re going to be twenty-four for the next six hundred and sixty-two years and then you’ll turn twenty-five. Then you’ll be twenty-five for six hundred and seventy-two years and then you’ll turn twenty-six,” he explained and he could see the light go on over her head and a big grin come over everyone. Kathleen stood up.
“I’m going to live for thirty-nine thousand years?” she asked and he nodded.
“Roughly, and with me and all the other healers here, no one will ever die before they age, we’ll all get to live until we’re all very old people,” he assured them.
“My God, Harry, you’ve found us a magical, wonderful planet,” Max stood up. Everyone agreed. Harry grinned.
“Now all we have to do is find some power crystals so we don’t have to be in the dark for most of that time,” he teased and they all laughed.
“What about the dogs and cats, will they live longer too?” Brian stood up and asked. Everyone suddenly looked worried. Harry grinned.
“That’s a good question, Brian, and the answer is yes,” he informed them and everyone grinned. “We did scans on all of our cats and dogs and found the same results. They age normally until the age of one and then the aging process slows down so they’ll all live to about eight, nine thousand years or more depending on the cat or dog,” he said and everyone cheered and clapped.
“Do we know what’s causing our aging process to slow down like this?” Cindy stood up and asked. Harry shrugged.
“It could be anything, it could be something in the atmosphere, the ions, something in the air that we breathe, something in the water, we have no idea, but we do know that both humans and minosians share a double-strand helix in our DNA. That’s about the only thing we have in common so whatever it is, both species are affected by whatever it is that’s causing our aging process to slow down,” he told them.
Then they threw a big party to celebrate and Harry was the person they loved the most. Everyone kept hugging him, even Max and Charles. Jackson was a happy little boy once again. He loved it when they cheered for his dad.
“Good thing I brought down all those extra stores, we’re going to need them,” he said to Jake while they were dancing. Jake grinned.
“Just how many extra stores did you bring down, babe?” he asked. Harry giggled.
“A thousand,” he answered softly. Jake whistled.
“Oh, babe, they bitched when we had fifty, they’re really going bitch at a thousand,” he teased. Harry shrugged.
“With a thousand stores, I’ll share,” he decided and Jake kissed him.
“You’ve got a pretty fine ass for an old man of a hundred and twenty-eight,” Jake teased and his hands roamed Harry’s ass. Harry giggled.
“I bet you say that to all the geriatrics,” he teased back and they laughed. Then they took their kids home to celebrate in private before they got arrested for indecent behavior on a dance floor.
Violet saw them acting up on the dance floor and was disgusted. She couldn’t understand the fuss everyone made over Harry’s stupid ass, so what if it was cute and sexy. She had a nice ass and no one made a fuss over it like they did over his. Everyone was making such a fuss over Harry, how wonderful Harry was. Who the hell cared? Now they were stuck on this stupid planet at the edge of the universe with nothing to do and no place to go and they were going to live forever. Who cared if you lived forever if all you could do was plant some crops and drive around nothing? There was no place to drive to. She drove up and down that stupid ocean highway Harry had built and it went nowhere, just sand and water, nothing to see, no people, nothing. And that country road just led up to the mountains and the lake, there was nothing up there either. This planet was filled with nothing and no one and all there was to do was have sex with the same boring people and even Gloria’s sex game were beginning to get boring. Maybe when the kids grew up it would be more exciting but right now Violet was just plain bored out of her mind.
“Whatcha got there, babe?” Jake asked a few days later as Harry poured over the list of stores he had on the computer. The kids were lying down for their naps and Fran had escaped to her sunroom to watch a movie. Harry smiled and lifted his head for a kiss which he got, of course.
“This is the list of the thousand stores I brought down, I’m looking to see if anything looks interesting enough to build now instead of later,” he informed him. Jake grinned and sat down next to him. He peered at the list.
“You got anything in mind?” he teased and Harry nodded.
“There’s a mini putt-putt course that would be great for the kids,” he told him and Jake nodded.
“I love putt-putt, what else?” he asked. Harry gasped and pointed to the screen. Jake’s eyes got wide.
“Oh, my God, Harry, babe, we’ve got to build that one,” he declared and Harry wrote it on the list. How could they not build the Coke Cola Bottling Company? They would have sodas for the rest of their lives, everyone would love them forever.
They picked out three hundred stores that they wanted to keep and put the other seven hundred in a separate file so that the others and the kids when they grew up could pick twenty for their own. And they’d still have more left over for future kids to have.
“Let’s not tell them about the stores just yet, let’s wait a hundred years or so until the newness wears off and everyone adjusts to being here. No sense building everything at once, we don’t need it and what’s the sense in having it if we don’t need it?” Harry said reasonably. Jake nodded.
“But the putt-putt and the Coke, we need that now, babe,” he stressed the word ‘need’ and Harry giggled.
“Of course we’ll build the putt-putt and the Coke plant, honey,” he told him and they kissed then Harry sighed. “Do you know who makes Dr. Pepper, honey?” he asked with a big grin on his face. Jake grinned too.
“Coke Cola?” he guessed and Harry kissed him.
“You got it, honey; we are never running out of Dr. Pepper again,” he gushed and they both laughed.
He got up and sent out an email asking for volunteers to baby-sit their kids while they built their Coke Cola plant and volunteers to help them build it. Everyone in town volunteered except for Violet who just shrugged.
“Why should I help, I’m banned from their damned stores and so are you, Susie, why are you helping?” she sneered at her. Susie glared at her.
“Don’t you see, Violet, this could be a way of getting un-banned plus I know everyone who shows up is going to get free soda and we haven’t had any soda for years. Don’t you remember soda? I love soda and if you think I’m sharing any of mine with you, you can forget it,” she snapped and rushed out of the house. Violet pouted for an hour and finally realized that if she didn’t show up to work on the damned building then no one would share their soda with her so she put on shorts and drove to the site and volunteered for duty. Harry saw her and smiled.
“Its about time you showed up, Violet, for a while there I didn’t think you weren’t going to show,” he teased her and she smiled. He put her to work and made a face behind her back. Little Miss Smart Ass, showing up late and only showing up because she wanted the free soda, he couldn’t stand that girl. Kathleen smiled at him and he giggled.
It took them three weeks to build the plant and then Harry made a batch of every brand of soda they carried and they brought them out and divided it equally among everyone in town. Everyone was ecstatic to get their favorite soda again and Harry was once again everyone’s favorite person and Violet hated his guts.
“This is great, isn’t this great soda, Jackson?” Jake asked his eldest son who took a sip of Dr. Pepper and grinned. All the kids were loving the soda. Fran poured some Fresca over ice and grinned.
“I am never running out of Fresca for as long as I live, God bless you, Harry,” she said with glee. All the kids giggled. Harry hugged her.
“You’re welcome, Frannie, I’ll always make sure you have Fresca,” he teased. Jake grinned as he sipped his Dr. Pepper. Then he grinned.
“Hey, let’s make some vanilla ice cream and have root beer floats,” he suggested. They all grinned. Harry smiled.
“Let’s get everyone to make vanilla ice cream and have a big root beer float party down at the Center,” he suggested. They all nodded. Jake sent out the e-mails and two days later everyone gathered at the Center for a root beer float party. They all brought their barbecue grills and grilled hot dogs, hamburger and chicken and the ladies all made salads. It was a great party and once again Harry was the hero. Jackson really loved that. He walked around the park listening to everyone praise his dad and grinned.
“I can’t believe Harry had a Coke plant and he didn’t even know it,” Lily Wong gushed. Cindy giggled.
“I’m so happy, now we all can have soda whenever we want it,” she gushed. All the ladies agreed that was a good thing. Violet snickered at them.
“It figures that little freak had a Coke plant and he didn’t tell anyone,” she sneered to Susie who was getting tired of her. Susie shrugged.
“We should be grateful that he finally realized he had one and we built it,” she tried to be diplomatic. Violet rolled her eyes.
“Don’t tell me you’re defending the little freak now, Sus. I thought you hated him as much as I did,” she snapped. Susie shrugged again.
“No one hates Harry as much as you do,” she teased and walked away to talk with Mike. She hated being around her friend when she ranted about Harry. Mike grinned and hugged her.
“Couldn’t take old Violet anymore could you?” he teased. She blushed.
The following year they all built log cabins at the lake so they’d have a place for summer vacations and ski vacations since it was near the ski lift Harry and Sarek planned to put in. They had to wait until winter to do that to see how the slopes would run but once they did, everyone rushed to the slopes for skiing and ice skating on the frozen lake. It was a nice change from Hawaii and the surf and sun.
On Jackson and Emma’s first day of Kindergarten Harry dressed them in jeans so that they would be comfortable and Fran cried as he and the two kids were getting into the Jeep for the drive to school. Jake and the other kids waved goodbye.
“Bye, Emma, bye, Jackson; have fun at school,” Jake called out. Adam, Cassie, Ryan and Sean waved and blew kissed. Jackson and Emma beamed because they were ‘big kids’ and old enough for school. Cassie and Adam were both jealous and couldn’t wait until next September when they would be old enough. Jake took them back in the house and distracted them with coloring. Fran had one year-old Danny and took him in to play with his blocks.
“Now, you’ll see all of your cousins in school today so you’ll know everyone,” Harry told his two children who were riding in the back seat. Jackson grinned.
“Will Martin be there?” he asked. Harry nodded.
“Martin will be there and so will Stevie,” he said. Jackson clapped his hands. Emma frowned.
“Will Stephie be there Daddy?” she asked and Harry nodded.
“Stephie will be there and May too and Mabel, Daddy’s sister will be there too,” he informed her and she clapped her hands too.
“Kindergarten sounds like fun,” Emma declared. Harry grinned.
“Oh, it’s going to be lots of fun and both of you already know your numbers and your alphabet so you’re already ahead of the other kids and you can help them,” he said and they beamed.
“Who’s our teacher again?” Jackson asked.
“Your teacher is Miss Cindy and she’s really nice, you’re going to like her,” Harry said and they nodded. “The other kindergarten teacher is Miss Barb and that’s your grandmom but at school you have to call her Miss Barb, okay?” he asked and they both giggled.
They got to the school and he parked and helped them out of the car. All of the kids were arriving and they all waved at their favorite teacher and he waved and called out to them. At the classroom door he paused and beamed at Cindy who smiled at the two children.
“Hello, Jackson, Emma, welcome to kindergarten,” she gushed and they smiled. None of Harry and Jake’s children were shy or bashful and since it was a small community and they attended Church every week, they knew all of the adults by sight if not by name and Cindy had already been introduced as they soon-to-be teacher.
“Hello, Miss Cindy,” Jackson said and he turned to grin up at his dad who smiled.
“You two have a great day and I’ll see you later,” Harry said and he left them with a wave. They waved back and he went to the other side of the school to teach his eighth/ninth grade class which consisted of the older kids, the fourteen year-olds, Lisa and Lori Campbell, Eric Jones, and Yancy Evans and the two thirteen year-olds, Joey Wong and Lucy Thomas. With his six university degrees, he and his mother were the only ones qualified to teach High School, both Jenna and Stuart had taught Elementary School. Kate was teaching Elementary School right now since all of the children were younger and would move up to High School with them.
Harry loved teaching and his kids loved learning with him, he made every subject, even the dreaded Math and English fun and of course Ancient Earth History was their favorite. They loved learning about their roots and he knew so much, they were amazed at how much knowledge he could pull out of his brain and were very impressed. And he wasn’t afraid to admit that he didn’t know something and they would look it up on the computer.
“Man, Harry is so cool, I wish my dad was so cool,” Yancy gushed to his two buddies at lunch. Eric and Joey nodded.
“I didn’t know the English paid a bounty on Indian ears, that’s so gross, who would think of doing something like that? Humans were really barbaric in the Seventeen Hundreds,” Joey declared.
“Really, when you think of something that barbaric, you think of the Startisic’s or the Mentalic’s, not humans, we’re supposed to be the civilized race,” Eric stated. Then the bell rang and they went back to class.
After school Harry picked up his two kids who were all excited and talking about their day and how much fun they had had. They both had pictures to show him and he exclaimed over them and when they got home, they rushed to show their daddy.
“There’s my students; how was your day, Emma Rose?” Jake asked and picked her up. She showed him her picture and Jake declared it a masterpiece. She giggled and he put it on the fridge. Jackson’s went up too and all the kids got a snack. Harry and Jake kissed which made them all giggle.
“How was your day, babe?” Jake asked and Harry grinned.
“Pretty good, Joey almost blow up the science lab again but I lifted the Bunsen burner out of the way in time, that kid is definitely not going to be a scientist,” he said with a laugh. Jake laughed too.
“We had fun with finger paints today and Adam decided that Sean would look a whole lot better if he was green since it was your favorite color,” he told him and they both laughed. Fran giggled as she came into the kitchen.
“Are you telling him about the jolly green midget?” she teased and they nodded. “That was funny, poor Sean was crying he didn’t want to be green, if he was going to be colored, he wanted to be yellow like Bo.” Harry laughed again.
“Sounds like a bunch of kids got another bath,” he remarked and Jake nodded.
“It was quite a mess but we got it all cleaned up and I took the kids outside and let them run around and that made them tired enough for naps and boy did I need one,” he said. Harry kissed him.
“Poor baby, sounds like you had quite a work out, why don’t I take all the kids to the playground and give you a break?” he suggested and Jake nodded.
“That would be swell; babe,” he said.
Harry called Kathleen and told her he was talking the kids to the playground if she was interested and she said she’d meet him down there so he marched the six older ones down and carried Danny. It was a nice sunny day so no one needed coats but he took a diaper bag in case and a cooler with water. And of course Bo and Gertie followed along, they always went where the kids went.
The playground was filled with kids playing and they all waved to Harry and his kids and they all waved back. All of the first born children on the planet were nine now and most were riding bikes and swinging and having a ball. Harry saw his four older brothers and sisters and Jake’s out playing and grinned. They were all getting so big, he wondered how much shit they were giving his mothers.
In the little kid’s area his older ones raced for the castle which had lots of places to climb and four slides. Ryan and Sean headed for the swings and Harry put Danny into one and lifted the other two boys in and pushed all three with his powers and they all squealed with delight.
“You boys want to go higher?” he teased and they all nodded.
“Higher, Daddy,” Ryan shouted and he pushed him and Sean a little higher. Danny giggled and laughed showing six beautiful teeth. Kathleen came and put her two youngest into swings and laughed.
“That’s a neat little trick you have there,” she remarked. He pushed one of hers with his and she grinned. Stevie and Stephanie rushed to the castle to play with Emma and Jackson who were five like them. Harry kept an eye on them, like she did.
“I cried all the way home today after dropping them off at school,” Kathleen confessed. Harry grinned.
“I cried all the way down the hallway from Elementary School to the High School,” he confessed and they both laughed. They hugged.
“What the hell are we going to do when they grow up and move out?” she said and he shook his head.
“Who knows, maybe by then they’ll be big pains in the ass and we’ll be glad to get rid of them,” he said and she giggled.
“We’ll have to hope for that,” she said. The kids got tired of swinging and wanted to go to the slides so they walked them over and had fun there. He told her about the green midget and she told her about her day. He talked about school and then they went home for dinner. It was Fran’s night to cook and all Harry had to do was wash little hands and faces and sit them down at the table. They said grace and he and Jake cut up food and everyone ate with good appetites after all the running around they had done.
Then Harry gave Sean and Ryan their baths and read them a story and rocked them to sleep. They were only two and three and they both still appreciated a cuddle in their daddy’s arms and after drinking a cup of warm green milk fell asleep in no time. Harry sighed with pleasure as he held the two little bodies and felt his heart swell with joy. Jake peeked in on him and stood in the doorway and felt his heart swell with joy.
“I love you, babe,” he whispered and Harry glanced up and saw him. He smiled.
“I love you too, honey,” he whispered back. Jake came in and took Sean and they put them in their little beds. Bo hopped up on Ryan’s bed and settled in. Jake smiled and patted the dog’s head.
“You look after our boys, Bo,” he told him and the dog wagged his tail. The two men closed the door halfway and left the room.
“You want to do boys or girls tonight?” Harry asked. Jake shrugged.
“I did girls last night, babe, it’s your turn,” he told him. Harry nodded.
“That’s right, I forgot, thanks,” he said and they kissed. They waited until the cartoon was over and then Harry took the girls into their bath and Jake took the boys into theirs.
“When can Cassie come to school with me, Daddy?” Emma asked. Harry smiled.
“She can go to school next year, darling,” he told her and handed her the washcloth to hold over her eyes so he could dump water over her head. She held it and he dumped and Cassie giggled like she always did when water was dumped over someone’s head. Emma giggled too. He put shampoo in his hand and washed her beautiful red/gold hair. Both of his girls had the most beautiful hair, Emma’s blonde and curly and Cassie’s red/gold and curly and he kept it long and pretty and always well-groomed.
“I want to go to school,” Cassie told him. He smiled.
“School is a lot of fun, darling, I can’t wait for you to go,” he told her and she beamed. Then it was time for more water dumped and she giggled again. Then they got washed and dried off and put in cute little pajamas, tucked in and a story.
“Goodnight, Emma, I love you darling,” Harry said and kissed her. George hopped in with Emma and Martha curled next to Cassie. Harry smiled and petted the cats that purred and settled down for a nap. They would roam the house later to make sure no field mice dared to enter. If George caught one, he would put the dead mouse on Jake’s chair for them to find in the morning and Harry would reward him with a saucer of fresh cream. Martha liked to put her dead mice next to the garbage can. She was very considerate. She also got a saucer of fresh cream.
“Goodnight, Daddy, I love you,” Emma gushed. He did the same thing with Cassie and then he and Jake traded rooms and did the same with the other kids. Gertie hopped in with Jackson and soon all the kids were sleeping.
Harry walked into the living room and began picking up. Jake followed and helped him. They picked up the living room and dining room and Harry ran the vacuum while Jake dusted and soon the living area, dining and game room was nice and clean. Then they collapsed on the couch and grinned at each other.
“Five-thirty comes awfully early, babe, let’s go to bed,” Jake declared and Harry giggled.
“We’re so boring, honey, isn’t it grand,” he teased and Jake laughed.
“Come on, babe,” he said and got up. He held out his hand and Harry took it and let Jake pull him into his arms. They hugged and kissed; a long hot passionate kiss that left them both breathless.
“After eleven years, Harry, your kisses still make me hard,” Jake murmured and Harry giggled.
“Is that what that is, I thought you left the remote control in your pocket,” he teased and Jake laughed and nuzzled his neck, gently biting it. Harry trembled and let out a groan. Jake grinned; oh yeah, he knew the right buttons to push.
“Let’s go to bed, honey,” Harry whispered and they ran to the bedroom. Fran who was in the kitchen making a cup of coffee laughed when she saw them running.
“You boys need to bottle that energy,” she yelled and they laughed.
“Its Jake’s fault, Frannie, he nuzzled my neck and you know how that turns me on,” Harry told her and she giggled.
When the reached the bedroom Harry went straight for the St. Andrews Cross which made Jake raise an eyebrow.
“Oh, it’s like that tonight is it?” he teased and Harry nodded.
“Oh, Master Jake, please don’t spank me, I’ll be a good little boy,” he begged, his eyes all half-closed and slanty sending shivers of delight up Jake’s spine. He watched his love struggle in the straps for a few seconds, that cute ass wiggling back and forth enticingly and shook his head.
“Oh, no, you’ve been a bad little boy, I’m going to have to punish you good,” Jake declared and reached for the tit clamps and Harry grinned.
“Oh, Master Jake, don’t put on the cock ring tonight, it makes you too powerful and I can’t take that,” he pleaded and Jake grinned and reached for it. It was going to be a great night and it was. The two fell asleep happy and content and very satisfied.
That weekend they were almost out of coffee so Harry sent out an email asking for volunteers from every farm and one from every house showed up and he flew them over to Savannah to pick coffee and tea. It was an all day affair and no one enjoyed it but everyone enjoyed drinking coffee and tea so while everyone complained; everyone showed up. The days of Harry and the kids doing it by themselves were over. Everyone had kids now and no one could complain that they couldn’t do it because they had kids.
Of course they were still some of the kids who still didn’t have children. David and Gloria still didn’t have any. Chan and Abby were still living together and didn’t have any children. Tammy and Amy were living together and didn’t have any children. Violet and Susie were still roommates and neither one had children and didn’t plan on having any. And all four boys from the second boy’s house were still single, Mike Warner, Davy Marshall and the Patterson twins, Billy and Bobby. Everyone expected them to marry the four girls but what they didn’t know was that Tammy and Amy were lesbians and in love and that no one liked Violet enough to marry her. And, of course, she was still hung up on Jake and wasn’t interested in any of the younger boys.
Sunday the boys had a barbecue and invited all of the six families who enjoyed doing things together and all the kids played in the giant backyard that was enclosed with the rock wall and all the wives got together and chatted and all the husbands stood at the grills and talked and it was a lot of fun. Harry had all the one year-olds playing in a play area roped off with the old puppy pen that he had redecorated and everyone laughed at that.
“Isn’t that the old puppy pen, Harry?” Nyla asked when she put her twins Naomi and Noah into it. Harry giggled.
“Yep, I found another use for it,” he declared and she giggled. Kathleen laughed as she put her son Cameron in with the other one year-olds.
“I like it, recycling is always good,” she said and they all looked impressed.
“Hey, Jake, isn’t that the old puppy pen?” DJ asked as the men stood over by the barbecues drinking beer and waiting until the coals got hot. Jake nodded and grinned.
“Oh, yeah, Harry’s good at finding new uses for old stuff, he’s always doing that,” he bragged. Steve laughed.
“Well, Cameron is almost a puppy, you wouldn’t believe what he ate the other day,” he told them. They all looked at him. He laughed again. “A beetle, one of those big purple water bugs that sometimes get in the bathroom, Kathleen saw him chewing and pulled half of one out of his mouth and almost died. She started screaming and hollering and I thought he died and it was just because he ate a bug.” All the men laughed.
“If one of those bugs got into our house, Harry would probably disinfect it,” Jake remarked and they all laughed. DJ patted his back.
“He does like a clean house,” he said and all the men grinned. Jake shrugged.
“I have to admit, I like a clean house too, it’s nice to come home and everything’s all neat and tidy and with seven children you have to keep it neat or otherwise you get buried in mess,” he said and they all nodded. Hans laughed.
“We only have three and Grace does laundry three times a week and bitches about it. I can’t imagine what your laundry is like,” he declared. Jake grinned.
“Harry and Fran keep on top of it, they’re really good at that, I have no complaints, gentlemen, you are looking at one happy man,” he bragged. DJ grinned.
“Are you still getting laid twice a day, be honest now, with seven kids in the house, you and old Harry had to have slowed down some,” he teased. Jake shook his head.
“Every morning and every night, man, it was so hot Monday night, we used the St. Andrew Cross and Harry was on fire. It’s a wonder we didn’t set off the smoke detectors,” he bragged and they all shook their heads. DJ rolled his eyes.
“Man, I got to find a way to turn gay,” he declared and they all laughed.
“What do you think the men are talking about?” Grace asked and they women all giggled.
“Sex,” Kathleen said and they all laughed.
“Sex is all DJ talks about, thinks about and watches, the man is a sex fiend,” Grace declared and Kathleen shook her head.
“He’s always been a little pervert,” she said and they all grinned. April looked at Harry.
“Do you and Jake still have sex two or three times a day like you used to before you had kids because I’ve got to tell you, with four kids, me and Charlie don’t have sex like we used to, we’re too tired,” she confessed. All the women nodded. Harry giggled and they rolled their eyes.
“Come on, Harry, even you can’t have sex twice a day,” Nyla insisted. Harry shook his head.
“Every morning after I milk the cows, or Jake milks the cows we have sex, we can’t help it, we both wake up with woodies and we have to have sex,” he told them. They all laughed.
“Well, what about at night after you’ve put seven kids to bed, you have to be too tired for sex then,” April said. Harry shrugged.
“Then it’s time for nice relaxing playtime. You should have seen Jake Monday night, we brought out the St. Andrews Cross and he was on fire, he put on his cock ring and he was the master, Master. I couldn’t sit down all morning Tuesday,” he boasted and they all shook their heads. Kathleen hugged him.
“After eleven years, it’s a miracle,” she declared and they all laughed.
After all the kids were in bed Harry snuggled up to Jake and sighed.
“We’re so lucky, honey,” he told him. Jake rolled over to face him.
“What makes you say that, babe?” he asked and his hand came up to touch that handsome face. Harry turned his head to kiss his hand.
“I was talking with the girls and their poor sex life is non-existent and they sound so bored with their married lives. Maybe I shouldn’t say anything so I won’t jinx it but I’m so happy sometimes I have to pinch myself,” he told him. Jake grinned.
“I know, all the men tonight were complaining about not getting enough sex, it was so pitiful it was almost funny,” he said. “And here I am with the most exciting partner on the planet and we have the best sex life, you’re always inventing new games to play. We make love all the time and poor Steve only had sex once in two weeks, can you believe that? I had sex like sixteen times and the poor guy only got laid once.” They both laughed.
“Kathleen better get busy if she wants to keep her man happy and he’d better start working on his romantic skills if he wants to keep his woman happy,” Harry said. “I know, let’s go out to Adam and Eve and find one of those sex games and some toys and pass them out to our friends and spice up their sex lives and save them from being boring,” he suggested and Jake nodded
“We’ll go tomorrow after school,” he said. Then Harry grinned and reached down for his favorite sex toy. Jake grinned as his partner slid down in the bed because he knew what that meant. He closed his eyes and felt that magic mouth do its work. Then when he was close, Harry backed off and he felt quite frustrated and almost screamed and Harry knew that and laughed. He shoved Jake onto his back and straddled him. Jake grinned and helped him into position and they both sighed with pleasure as he entered that hot moist hole. Harry bent down for a hot kiss.
“Oh, babe, you feel so incredible,” Jake whispered. Harry grinned and one hand went back to scratch the inside of Jake’s thighs which always drove him crazy. Harry’s other hand went up to grasp the leather strap to hold onto. He was in for a wild ride and with Jake’s strong legs he was going to get one.
Afterwards they lied curled up together as they always did and both fell asleep thinking they were the luckiest men on the planet.
The next day after school they took the kids with them to Adam and Eve and explored the game aisle and costumes. The kids had no idea what kind of store they were in and just played around with the merchandise and laughed at some of the stuff. Jake did keep them out of the bondage area because he didn’t want them to see that stuff and Harry laughed at that.
“They’re not going to know what that stuff is, silly goose,” he told him. Jake rolled his eyes.
“My children are not seeing that stuff and that’s final,” he said firmly and Harry giggled.
They found an interesting game titled ‘What’s your Passion?’ and got copies for all of their friends and one for themselves and then picked out costumes for everyone and little gifts and made up gift bags with scented lotions, candles and toys. On their way home they stopped by everyone’s house and dropped them off. Everyone was surprised to get them and laughed when they opened them.
“Oh, wow, sex stuff, did I complain that much, buddy?” Steve asked when he saw the bag. Harry giggled.
“Let’s just say that poor Jake felt guilty that he’s gotten laid sixteen times to your one,” he explained and Steve whistled.
“Oh, man, sixteen to one, I need to find a way to turn gay,” he declared and Kathleen smacked him. They all laughed.
“You need to be romantic, you lazy bastard. I know Kathleen would feel more sexy if you were romantic. Women need romance, men just need a hard dick,” Harry informed him and Kathleen nodded.
“He’s right, you get hard and then expect me to do something about it, I need more than that,” she told him. Steve nodded and hugged her.
“Okay, darling, I promise, I’ll try to be more romantic,” he gushed and they kissed. Harry winked at her and she grinned.
A few days later he heard from all the girls who said his game and costumes worked like a charm. All of the men were getting more romantic and they were getting laid.
“Harry, you’re a life saver, Charlie actually went down on me for the first time in ages,” April gushed and giggled. Harry laughed and put the four cake pans in the oven.
“See, all you needed was a little spice to pick up your sex life,” he said and they both laughed.
“He still complains about my blow job, how do you manage to get all of it in your mouth, I don’t get it?” she whined. Harry shook his head.
“It’s all in the gag reflex, darling, you have to get a fake one and practice. I guess women have a stronger gag reflex than men because I’ve never had any problems and Jake is way bigger than me,” he bragged and she giggled.
“I heard he’s way bigger than anyone on the planet,” she said and he laughed.
“Well, I haven’t seen everyone on the planet but I wouldn’t be surprised,” he told her and they both laughed.
Once the newness wore off on the games and costumes though the couples went back to their old sex lives and Harry and Jake threw in the towels. If they weren’t going to get with the program, they weren’t going to push and shove them.
“Four kids is no excuse to ignore your mate, that’s just pure laziness,” Harry informed Fran who nodded.
“I agree with you, that’s why Roger, Zach and Wendy have the best marriage, besides you two boys,” she added. Harry grinned. “They have three people so if one of them is tired, then the other two always have someone to make love with and no one gets jealous if the other two are doing it and most of the time that’s how it is.” Harry nodded.
“And if that works for them then that’s how they should do it,” he said.
Harvest came and school was off for the two weeks it took everyone to harvest their vegetables and fruit and process them. All the kids loved picking and rushed to the fields to help and even the little ones were taught the proper way to pick squash. It was fun and they all had a great time. And of course Farm One laughed and teased each other about the three hundred pounds of flour their first year when their twelve hundred pounds came out of the Mill every time. Harry rolled his eyes and wondered how long they were going to keep that tired old joke going.

The following week Lily Thomas called an emergency town meeting and informed everyone that she and Doug had to use an energy crystal from one of their stores for their house and they were out. Everyone was shocked and looked at one another, they just realized that they too were going to be out of energy crystals soon because the standard crystals for the house only lasted five years and every house had come with enough to last ten years and they had been on the planet for a bit longer than ten years. Soon every house was going to be out of energy, where were they going to get more? Max stood up.
“There’s no need to panic, we’ll simply take the ones from the stores and use them for our houses,” he told everyone. Harry wasn’t in the meeting; it was his turn to baby sit but Jake put his hand over his mouth to hide his grin. He looked over at DJ who winked at him. Kate stood up.
“But what will we do in five years when those run out, that’s not a good solution, we need more energy crystals,” she stated the obvious fact. Everyone rolled their eyes.
“Great thinking, Kate; why didn’t we think of that?” Charles asked sarcastically and a few people laughed. She flushed and sat down.
“So what are we going to do?” Cindy asked, her voice rising with panic. Jake stood up.
“Why don’t we ask Harry, I’m sure he’s thought about this,” he suggested and a lot of people nodded. Max rolled his eyes.
“Do we always have to run to Harry when we have a problem,” he sneered. Carl stood up.
“Yes, we do, Harry is our Savior and we need him,” he said firmly. Reverend Milo stood up.
“I agree with you, Carl, Harry saved us aboard the Roosevelt and brought us to this glorious planet and we should all be grateful to him,” he declared and a lot of people nodded. Jan stood up.
“All you people on Farm One have conveniently forgotten that it was Harry who woke up first and saved your ignorant asses and without him we all would have died on the Roosevelt, so, yes, I say we get him in here and ask him if he has a solution to our problem,” she told them. Kate stood up
“Jan, go and get Harry and bring him in here,” she said firmly and Jan walked out. Max stood up.
“Fine, get Harry, but let me say that this is not my idea,” he shouted. Charles stood up.
“Mine either, I thought Max’s idea was a good one,” he stated and Roger laughed.
“Max’s idea sucked like he sucks those big, fat cigars,” he said and everyone laughed.
Jan came back with Harry and when he was told about the problem, he nodded and faced the crowd.
“This is certainly a problem,” he stated. “You know the best time to think about energy would have been when we were back on the Roosevelt and had all those extra house bins. We could have opened them and taken out all we needed for say, the next five hundred years or so until we explored the planet and found a crystal cave. That would have been the smart thing to do. Too bad none of you adults thought about doing that. But then you were all too busy sitting around the Crew’s Lounge pissing and moaning about how you were going to die any minute and you didn’t want to do any hard work.” Kate stood up.
“You know, Henry, we didn’t call you in here for you to give us a lecture, now do you have a solution to the problem or not? You know, you’re going to be in the dark just like the rest of us,” she snapped. Harry shook his head.
“No, I won’t, Mother,” he told her and she and everyone else looked shocked. She stood up again.
“And why is that?” she asked. He grinned.
“Do you remember back on the Roosevelt, it was right after we had gone through the animal chambers and I said I had an important errand and there would be a great reward at the end for everyone who helped?” he asked and a lot of people grinned. Gloria stood up.
“Yeah, I almost helped but you wouldn’t tell me what the reward was,” she said. He grinned.
“Well, the reward was twenty duffel bags of gold and what I did was hire the kids and a few adults who weren’t afraid of a little hard work to take out the crystal boxes in about a thousand bins. I have enough energy crystals to power this community for the next five hundred years,” he informed them and everyone grinned. Max threw up his hands.
“I give up, the little bastard thinks of everything,” he declared and everyone laughed. Harry looked back at Max.
“Now, Max, the question you and your friends on Farm One have to start asking yourselves, will the little fishy fagola freak give us free energy like he gives the rest of the people or is he going to let us live in the dark?” he teased and they all looked embarrassed. Dr. George stood up.
“Now, Harry, Shelley and I don’t call you that,” he said. Harry grinned.
“Don’t worry, Dr. George, I know you two don’t, anyway I was teasing, of course, everyone gets free energy, even if they don’t like me,” he said and everyone laughed. “I’ll run home and bring some crystals for everyone today and whenever someone needs crystals for their houses or their stores they only have to email me and come on over.” Kate stood up.
“You know, Henry, those crystals belong to the whole community, they don’t belong to you, all of the kids helped you get them,” she said and more than a few people nodded. Harry shook his head.
“Nope, I hired them to do a job and I paid them for their work; ask any business man here and he’ll tell you. Ask Charles, he’s a lawyer, those crystals are my personal property and I’m keeping them,” he said firmly. Max sighed.
“He’s right, Kate, even though he paid with other people’s gold, they’re his crystals,” he told her and everyone nodded. She sighed.
“Why are you insisting on keeping them, why can’t you just hand them over to the community and we can store them here. People can just take them when they need them,” she asked and everyone thought that was reasonable. Harry shook his head.
“Because I know how a government works, Mother. Before you know it, Max and Charles and some of you will get together and start charging people for energy like you did back on Memphis saying that the government needs the money for whatever governments need money for. As long as I keep control of the energy the energy will be free and the people will never be charged for it,” he explained and people began to smile, they liked that idea. Max and Charles frowned; they just realized how much revenue those crystals could bring in.
“Kate’s right, those crystals should belong to all of us,” Max declared and everyone laughed.
“Bullshit, Max, you just want to charge us for energy,” Jan shouted and everyone laughed again. Max sighed.
“Fine, fine, he keeps the damned crystals, but we still need to find a crystal cave, especially since we’re going to be on this planet for such a long time,” he said and everyone agreed.
Harry went home and got a duffel bag of crystal boxes and brought them to the Center and handed out a dozen to everyone and they all thanked him.
“I should have known you would have thought of getting these,” Lily gushed as she took her crystals. Harry grinned.
“You’re our Savior once again, Harry, I don’t know what we’d do without you,” Carl gushed. Harry grinned and patted the man on his back.
“You’d sit in the dark, that’s what you’d do, Carl,” he teased and everyone laughed.
“Figures those idiots wouldn’t even think about energy crystals until we were almost out of energy,” Harry laughed on the way home. Jake reached for his hand.
“That’s because they’re not as smart as my babe,” he said and kissed his hand. Harry giggled and the kids in the back giggled. Danny rattled his little doll and chewed on it and Gertie barked. It was a happy car. Fran laughed.
“Edna’s garage ran out of lights last week but she was afraid to say anything to anyone, she didn’t want to be the first one to mention it,” she told them. Harry grinned.
“That Edna is stronger than she thinks, raising six children all by herself with no help from that silly David, I admire her,” he said and Jake nodded.
“Just like you, Fran, you raised Wendy all by yourself and you did a great job after your husband died, you’re two strong women,” he told her and she blushed.
“You do know, Harry, that your mother hates me,” she said and Harry laughed.
“Barb doesn’t but Kate sure does, she has since you moved in back when we were fourteen, but that’s just jealousy and she’ll get over it one day when you’re both about ten thousand or so,” he teased and they all laughed.
That Halloween Harry dressed his seven children up as the Seven Dwarfs, Fran went as the wicked step-mother, Jake as Prince Charming and he went as the Queen’s man who led poor Snow White into the forest and left her. Both of his daughters carried their Snow White Barbie dolls and of course they won best costumes and everyone laughed at the cute dwarfs. Granddad Jackson loved them especially and giggled when he saw them and tried to guess which one each of the children were.
“Okay, Jackson, you’re sleepy, right?” he asked and they little boy looked insulted.
“No, granddad, I’m Doc,” he told him. Dr. Jackson laughed.
“Oh, yeah, you have glasses, so you’re a doctor like me, I like that Son, maybe one day you’ll be a Vet like me and work in the office with me, won’t you like that?” he asked and Jackson nodded. The old man beamed and hugged him. He looked at Emma.
“Emma darling, you’re Bashful right?” he asked. She shook her head.
“I’m Happy,” she said and he hugged her.
“Of course you are, darling, and I love you,” Dr. Jackson gushed and she giggled.
“Sean, you’re Dopey right?” he asked and Sean laughed.
“No, Danny’s Dopey, I’m Bashful and Ryan is Sneezy, boy, Granddad, you don’t know your dwarfs at all,” he declared in a loud voice. Everyone around them laughed. Dr. Jackson giggled.
“Okay, so we have Happy, Doc, Dopey, Bashful, Sneezy, which one are you Adam?” he asked and Adam pretended to be asleep. Dr. Jackson laughed.
“I get it, you’re Sleepy,” he said and all the kids laughed. Then he looked at Cassie who grinned. Dr. Jackson frowned.
“So what dwarf am I missing, help me out, darling; give your old granddad a clue?” he begged and she pouted and made a mean face. He laughed and tickled her and she giggled.
“Grumpy, I get it, my little darling is Grumpy,” he declared and everyone clapped and cheered for him.
“Those are marvelous costumes, Harry, but then you always make marvelous costumes,” Linda gushed. Harry grinned.
“I’ll be glad when they get old enough to pick out their own costumes, this family theme is getting hard, I’m running out of ideas,” he confessed and she giggled.
“It must be hard coming up with ideas for seven but you have to admit, only you could do the Seven Dwarfs,” she teased and they both laughed.
At the turkey hunt David Marshall surprised the hell out of everyone including himself by killing one turkey on the ground and one in the air. He was so surprised he jumped up and down and blew a hole in the ground and knocked himself into a tree and was out cold for twenty minutes before anyone realized what he had done and they carried him home so that Harry could heal him.
“There he is, hey, David, how do you feel?” Harry asked softly and the man glared up at him.
“I don’t remember telling you, you could call me by my first name,” he snapped. Everyone laughed. Harry grinned and pulled his hands away from the man’s head.
“I think he’s alright now, he can go home to his wife,” he announced and they helped David to his feet.
“What happened, did someone shoot me?” he asked. Max laughed.
“No, you idiot, you shot the ground and the recoil knocked you into a damned tree and you knocked yourself out,” he told him and David glared at everyone who nodded.
“Well, I got two turkeys this year so I’m getting better,” he stated and Jan patted his back.
“Yes, you are, Marshall, but the next time, don’t jump up and down when you’re holding a rifle, that’s not a smart thing to do,” she advised and he nodded.
“What a fool, did someone shoot him?” Harry said when everyone had gone home. Jake grinned as he watched his babe put three birds in bags and pour the whiskey sugar mixture in them and shake them up. Then Harry put them in the fridge to sit for the next two days. He’ll take them out and shake them a few times over the next two days to mix them up. Jake loved to watch him shaking the birds because he always did a little dance to entertain the kids to make them giggle.
Thanksgiving came and the Talbert-Jackson table was the largest with twenty children and six adults and no one minded the noise they made because all of the tables were just as noisy. David and Gloria hated their table with the four noisy children and her parents. Edna sat with her six children. Dr. George had wanted his son-in-law’s three children from his first marriage to sit with them and even invited Edna and her other children to join them but thankfully for David she had declined. If more children had been at their table, David and Gloria would have simply died, they hated the four who were there and couldn’t understand how Shelley and George could beam at the little monsters.
“I love your stuffing, Harry,” Dr. Jackson exclaimed as he helped himself to his third helping. Harry giggled which made all the kids giggled.
“I can see that, Jackson, is that your third or fourth serving there?” he teased and they all laughed. Jake patted his dad’s stomach.
“I don’t see where you’re putting it all, Dad; you must have a hollow leg or something,” he teased and everyone laughed. Sissy rolled her eyes.
“He’s been talking about nothing but your turkey and stuffing for two days now, Harry, you’ve got to give me that recipe,” she declared. Harry shook his head and leaned over to his youngest.
“You heard that, Danny, your grandmom wants my secret turkey recipe, shall I give it to her?” he asked and Danny shook his head. Everyone laughed. Suddenly everyone heard the noise outside that sounded like a ship landing and gasped. Max stood up.
“Jewel’s come back,” he shouted. Everyone stood up. Harry shook his head.
“If that was Jewel she would be ringing those bells, that could be a Galatica ship, we all shouldn’t go outside, only a few of us men,” he suggested. Carl and Frank rushed to the front of the room with their guns in their hands. Jan rushed to the front with hers. Harry nodded.
A group stood at the foyer and Harry looked at the selection, Jake, Jan, Carl, Frank, Doug, Max, Charles, Reverend Milo and Reverend Phillip, Steve, Charlie, DJ, Hans, Sarek, Synta, Chan, Mike, Davy, Billy, Bobby, Dr. Dennis, Dr. Blake, Bernie, Brian, Gary, Otto, Roger and Zach, all of the men stood ready to face the enemy. They all walked out of the Center and saw the ship that had landed on the grass beyond the parking lot. Harry turned around.
“Roger, Zach, a few of you men, go around to the back of the Center and make sure no one’s sneaking up behind us, Frank you’ve got a gun, go with them,” he said and they nodded and split up. The rest of the group approached the ship, walking carefully across the parking lot, spread out so they wouldn’t make easier targets. When they got close a ramp shot out and a hatch opened and two men in gray uniforms like the one Jewel had been wearing when they had rescued her walked down the ramp followed by a man in a fancy red robe. He beamed and waved his arms around when he saw them.
“A new species living on this planet, I can’t believe I have discovered you, please don’t be afraid. I am Count Sporznag and I have come to take you to my home planet where you will be safe,” he said graciously. All the men looked at each other and frowned. Max stepped forward bravely, Harry at his side.
“How do you do, Count, my name is Max Tyler and I’m the Mayor of Edenville and while we appreciate your kind offer, we are very happy where we are, but thank you,” he said just as graciously as the Count. The Count shook his head and waved his finger at them. His two soldiers behind him pointed their weapons at them and Carl, Frank and Jan pointed their guns at them. It looked like a standoff.
“But my friends, I am afraid you will have no choice but to take my kind offer, you see I am a Galactican and my people rule this side of the universe and my friends are going to die when they see my new specimens. You will be happy in my zoo, what are you called?” he asked. Reverend Milo stepped forward.
“We are humans and, no, we do not want to be specimens in your zoo, please leave us alone,” he said in his booming voice. The Count and his soldiers laughed.
“I love you, you are gorgeous, you, I must have for my zoo right now. Take this one right away, the others we will come back for later with a bigger ship,” he instructed his soldiers. They nodded and marched forward. Reverend Milo looked shocked and stepped back with the rest of the group. Frank and Carl stepped forward with their guns and prepared to fire. But when they fired, the Galacticans fired and their weapons were made useless. Panicked they turned to Harry who lifted the Galacticans off the ground and into each other with such a force that everyone heard bones crack. The Count gasped and turned around to run.
“Don’t let him get away, Harry,” Jake shouted. Harry lifted the Count off the ground and snapped his neck. Then he rushed up the ramp to the ship to see if there were any more of them. Sarek followed him and they found the ship empty but with a red light flashing. Sarek frowned as he looked at the instrument panel.
“We must get this ship as far away from us as possible and very soon, I’m afraid the Count activated some kind of emergency self-destruct,” he told him. Harry nodded and sat down in the pilot’s chair. Jake stood behind him.
“Honey, run and tell the others what we’re going to do, we have to get to the Elizabeth and away from here very quickly now go,” he said and Jake ran off the ship. Harry quickly looked over the panel and pushed the correct buttons and they lifted off and flew to his hanger where he dropped off Sarek and Carl who quickly got onboard and followed him. Harry called them on Carl’s cell phone.
“It looks like I’ve got fifteen minutes so I’m heading out to sea, there is a boat here and I’m going to fly low, jump out and let the ship keep going so look for the boat,” he informed them.
“Right, Harry, we’ll follow you, don’t worry, we’re right behind you,” Carl said. Harry looked at Frank and grinned.
“Do you feel like going swimming in shark invested waters?” he teased and the man frowned.
“Not really, Harry,” he declared and they both laughed. Harry put the ship on auto-pilot and looked around to see if there was anything interested he could steal. He opened a closet and began filling a bag with stuff.
“Watch and make sure we stay on course,” he told Frank who nodded. Harry filled two bags with stuff and then stopped the ship as close to the water as possible. He and Frank dropped the boat and he lifted the man and the bags down to it. Then Harry put the ship into a heading and put it on maximum speed and stood by the door. He used his telekinesis to push the button and jumped. The ship speeded off and he hit the water next to the raft. Scared shitless he swam for the raft as Frank reached for him. Laughing Harry climbed aboard and lied in and they both grinned. Then the raft was bumped and both men lost their grins. They looked over the side and saw a huge black shape. Harry looked at the sky.
“Where the hell are they?” he said. Frank shook his head and reached for his cell phone. He dialed Carl and asked when they were coming because they didn’t like their present company. Harry grinned.
“There they are,” he called out with much relief. He waved his hands and Sarek brought the ship down. Carl opened the door and Harry lifted Frank and the two bags and the men threw down a rope for him, luckily he always carried one in the ship. Harry climbed aboard with much relief and they watched a very large shark attack the little boat. Carl frowned.
“That could have been the two of you,” he stated. Harry shook his head.
“I would have pushed that bastard out of the way,” he told him and they all nodded. Just then they heard a big explosion and saw a flash of light in the distance.
“It seems that the Galactican ship has exploded,” Sarek remarked. All the men laughed.
“You don’t say, let’s head for home, my friend,” Harry said and patted him on the shoulder.
“You do not want to pilot the ship?” Sarek asked. Harry shook his head and sat back.
“You seem to be doing a great job so far,” he told him and with a pleased smile Sarek turned the Elizabeth around and flew back to the Center where all of their worried friends and families waited for them.
Jake took one look at his wet clothes and hustled Harry into the warm Center and the four men told their story. Everyone was impressed with the big shark. Jake shook his head.
“You could have been eaten by a shark, don’t you know better than to go swimming in shark waters, babe,” he scolded him. Harry grinned.
“I could push any shark away, honey,” he told him and everyone laughed.
“Well, Harry, you saved us again, without your telekinesis, all of us would be in a Galactican zoo pretty soon,” Jan remarked and everyone shuddered. Reverend Milo bowed his head.
“Let us pray for the souls of those three men who were so misguided,” he said. Max snorted.
“You pray for them, Reverend, they were going to take you away first,” he said. All of the women shuddered. Sarah wiped her eyes. Harry sighed and patted the Reverend’s arm.
“You pray for their souls, Reverend, and we’ll get busy burying them,” he told him and Reverend Milo nodded.
They made a graveyard away from the Center near the woods and buried the three men. Max wanted the cape of the Count and with a grin Harry took it off and gave it to him but he took the man’s jewelry for himself saying he had killed him so he got the spoils of war. Charles and Max didn’t like that but they were slightly afraid of him after watching him kill three people with so little effort. That made Jake and Harry laugh after they put the kids to bed. Harry walked to the garage and brought in the two bags he had taken from the Galactican ship. Jake looked at them with interest.
“What have you got there, babe?” he asked. Harry grinned.
“Some crap I took off the Galactican ship before I blew it up,” he told him. He sat on the couch and opened the first bag. “Did you see how Max and Charles backed down at the graveyard, when I told them I deserved the jewelry because I had killed the Count?” he asked and Jake laughed.
“Oh, yeah, I thought old Max was going to piss himself, he didn’t want to make you mad and get his old head snapped,” he said. Harry pulled out the first item that looked like a coffee pot.
“This looks like a coffee pot doesn’t it?” he asked and handed it to Jake who examined it.
“It sure does, but the metal looks different than ours,” he said. Harry pulled out another metal item and this looked like a container of some sorts. The whole bag was filled with metal items, coffee pots, cups, metal containers, salt and pepper shakers, all kinds of things. Jake grinned.
“It looks like you cleaned out his galley,” he teased and Harry giggled.
“I just opened a closet and started grabbing stuff, I didn’t have much time to look around,” he told him. Jake grinned.
“What’s in the other bag, maybe some Galactica food?” he asked and Harry opened the next bag. It contained plastic containers of toothpaste, shampoos, lotions, soap, green milk, nuts, junpar, olives, pickles, chocolates, and bottles of Galactican alcohol, about ten different varieties.
“Wow, this Count was a real lush,” Harry remarked and Jake laughed.
“You know we can’t let anyone know we have this stuff because there’s not enough to share with anyone,” Jake told him. Harry nodded and they put it in a box and put it in their bedroom closet. The metal containers he put on a shelf in the kitchen and tried an experiment with. He filled one of the coffee pots with cold water and one with hot and left them on the counter for an hour and when he came back to check on them he found the liquid inside the hot one was still the same temperature and the cold one was still the same. When he told Fran and Jake about it they were very impressed.
“Wow, a metal that acts like a refrigerator without a crystal, that’s pretty cool,” Fran said. Harry grinned.
“That means, Fran, when you make a pot of coffee in the morning, you can put it in this pot and it will stay hot all morning and not get bitter like it does on the coffee maker, the same with a pot of tea,” he explained and her eyes lit up.
“That’s great, I can make a pot of tea in the morning and have it all day,” she gushed. Harry grinned.
“Yep, and I can take a pot of coffee to school with me and have it for all day,” he gushed and Jake laughed and hugged him.
“If those metal containers keep things cold, think of all the fun we can have taking ice cream and cold stuff on hikes and stuff,” he said and they all grinned. Harry tilted his head like he tended to do while he was thinking. Jake grinned; he thought he was so damned cute when he did that.
“You know if this metal is common in this part of the universe, we could probably find it in our mountains and make our own containers,” Harry told them. Jake nodded.
“We should look around the next time we take the kids camping,” he said and Harry nodded.
“Well, until them, these containers are our little secret,” he declared and they all nodded. Fran pretended to zip her mouth and they all laughed.
The next Sunday Reverend Phillip’s sermon was about our Savior saying us from our enemies and Harry sighed, these two were never going to let up on this Savior nonsense until the other children started to heal people. He smiled at everyone when they all clapped and cheered for him and little Jackson beamed at the people cheering for his father. Both girls climbed on Harry’s lap and got kisses. Little Danny pushed them off and got fussy so Jake took the two girls and gave them more kisses.
“You have to admit, Henry, that you continue to save us from disaster,” his mother Kate remarked during Sunday dinner. Harry laughed.
“I guess I do but all this Savior talk is embarrassing,” he told her and all the adults laughed. Sissy sighed and looked at her son.
“Well, I guess my son really did make the right choice when he married you,” she said and Jake grinned and got up and kissed her cheek. Dr. Jackson laughed and kissed his grandsons, he had one on either side of him.
“I wouldn’t have these fine grandchildren if he hadn’t, I love my grandchildren,” he bragged and they all laughed again.
“You would think he was the only man in the room who had grandchildren,” Reverend Milo remarked to his wife Sarah who giggled. They looked at their six children and smiled at their two older daughters who both shook their heads.
“Don’t look at me like that, I’m never having children, you have to gain a hundred pounds to have a babe and I’m never getting that fat,” Violet declared and looked at her mother who had gained about thirty pounds with her last baby and still hadn’t taken it off. Milo insisted that was just more hot woman to love. Sarah flushed at her daughter’s look of contempt and pulled her blouse over her ample breasts. Amy shook her head.
“I’m not having any until I get married and that’s not going to be for a long time. I’m not in love with any of the boys. Maybe one of the other boys will grow up and I’ll fall in love with one of them,” she said and Violet kicked her under the table. Amy kicked her back. Their brother Ben looked at her.
“I saw you kissing Tammy the other day,” he said loudly and Amy glared at him. Reverend Milo laughed and patted his hand.
“I’m sure that was just a friendly kiss, Son,” he told him. Ben who was nine nodded. Kendra, who was seven giggled.
“It sure was friendly, she kissed her right on the lips,” she told them and Violet giggled. Sarah looked appalled. Amy shrugged.
“You know all the older kids are bi, that’s no secret,” she said defensively. Reverend Milo nodded.
“What’s bi?” Ben asked. Sarah put more potatoes on his plate.
“We don’t talk about that at the table, honey, eat your dinner,” she told him and frowned at the older girls who nodded and wanted to be somewhere else. Little Jamaun who was five played with his food and ate with his fingers.
The next day Harry invited Sarek and his family over and showed them the metal objects and from their smiles when they saw them he knew that they had had similar pots and containers on their home world Minos.
“I take it then that these containers are familiar,” Harry said as he held up a coffee pot. Myla nodded and picked up one of the small metal containers.
“Yes, this metal is called glyph and mined in the mountains on Minos and very common, it can be hot or cold depending on what you put into it and stays that way for hours,” she informed him. Harry grinned.
“We’re hoping that we can find some of this glyph on this planet and make a lot of these containers for everyone. What I took off of the Galactican ship isn’t enough to share with anyone and if they find out about them everyone’s going to piss and moan,” he said and Myla laughed.
“They do have a habit of that don’t they,” she teased and Jake shook his head.
“Those people from Farm One are the worst of the lot; they contribute nothing and expect the most. I bet if we do find some ore to make into containers that none of those lazy men show up for mining duty and they all would expect containers and pots,” he said and Sarek nodded.
“I would bet you, my friend, however I like my money,” he joked and they all laughed.
Harry put all the containers back on the shelf and left them for later, he looked up how to make and pour molds to make metal containers on the computer and found that one of his factories was a foundry which was very handy. Jake smiled when he told him about it and declared him a genius which made all the kids giggle.
Christmas came and the whole community got together for the big party in the main room with the big tree that everyone helped decorate. Gloria and David looked across the room at Emma who was adorable in her little red dress with her sister Cassie in pink and wanted to walk across the room and snatch her up. At least Gloria did, David had no desire for children, ever, he had lived with them for thirteen years and knew that at five they might look adorable from across the room but living with them was another story.
“I’m going to go over and say hello to our daughter,” Gloria said with determination. David shrugged and watched her walk over, he couldn’t care less. Harry saw Gloria walking across the room and rolled his eyes.
“Watch out, honey, evil witch at two o’clock,” he warned. Jake glanced up and gave a soft laugh.
“What the hell does she want?” he muttered. All of the boys were happy tearing open presents from their granddad and the girls were sitting on the floor opening their presents. Gloria smiled at them so Harry smiled back.
“Merry Christmas, Gloria, you look lovely today,” he told her and she preened.
“When are you going to lift that stupid ban and let me back into Macys?” she asked in lieu of a greeting. Harry shrugged.
“I’ll lift my ban as soon as you lift yours,” he told her and she looked surprised.
“Is that all you’re waiting for?” she asked and he nodded. She made a rude noise.
“Christ, if I’d had known that I would have lifted that stupid ban years ago, I thought you hated me,” she sniped. Harry grinned.
“Now why on Earth would I hate you, Gloria?” he teased and she laughed.
“Fine, that silly ban is lifted, now can I shop at Macys again?” she asked and he nodded. She squealed and hugged him. All the kids laughed. Gloria looked down at Emma and smiled at her.
“Hello, Emma; how are you today?” she asked sweetly. Emma giggled.
“Hello, I’m fine, Daddy, please put this together for me,” she asked. Harry knelt down and looked at her present; it was a doll that talked so he had to put the crystal in the back of it. He opened the back and put the crystal in and she pulled the string.
“Hello, I’m Chatty Cathy,” the doll announced and both girls giggled. Cassie handed him her doll and he put the crystal in that one. Gloria tapped her heel on the floor.
“Emma, do you know who I am, darling?” she asked. Emma glanced up at her.
“Yes I do, you’re the woman who gave birth to me, Daddy can I show Stephie my doll?” she asked and Harry nodded. The two girls ran off to show their friends their dolls. Gloria looked startled.
“That’s it, that’s what you’ve told her about me, that I’m the woman who gave birth to her, that’s rude,” she snapped. Harry looked at her.
“What did you want us to tell her?” he asked her gently. She shook her head.
“That I’m her mother, that’s who I am,” Gloria snapped. Harry shook his head.
“Emma doesn’t need a mother, Gloria, she has two fathers so she doesn’t need a mother and she has a Fran, four grandmoms and two granddads so I think that’s enough for one little girl, don’t you?” he asked softly. Gloria sighed.
“I guess, but she’s so darned cute, why can’t David and I have her for part of the time, you know, like a shared custody thing,” she suggested and Harry shook his head.
“No way, she’s our daughter and we’re not sharing and I’m pretty sure if you ask David if he wants half custody he’ll say no, he never even sees his kids with Edna. He’s never even seen Vickie except at Church and he never visits Davy or Susie, I’m not sharing my daughter with an ass like him,” he told her. She stomped her foot.
“You are so mean, Harry, I’m telling my daddy,” she whined and walked off. Jake shook his head.
“She’s going to tell her daddy on you, how old is that girl?” he teased and they both laughed. Harry knelt down and looked at Danny’s present, a little barn with animals.
“Oh, look, Danny, there’s a pig; what does a pig say?” he asked and Danny giggled.
“Oink,” he said and everyone laughed. Harry kissed his sweet little face.
“That’s right, darling, oink says the pig,” he said.
At the next town meeting Max asked Harry and Jake both be present and the men knew it had to have something to do with David and Gloria so they held hands when Gloria stood up and announced that she and David had discussed the matter and decided that they had changed their minds about the whole adoption and wanted their baby girl back. Everyone was shocked and appalled and looked at the two men and wondered what they were going to do. Dr. George sighed, this was exactly the reason he and Shelley hadn’t adopted her, they had been afraid that Gloria would one day change her mind and demand her back and it would tear their hearts apart to have to give her back. Harry stood up and took out the adoption papers out of his pocket and looked them over carefully.
“You know, Gloria, I’ve been reading these adoption papers that you and David signed of your own free will, both of you over eighteen and legal adults and you know, it’s really funny, but nowhere on this paper does it say that you have five years to change your mind and get your daughter back,” he informed her. “In fact, there isn’t even the usual one year waiting period on this document; it gave me and Jake full custody of Emma Rose the very second that both couples signed the document.” David stood up.
“My wife was under duress when she signed that, she had just had surgery and wasn’t thinking clearly,” he stated. Harry shook his head.
“No, I had healed her and she was fully one hundred percent recovered and both Dr. George and Fiona can testify to that,” he said. David flushed and sat down. Gloria wiped tears from her eyes and some of the women felt sorry for her.
“I can’t believe, Harry, that you would deny a mother her precious child,” she said tearfully. A few people, especially some of the women looked sad and glared at Harry and Jake accusingly. Harry shook his head.
“You belong on stage with that act, Gloria, is the same precious child that you referred to as an ‘it’ as in, “you take ‘it’ and feed ‘it’ I want to take a shower and get pretty for my husband, David will be here any minute, you’re the nurse and that’s your job to feed ‘it’”, is that the same precious child that you’re referring to?” he asked. Fiona stood up.
“That’s exactly what she said too, she called Emma an ‘it’ and refused to even feed or hold her after she was born, all she wanted to do was hand her over to Jake and Harry. As soon as they signed the adoption papers her and David rushed out of the hospital as fast as they could,” she told everyone and they were all shocked. Gloria shrugged.
“So I didn’t want a baby, she’s not a baby anymore, she’s five and adorable and has fantastic manners and I want her now, she’s my child and I deserve to have her,” she said. Kate stood up.
“Gloria is right, Henry, no matter how much it’s going to hurt, you have to return her to her biological parents,” she told him. Harry shook his head.
“I told Gloria and David five years ago that the adoption was final, that if they changed their minds, five, ten or fifteen years down the road that they were shit out of luck because once she was ours we were not giving her back and that is the truth. I’m not breaking the hearts of all of my children by giving away their sister and I’m not breaking the heart of my daughter by giving her away to these two idiots who had the most precious gift in the world and gave it away because they don’t like shitty diapers and crying babies,” he told them. Gloria stomped her foot.
“You’re mean, I hate babies, that’s not fair, why can’t you just give her back,” she said. Harry shook his head.
“Gloria, you’re not going to find a single couple here who’s going to raise a child for you and David for five or six years and then give it to you once the diapers and two a.m. feedings are over. Now you made your choice and you have to live with it, Emma is our daughter and Jake and I are not giving her back, she’s a child, she’s not a piece of furniture and you can’t play games with her emotions like that. We love her and she loves us and believe me, two hours with her and you’ll be sending her home, she might look adorable in a pretty red dress but she’s ornery and can wrestle with her brothers just like any normal kid,” he said and everyone laughed. Jake grinned. Gloria sat down.
“Fine, you keep her then but I say you’re mean,” she snapped. Harry grinned.
“Well, I lifted your Macys ban, how about a free shopping trip, would that make you feel better?” he asked and she jumped up and clapped her hands.
“Oh, yes, can we do it today?” she asked and everyone laughed. Violet stood up.
“You lifted her ban, why haven’t you lifted my ban?” she asked. Harry shrugged.
“Because she didn’t steal from me, if you return that diamond you stole, I’ll lift your ban too, Violet,” he told her. She flushed.
“I returned that diamond,” she said. He shook his head.
“You replaced that stone with a cubic zarconia and you know it, now if you’re going to insist on lying then I’m not going to lift your ban, I don’t appreciate liars,” he said sternly and she flushed with embarrassment when everyone laughed.
“That’s telling her, Harry,” Mike shouted and everyone agreed. She glared at him and sat down. Jake sighed and shook his head. The meeting went on to other stuff and Jake took the kids home while Harry rode with Gloria and David and went to Macys where they shopped for five hours and got a ton of stuff. They were in a very happy mood when they dropped him off.
“Bye, Harry, thanks, darling,” Gloria called as David drove away. Harry laughed and waved. Jake met him at the door.
“Rough time, babe?” he asked as they hugged. Harry giggled.
“I think those two definitely preferred the shopping trip to the daughter any day,” he declared and they both laughed. Harry looked around. “Where are the kids?” he asked. Jake grinned.
“Danny’s lying down and the rest are in the backyard with Fran, I was just in getting some of those ice cream treats you made,” he said. Harry nodded.
“I’m going to get something to eat, I’m starving,” he said and Jake kissed him.
“Okay, babe,” he said. They both walked into the kitchen. Jake got the ice cream sticks and Harry looked around and decided on ham with leftover potatoes and heated them up and sat at the table. A sleepy Danny wandered in while he was eating so Harry put him in his chair and fed him some ice cream and some green milk.
“You like green milk like your dad don’t you, darling?” he asked and Danny nodded and drank some. Harry laughed and drank his. They both grinned at each other and Harry fed him some ham. He tried not to play favorites among his children and he knew Jake didn’t either but he had a soft spot in his heart for his youngest. Maybe because he was his youngest or maybe because he looked so much like himself and his father Simon, whatever it was, Danny followed him around the house like a little puppy and that endeared him to him.
For the New Year’s Eve party Harry brought out two cases of champagne and informed everyone that this was the very last of the wine from his liquor store so unless they grew some grapes they weren’t going to have anymore of the bubbly to toast the next New Year’s. Everyone groaned except for David and Gloria who giggled.
“What about your wine cellar, Henry, surely you have champagne in your wine cellar?” Kate asked and everyone’s eyes lit up. Harry shook his head.
“Not enough for everyone, I only have a few bottles in my fridge. We have to grow grapes and I do have a wine press and the recipe for making champagne so we can make it,” he informed them so they all nodded. David frowned.
“You can make champagne in your wine cellar?” he asked. Harry nodded.
“I would have made it this year if I had realized that we only had two cases. I thought we had four but the other two cases are pink champagne and I don’t think too many people are going to like drinking that,” he explained and most of the people shook their heads.
“Oh, God no, pink champagne is tacky,” Linda exclaimed and everyone laughed. Gloria grinned.
“Well, David and I have plenty of champagne in our liquor store if you want to buy some next year,” she told everyone. They all frowned.
“How come Harry and Jake supply the champagne for New Year’s and you and David want to charge for it, that’s not right,” Brian said and everyone nodded. David snorted.
“That’s because Harry and Jake are stupid and now they’re out of champagne. If they were smart and charged for it like we intend to do they’d be rich men,” he informed them. Harry laughed.
“I have seven precious children, that’s about as rich as I need to be,” he declared and everyone nodded. Gloria rolled her eyes.
“You can’t spend children, they’re not worth any gold,” she said and everyone looked shocked. Harry opened the box and started passing out the bottles and everyone began opening them.
“Divide them up, every table gets two bottles, Gloria, you and David only get one since you’re only two at your table,” he told them and they nodded and took their bottle to their private table off to the side away from all of the pesky children who interfered with their good time. They couldn’t understand why the children had to be present at the party anyway, why couldn’t they play in the other room. Although they did have to admit that Emma looked really cute in her little gray dress with the silver ribbons in her long curly blonde hair.
Harry and Jake sat at a table with Steve, Kathleen and their children. All of the kids sat in one corner away from the adults like they always did and danced amongst one another and had a great time. Harry danced with his daughters who giggled and danced by standing on his feet and they both loved that. Then he did the same with his sons and they loved that too. With Danny, Ryan and Sean, he held them in his arms and twirled them around and they giggled and laughed. It was great fun. Then they had a family dance and they held all seven kids in their arms and danced together and they got many kisses and laughs with that dance.
“Having fun, honey?” Harry asked when they finally got a chance to dance a slow song together. Granddad was entertaining the kids while they ate. Jake grinned and kissed him hard and passionately. Harry sighed and put his head on his shoulder.
“I love you, babe, thanks for our great life,” Jake whispered and Harry nodded.
“I love you too, honey, we do have a terrific life, I couldn’t have done it without you,” he told him and lifted his head for another kiss which he got. Jake smiled down at him.
“You just got your hair cut didn’t you?” he asked and Harry grinned. “It’s so curly, I love your hair when you first get it cut; it makes you look fourteen again.” Harry laughed and rubbed his face in his chest.
“Oh, is that what turns you on?” he teased and his eyes got all slanty, sending shivers up Jake’s spine and he trembled. Kathleen who was dancing next to them saw the look and shivered herself. She nudged Steve and he looked at the two and grinned.
“Those two never turn it off do they?” he teased and she giggled. Harry glanced at the kids who appeared busy.
“How about a quick fuck in the chapel?” Harry suggested and Jake grinned and nodded. They rushed off the floor and all of their friends laughed as they disappeared into the hallway.
“And there they go, how much do you want to bet they’re going to do it in the chapel again?” DJ asked his sister who giggled.
“Oh, please, that’s a sucker bet,” she retorted and everyone laughed.
About fifteen minutes later the two men reappeared slightly mussed up and straightened their clothes. Emma raced over to hug them. Jake picked her up and gave her a kiss.
“Where did you go, I looked all over for you,” she asked; her little lips in a pout. Jake laughed and kissed her.
“Sorry, darling, your daddy and I had to go check something out, but now we’re back and I want to dance with my darling again,” he said and walked her to the floor. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squealed with delight. He grinned at Harry who walked to the table to help himself to some food. Sissy looked at him.
“Were you two boys running, you look out of breath?” she asked. Harry grinned and sipped at some Coke.
“No, Sissy, I was just rushing that’s all, how’s my boys doing, did you get enough to eat?” he asked and they all grinned and nodded. He began wiping mouths and hands and took them all into the playroom for some fun. Jake brought Emma in and then Harry left to bring them a plate of food and some soda and they watched their kids and a lot of other kids so their parents could dance and soon all the kids were tucked in to sleep while the parents were dancing and waiting for midnight.
At midnight while all the other adults were out on the dance floor kissing one another and wishing everyone else a Happy New Year, Jake and Harry sat on the floor in the meeting room next to their children and kissed each other.
“Happy forty-two, fifty-nine, babe,” Jake whispered. Harry touched his handsome face and smiled.
“Happy forty-two fifty-nine, honey,” he whispered and they kissed tenderly. Violet stood in the doorway and watched her heart aching at the tender scene. Why didn’t someone love me like that, she thought, more important, why didn’t Harry love me like that, why did he love Jake and not her, it wasn’t fair. She swore that this was the year she took Jake away from him and got her revenge. She walked away from the room and stomped out of the Center and drove home. After watching that tender scene, she was in no mood to be playing with any of the stupid boys tonight.
Everyone took their kids home and the next day a team showed up at the Center to clean up after the party. Harry and all most of the kids showed up of course. Little Miss Violet didn’t of course, she never showed up when there was work to be done, only when there was free food or booze.
In January everyone packed up their barns and Harry flew the whole town to Hawaii for the rest of the winter. The kids loved no school and winter vacation and Fran watched the kids while the two men unpacked the barn. When everyone was settled in they walked into the house and all the kids cheered and clapped. Harry grinned.
“Who wants to go to the waterfall and go swimming?” he asked and six hands went up. Then Jackson lifted Danny’s hand up and the little boy giggled. Harry grinned.
“Well, let’s go find our suits, we can unpack our clothes after,” he shouted and they all cheered. Jake grinned and they all rushed to their rooms. Because this was the beach house and not their own house, the two girls shared a room, Jackson and Adam shared a room and the three younger boys shared a room. Fran had the study as her bedroom and used the bath down the hall.
Once everyone was in their swimsuits and had their sandals on, Harry filled a basket with goodies and Jake carried the towels and Fran carried a basket with other stuff and they were ready. They marched out of the house and met up with Steve and Kathleen and their bunch heading in the same direction. Kathleen grinned and waved.
“Waterfall, right?” she shouted and all the kids cheered. All of her kids cheered and joined their best friends. Synta and Joon caught up and Martin joined hands with Jackson and everyone was happy.
When they got to the waterfall Jake and the other men spread out blankets and Harry took off sandals and hopped in the water to test how cold it was. It was nice and refreshing and not too cold. Then the kids giggled and lined up so he could lift them one by one and drop them in which made everyone squeal and laugh and have a great time. He made sure to drop the little ones near their parents so they could get caught quickly and not get scared of the water. All the older kids four and five could swim like little dolphins and had little rings and rafts to play with. With fifteen kids in the water all screaming and laughing and six adults it was a noisy affair. Fran sat on the blanket and read her book which she swore she loved to do; nothing could get her off the blanket. Bo and Gertie jumped into the water with Didi the Irish Setter and all the kids had a ball playing with the dogs who loved the water.
Eventually all the little fishes ran out of energy and sat on the blankets and ate the snacks that Harry and Fran and the other mothers had packed and drank Kool-aide which they all loved. Harry made it with half the sugar it called for and no one noticed and the kids didn’t get hyper from all that extra sugar.
“This is great, I love winter vacation,” Kathleen gushed. Joon nodded.
“Me too, I look forward to this all year long,” she said. Harry sighed.
“It is lovely here in Hawaii,” he gushed and Danny came over to sit in his lap. He smiled and hugged him. Kathleen smiled at the little boy causing him to giggle.
“You don’t have to look far to find that one do you?” she asked and they all laughed. Harry shook his head.
“This is my buddy, aren’t you, darling?” he asked and Danny nodded. Harry gave him a string cheese to nibble on.
“He looks so much like you, he’s going to be a lady killer,” Kathleen declared and Harry laughed.
“If he’s anything like me and Simon, he’ll be a man killer,” he bragged proudly and both women shook their heads.
“You’re the only man in the world who hopes his son is gay,” Joon said with a giggle. Harry grinned.
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being gay, is there, darling?” he asked Danny who shook his head and they kissed. Kathleen laughed and kissed the little boy’s feet which made him giggle again.
“Well, he’s a happy kid,” she stated. Steve walked over and dropped Cameron in her arms.
“I think he pooped his suit, Kathleen,” he said making a face and Kathleen frowned.
“Well, why don’t you change him, I brought him an extra suit,” she said and he shook his head.
“No way, he’s your kid too,” he said and walked away. Joon giggled and Kathleen sighed and reached into the diaper bag.
“Why is he always my kid when he shits his pants and his kid the other times,” she said crossly. Harry laughed.
“Don’t look at me, darling, I’d beat him if I were you,” he suggested and Danny giggled. Cameron giggled too and Kathleen blew bubbles into his neck and made him giggle some more. She took care of his suit and put a diaper on him and he was all cleaned up. Danny looked at Harry.
“Poop, Daddy,” he said clearly and Harry nodded and stood up.
“Okay, darling, let’s go use the potty,” he said and walked him over to the toilets they had set up for the kids. Both women were amazed that a one year-old was already potty trained.
“How on Earth does he do it?” Joon asked and Kathleen sighed.
“I don’t know but none of my kids were crapping in the toilet until they were almost three,” she admitted and Joon nodded. They watched as Sean and Ryan, two and three raced over to the toilets and went into one together. Joon sighed.
“Face it girlfriend, the man is a miracle dad,” she declared and they both laughed.
The next afternoon they all sat out by Harry and Jake’s and the kids played in the play area that the boys had put up for them while the women and Harry sat on lounge chairs and watched drinking iced tea with the babies playing in the sand by their feet. They all had little toys and were sharing nicely. There were nine one year-olds, five women and Harry and everyone was having a ball. Jake and the men were off jet-skiing and it was another day in paradise.
“Look at them, pretending to sunbathe and they have to pick that spot to do it when there’s a whole beach to choose,” Nyla said and they all laughed at Violet and Susie with their tops off just a hundred feet away from them. Harry laughed.
“Jake says he’s tired of her flashing her itty bitty titties at him,” he told them and they all laughed. Kathleen snorted.
“I’m tired of her flashing them at me, for Christ’s sake, do we have to put up with this every single year! It’s ridiculous, hasn’t she learned by now, Jake is gay, Harry is gay, has anyone ever explained to her what that means?” she snapped. Joon giggled.
“Maybe she thinks because her breasts are so small that Jake or Harry won’t notice that she doesn’t have a woo-hoo,” she said and they all laughed.
“Oh, I think they’ll notice that,” April declared. Harry looked and saw that Noah was going to dump a pail of sand on top of his sister’s head so he lifted the pail out of the way and it dumped on his feet instead and the little boy looked confused for a minute and then giggled. Nyla saw this and laughed.
“I wish I had that talent, Harry, it would come in so handy with three children, I don’t see how you and Jake do it with seven, even with Fran to help, it can’t be easy,” she said. Harry shrugged.
“It’s not hard as long as you stay organized,” he said and everyone rolled their eyes. He giggled.
“Okay, okay, so I’m obsessive compulsive but you have to admit that’s a handy thing to be with seven children,” he teased and they all laughed. Then the men came marching in all laughing and the kids all squealed and ran towards them. Jake hugged his girls and carried them over to the blanket. He flopped down and kissed Harry.
“Did you have fun, honey?” Harry asked. Jake grinned.
“Oh, man, DJ’s ski stopped and a big-ass shark kept bumping him and scared the crap out of him, he climbed on the back of mine and we towed it in to look at it,” he said and all the girls shuddered.
“And I bet you jerks will be out there again tomorrow too won’t you?” Grace said shaking her head. DJ grinned and kissed his daughter Cheryl who giggled.
“Hey, it was just a little baby shark, right; darling?” he teased and blew kisses on her neck. Harry rolled his eyes. Jake looked over his shoulder and laughed.
“Hey look, little itty bitty is back and she’s got a friend,” he said and all the men looked. DJ whistled.
“Yeah, but her friend looks all grown up,” he remarked and all the women rolled their eyes.
“You are such a pervert,” Kathleen told her brother who grinned.
“I know but you love me anyway,” he joked and they all laughed. Harry looked at his watch. Jake looked at him.
“Time to go in?” he asked. Harry nodded.
“Almost lunch time and I’m sure Fran could use a hand,” he told him. Jake nodded and they stood up. He reached for Danny and put him on his shoulders which made the boy giggle and hold onto his hair. Jake laughed. Harry picked up his bag and the other women picked up their stuff and everyone called their kids and went inside. Violet frowned.
“Where are they going, Jake just got here, that Harry made him go inside because he doesn’t want him looking at me. See I told you, Susie, he’s threatened by me,” she said smugly. Susie nodded; it looked that way to her.
After lunch the kids all lied down for their naps and Jake lied on the couch and watched a little view-screen and Fran went to Edna’s for a while. Harry baked a chocolate cake for dessert and made chicken and dumplings for dinner and did a couple of loads of laundry and cleaned up the patio.
“Let’s have everyone over tomorrow for a barbecue and play some games,” he said to Jake as he walked through the living room. Jake nodded and reached out and grabbed him. Harry giggled and let himself be grabbed. He sat on the couch next to Jake and played with his chest hairs.
“Was poor DJ really scared today?” he asked softly and Jake nodded.
“He turned white he was so scared, but I went back for him quickly and chased the shark away,” he said. Harry smiled.
“You’re my hero,” he declared and bent down to kiss him. Jake kissed him back.
“You got time in your busy schedule for your man?” he teased and Harry grinned.
“The kids are getting up in about five seconds, honey, your timing is way off,” he teased back and he heard a giggle behind him. They looked around to see seven kids peeking at them. Jake laughed and they ran and attacked them. Soon they were covered with laughing children and all thoughts of passion were gone. Harry winked at him.
“You save that thought for later, honey,” he told him with a gleam in his eyes and Jake grinned.
“Okay, babe,” he said. Jackson picked up the remote.
“Let’s watch Astro Avenger, Dad,” he said and clicked to their favorite cartoon. Emma made a face.
“I want to watch Miss Kitty,” she said. Harry grinned.
“Why don’t you and Cassie go into Daddy’s room and watch Miss Kitty in there,” he suggested and their eyes lit up and they ran screaming from the room. Jake laughed and followed them to set up the view-screen. Harry went back into the kitchen and Danny, of course, followed him. Harry grinned and put him on the counter.
“I’m going to cut up some carrots and celery, buddy, do you want to help?” he asked and Danny grinned and nodded. He chomped on a piece of carrot while Harry chopped and talked to him. Bo and Gertie hung around until they found out there wasn’t anything interesting being cut up and Martha and George were in with the girls.
“Want me to feed the animals, babe?” Jake asked as he walked into the kitchen and saw what Harry was up to. Harry nodded.
“That would be nice, honey,” he said. Jake grinned at Danny who grinned back.
“Hey, Harry’s buddy, do you want to help me feed Gertie and Bo?” he asked. Danny nodded and Jake lifted him off the counter and the two feed the dogs and the cats who came racing the minute Jake started calling, “Here kitty, kitty,” because they knew that meant dinner time.
“Here you go, Harry, here’s your buddy back,” Jake said and put Danny back on the counter. Danny giggled and Jake blew kisses in his neck. Then Jake blew kisses in Harry’s neck and Harry moaned. Danny giggled and Jake laughed.
“See, buddy, that’s how you do it,” he told him and walked out of the kitchen eating a carrot. Harry rolled his eyes.
“Your daddy is nothing but a big old tease,” he told Danny who giggled.
Dinner was a happy affair with everyone eating like they were starving. Fran declared the dumplings the fluffiest ever and all the kids laughed. Then Harry brought out the chocolate cake and everyone’s eyes got big and round and they clapped, especially when Jake got out the ice cream.
“Oh, man, this is great,” Jackson said and they all agreed; it was a great dinner. Then it was a mad scramble for the baths and cleanup and two and a half hours later the two men flopped on the couch and grinned at each other.
“It will get easier when they’re old enough to take their own baths you know,” Harry informed him. Jake laughed and stretched out and pulled his love close to him. They laid side-by-side and cuddle.
“Oh, this is nice, I like this,” Harry said softly. Jake nuzzled his neck sending shivers down Harry’s spine.
“Me too babe, I’ve been waiting all day to hold you again,” Jake whispered. They kissed, long and slow, tongues playing and Fran walked by.
“You two are like a couple of school kids,” she remarked on her way to her room. Harry laughed.
“We can’t help it Fran, Jake’s such a good kisser, I can’t get enough,” he told her. She laughed.
“That’s the way it should be, sweetie, if you want to take a walk, I’ll hold down the fort,” she offered.
“Not tonight, Frannie, but thanks,” Jake said. He looked at Harry and his hands moved down to that fantastic ass.
“I’m so comfortable on this couch, I don’t think I want to move for the rest of the night,” he said. Harry giggled.
“Oh, I think I can get you off of this couch,” he bragged. Jake lifted an eyebrow.
“Oh, yeah?” he challenged. Harry leaned forward and bit his lower lip gently and Jake groaned.
“Well, honey, I’m going to the bedroom and I’m going to take off all of my clothes and lay down on the bed on my stomach and if someone wanted to come in and take advantage of me, well, I don’t suppose in that position, I could do anything to stop them, could I?” he whispered and Jake trembled. Harry kissed him softly and got up from the couch and walked towards the bedroom. At the doorway he glanced over his shoulder and gave him that look, his eyes half-closed and slanty and Jake got hard instantly and shivered. Then he grinned. Oh, yeah, he thought to himself, he was definitely getting off of this damned couch. He waited for a minute to give Harry time to prepare and walked to the bedroom.
When Jake opened the bedroom door slowly, he saw that Harry had lit one of the tall candles they kept in the corner of the room so it was nice and misty in the room. He was lying on the bed on his stomach and the candlelight flickered off of his golden flesh in a tantalizing way that made Jake ache. He quickly stripped and heard Harry’s soft laughter and knew he had lost this round but that was okay because they were both winners in this game.
“Mm, here I am just lying here all alone and no one is here but me, if a burglar got in and tied me up, what would I do?” Harry wondered aloud. Jake looked and saw the silk ties Harry had left out for him and grinned. He jumped on the bed and held Harry down and the other man struggled.
“Don’t move and I won’t hurt you,” Jake whispered in his ears and Harry made a little whimper and stopped struggling. Jake grinned and nuzzled his neck. Harry moaned.
“Don’t be afraid, I just want to have a little fun with you, you’ll like that,” Jake told him and used the two ties to tie Harry’s arms to the brass bed post and Harry grinned. He liked the burglar game. Jake was a fun burglar.
“Please don’t hurt me, mister burglar, you can have all the money in the house,” Harry pleaded softly. Jake smacked his ass softly.
“I don’t need your money, you silly fool, I came here for your ass,” he told him. Harry wiggled it around.
“My ass, what could you possibly want with my ass, mister burglar, no one’s ever touched my ass before, I’m a virgin,” he said in a whimper. Jake laughed and his hands caressed that beautiful ass.
“You won’t be by the time I’m finished with you, that will teach you to leave your windows wide open at night for anyone to come in,” he declared and he buried his face in that perfect ass and went to work. Harry tried to keep his legs as tight together as he could but Jake was really strong and forced them apart and then he simply couldn’t think anymore and lust took over. Jake laughed as sex took over and their game became reality and he took his love hard and slow, making every motion last until they were both gasping with pleasure.
“Oh, God, Jake, you’re the best damned burglar in the universe,” Harry said as he lied with his head on his love’s chest. Jake laughed and he played with his love’s hair.
“I love ravishing you, babe, when you whimper like that, it drives me wild, you’re a tiger in bed,” he said and they both laughed. Harry grinned.
“Let’s go out on the beach tomorrow and play castaway and pirate, that’ll be fun,” he said and Jake grinned.
“Oh, yeah, babe, I love being a pirate,” he said and they drifted off to sleep.
All too soon winter was over and they had to go back to Edenville for spring planting and their real life. Harry dropped everyone off one farm at a time and everyone was gone and it was Farm Four’s turn and everyone was on board except for Violet and they were waiting for her. Harry sighed and looked at Susie who looked scared which was funny.
“Where the hell is she, everyone wants to go home, Susie, did she tell you where she was going?” he asked more calmly then he was feeling. Susie shook her head.
“She just said she had to go somewhere and took off,” she said. Jake sighed.
“This is perfect,” he snapped. “Okay, let’s go and find her so we can go home,” he said to the men and they all walked off looking angry. Kathleen sighed and hugged Cameron. Kate sighed.
“That girl is so inconsiderate, I wish she’d move to another farm,” she snapped. Susie shrugged.
“I’m sure she doesn’t mean to be rude,” she said weakly. Amy snorted.
“Violet was born rude,” she declared and everyone laughed.
“Violet, Violet,” Jake shouted as he walked though the mango grove.
“Jake, is that you, over here,” Violet called out somewhat weakly and he walked over to where she was lying on the ground. He glared at her; she was topless and looked helpless.
“What the hell is wrong with you, put your clothes on, girl,” Jake snapped. She whimpered and wrapped her hands around her ankle.
“I fell and hurt my ankle and I lost my top when I fell, I can’t find it anywhere, please don’t be mean to me,” she began to cry. He sighed and reached down for her.
“I’m sorry Violet, I didn’t know you hurt yourself, please forgive me,” Jake said softly and helped her to her feet. She nodded and tried to walk but only cried out when she tried to put any weight on it. He sighed and picked her up. She was very light and didn’t weigh much so he carried her down the trail.
“Oh, Jake, you’re so strong, do you lift weights?” Violet gushed as he started to walk. Jake shook his head.
“No, I lift kids, you’d be surprised how heavy they can get,” he told her. She pressed her naked breasts against his chest and held on tight.
“Your kids are so lucky, you’re such an incredible dad,” she gushed. He nodded and wanted to drop her off a cliff if he could find one. He met up with Steve and DJ who grinned when they saw him. Jake rolled his eyes at them.
“She hurt her ankle and can’t walk,” he told them and they nodded. DJ rolled his eyes behind her back and winked at him.
When they got back to the ship everyone stared at the three men and Kathleen gasped at the sight of the almost naked woman in Jake’s arms. She looked at Harry who just shook his head. Jake walked up to them and grinned at his husband.
“I found her lying in the mango grove, she fell down and hurt her ankle and somehow lost her top,” he told them. Harry nodded.
“Well, put her down and I’ll heal the ankle so she can walk,” he said and Jake did that. Violet smiled sweetly and all the boys who were now twelve and eleven all stared at her naked breasts. Kate rolled her eyes. Harry rubbed his hands together and placed them around Violet’s ankle and closed his eyes. Then he stood up and smiled.
“That should do it, how does your ankle feel now, Violet?” he asked pleasantly. She smiled and put her foot down and wiggled it around.
“Oh, Harry, you’re a miracle worker, it’s all better now,” she declared and everyone smiled. Harry didn’t, he shook his head and Jake looked at him. Harry sighed.
“I didn’t heal it,” he told her and she looked confused.
“What do you mean?” Violet asked.
“There was nothing wrong with your ankle, Violet, I only pretended to heal it, I never healed it,” he told everyone and they all looked shocked. Violet glared at him.
“Yes you did, everyone saw you heal it,” she snapped. Harry shook his head.
“There was nothing wrong with your ankle,” he said and he reached out and turned her around and pulled the top of her bathing suit out of the back of her wrap.
“And here’s the top that you said you lost,” he said and handed it to her while she glared at him. Everyone laughed. Jake ran his fingers through his hair.
“Gosh darn-it, Violet, what kind of simple minded game were you playing with me? You made me carry you all the way from the mango grove and there was nothing wrong with your ankle,” he snapped. Violet shrugged.
“You’re a strong man, it was no effort at all for you,” she said and licked her lips. She smiled up at him and Harry almost hit her.
“The whole thing was a setup, Jake,” Harry told him and Jake looked surprised.
“What do you mean, babe?” he asked. Harry laughed.
“Little Miss Itty Bitty here wanted an excuse for you to carry her while she pressed her naked breasts against your strong masculine chest and hoped that that would turn you straight and send you flying into her arms and you would leave me for her,” he said and Jake and everyone else laughed.
“Oh, it would take a whole lot of what she ain’t got to do that,” he declared and everyone laughed. He turned to Violet. “Violet, I am gay, do you understand what that means, it means that what you’ve got down there I’m not interested in, now do you understand that? So stop waving those itty bitty things at me and leave me the hell alone. I’d never leave Harry and my children for you, never; I love my life too much to go running to some foolish little girl.” Violet glared at everyone and stomped onto the carrier. Harry sighed and walked up the ramp. Jake grabbed him and gave him a passionate kiss and everyone cheered.
“Well, I guess he told Miss Violet where to go,” Harry said smugly when he and all the women were sitting in the cockpit flying home. Kathleen giggled.
“I love Jake, I’m so happy for you Harry, now at least she’ll give up and leave the two of you alone and find someone else to bug,” she said and all the women agreed it was about time for Violet to move on with her life.


Chapter Four

Spring planting and everyone was back in the fields and Harry and Jake took their four oldest kids on their tractors to show them how to plant a field of crops. They all enjoyed riding along and they all bragged that they were going to be the best farmers when they grew up. And, of course, granddad had to take Jackson on his tractor and show him how a real man plowed. This made everyone laugh remembering how the man hated the tractor in the beginning.
Once the crops were in the children went back to school which made a lot of them gripe but Harry scheduled some field trips for his class which they enjoyed especially the one to Volcano Island to watch the lava run and they all made volcanoes and had a science fair and invited all of the parents to watch their volcanoes erupt. Everyone said Harry was the best teacher and Jake beamed with pride.
In the Talbert house they went back to their old schedule and Harry made sure to schedule fun stuff for the weekends so the kids would still have some fun and wouldn’t feel that going back to school meant that all the fun was over. They drove up to the mountains and went hiking to see the trees in all their wonder and the kids loved seeing the birds and the purple bunnies in the fields hopping around. Bo and Gertie had a ball trying to catch them with no success of course but they barked and made a lot of racket.
Violet spent the whole first week of their return sulking in her room and refused to come out to help with the planting while everyone laughed at her. No one minded her being gone, she was barely any help anyway and all she did was ride around and stare at Jake and Harry so they did without her. She did a lot of peeking through her new telescope, mostly at Harry who always had one of his stupid kids riding along with him. She didn’t understand the attraction of those little brats, they had to do everything for them, feed them, take them to the bathroom; it had to get boring after a while, what was the sense in having the stupid little things? But everyone acted like kids were the most wonderful thing in the universe and it baffled her.
When Harry sent an email out announcing a coffee run she had to come out of hiding. He listed people who hadn’t shown up for several runs and her, David and Gloria were on the list and if they didn’t show up he informed them they wouldn’t get any coffee because it wasn’t fair to the others who helped pick the beans if they didn’t and got coffee. She made a face when she read it and thought who died and made him king of Eden. But Saturday morning bright and early she pasted a big smile on her pretty face and drove to the carriers and greeted everyone warmly.
“Nice of you to show up, Violet,” Harry greeted her and she smiled.
“No problem,” she said sweetly and walked over to where David and Gloria were standing.
“Do you believe the nerve of that man, to threaten us like this,” Gloria snapped. David shrugged.
“He’s right though, honey, it’s not fair to the rest of the community if we get coffee all the time and we don’t show up for picking duty once in a while,” he said. She glared at him.
“Okay, that’s everyone, let’s load up and head out for some fun,” Harry called out and everyone laughed. Mike patted him on his back.
“Fun, right, boss,” he teased. They walked up the ramp and when everyone was aboard Harry flew to Savannah. And it was a perfect day for picking beans, nice and hot but not too humid. DJ set up some music and everyone talked and had as much fun as they could. Violet hated every minute and spent more time looking around than she did picking, he could force her to come but he couldn’t force her to pick. Mike glared at her.
“Hey, Violet, more picking and less looking, you haven’t filled one bag yet, you lazy ass,” he yelled and everyone turned around to look at her. She shrugged.
“I’m doing the best that I can, some of us aren’t meant for menial labor,” she told him primly. He snorted.
“Well, maybe you should drink what you pick, how would you like that,” he sneered and she looked shocked.
“That’s not fair,” she stated. He shrugged.
“We didn’t bring you here to stand around and look attractive, get your ass to work,” he snapped and she frowned and started to pick seriously. If they made her drink what she picked she’d better pick more than this, this wouldn’t last her a week.
When Violet took her bag up to the front, Harry put it aside from the others which scared her.
“Why did you put my bag over there?” she asked suspiciously. He shrugged.
“You, Gloria and David are being lazy so we’ve decided that you’re going to keep what you pick for yourselves so you’d better get moving,” he told her and she panicked and walked back to where the lazy couple were standing around. She whispered what Harry had just told her and they looked shocked.
“They can’t do that, that’s not fair,” David shouted. DJ laughed.
“We’ve been out here for four hours and you haven’t filled one bag yet and I’ve filled four, talk about not fair,” he shouted and everyone turned and glared at them. Gloria glared back.
“I’ve just had a manicure, you can’t expect me to pick coffee beans with a fresh manicure,” she protested. Harry shrugged.
“Gloria, I don’t give a shit about your damned manicure, you drink what you pick you lazy bitch,” he stated and everyone cheered while she gasped with shock.
“Hey, you can’t talk to my wife that way,” he sputtered.
“Oh, shut the hell up you lazy bastard,” Jan shouted and his mouth opened with shock. Violet raised her hand.
“I want my coffee kept separate from these two, I’ve already filled one bag,” she shouted and everyone cheered for her. Gloria looked shocked.
“Hey, I thought you were our friend,” she yelled. Violet shook her head and began picking faster.
“Not when it comes to coffee, you’d better start picking faster because I’m not sharing with you,” she told her. Gloria sighed and began picking faster. David nodded and began picking faster. Harry winked at DJ who winked back.
When the day ended Violet had four bags of coffee and the couple had six and everyone cheered for them. Violet felt quite smug. Harry put his arm around her and gave her a hug.
“We had to trick you but we finally got some work out of you,” he said and she frowned.
“You mean you’re not going to give me what I picked?” she asked. He shrugged.
“You can have what you picked or you can put it in with us and divide it evenly, whatever you want to do,” he told her. She looked at the four big bags and the huge stack that they had picked and decided to keep her own. Gloria and David did too. After all, that big stack had to be divided between a lot of houses. Harry nodded and put them in a separate bin for the ride home.
Back at the Mill, Harry roasted their beans first and Violet had a fifty pound drum of coffee which pleased her tremendously and the couple had a drum and a half which pleased them. Then Harry roasted the rest of the beans and put them into fifty pound drums and everyone got two fifty-pound drums and then a third drum filled half-way. Violet gasped with shock. Everyone got twice as much coffee as she did. Gloria glared at Harry as if it was his fault she had made the wrong decision.
“That’s not fair, you have more coffee than us,” she snapped. DJ laughed.
“You’d have at least two drums of coffee if you put yours in with us but you didn’t want to too, you thought you’d be greedy and keep yours separate, guess you’ll know better next time, won’t you?” he sneered and they put the drums into trailers for delivery. Harry, of course, delivered to Max and Linda because he got a weird sense of pleasure giving them coffee. He also delivered to Dr. George and Shelley. Gloria and David took their coffee home and hated that smug little bastard. Violet took hers home and cried. That stupid Susie got twice as much coffee as she did and she knew she wouldn’t share, she never shared her precious coffee or tea because Violet refused to share hers.
Summer came and Harry threw himself a big party on the beach like he did every year and the drink this year was junpar daiquiris which all the women loved and the men of course drank ice cold beer. David was in a giggling mood because he had over-heard people talking about Harry and Jake’s Liquor Mart being nearly empty and complaining about his high prices and he was going to have the market on booze once again and could make some serious money. Gloria was pleased because now that show-off Harry was going to get his just desserts and after the coffee, she just couldn’t wait.
Max made his usual tipsy speech and everyone laughed and Jackson was pleased that everyone was cheering for his dad again and that make him very proud. He beamed up at his dads and got a kiss.
“You like that when people cheer for your old man, don’t you, Son?” Jake teased and Jackson nodded. Jake grinned and hugged him.
“I do too, some of these people are grumps who only like the free booze so I love it when they cheer and make complete asses out of themselves,” he told him and laughed so Jackson laughed too.
The day after the party Harry sighed and turned to his husband.
“I guess its time to get some of that liquor out of the barns and take it to the plant and put it in those empty bottles we’re been collecting,” he said and Jake nodded.
“Have we got enough bottles?” he asked. Harry grinned.
“Oh, yeah, everyone turned in their bottles for the rebates, we’ve even got a lot of David’s bottles,” he snickered and Jake laughed.
“Cheap bastards,” he remarked. Harry shrugged.
“I’ll recode them for our store and he’ll never know. He’s so dumb he probably doesn’t know how to code the bottles in the first place,” he said and Jake nodded.
“Let’s get Tammy and Amy to help Fran watch the kids and I’ll help you, babe,” he said and Harry nodded. DJ, Steve, Charlie, Synta and Hans and the four boys, Mike, Davy, Billy and Bobby all wanted to help so they grabbed ten barrels of each kind of liquor from the barn and took them and all the bottles over to the Coke plant. Harry had made up different labels for the bottles on his computer and they spent the first couple of hours putting the new labels on the bottles. Fortunately for them Harry had the bottles organized so all the whiskey bottles were together and all the vodka bottles were together and so forth.
“I love these labels, Jack Daniels, made by the Talbert Distillery, Edenville, Eden, very impressive, Harry,” DJ said and everyone nodded.
“I’ve got the recipe for some other stuff too, like Kaluha and brandy, I’m going to try to make next, maybe peach brandy, that sounds good to me and Kaluha is made from coffee so that should be easy to make,” Harry told them. Steve grinned.
“Old David is going to cry when he sees all of this on your shelves,” he chuckled. Harry shrugged.
“I’m pretty sure he’s got the same recipes in his store that I have in mine so he can make whiskey too,” he said and they all laughed. Jake kissed him.
“He’s not as brilliant as you are, babe, that man couldn’t make Jello without help,” he said and everyone nodded.
Once the whiskey bottles were ready, Harry lifted the barrels and dumped them in one of the tanks and mixed them all up. Next the men loaded the bottles in the machine and turned it on. Everyone watched in awe as the bottles were filled and then capped in one quick motion and the bottles were moved down the line. DJ laughed.
“Man, I love this plant, are you sure you don’t want to give it to me?” he asked and Harry rolled his eyes.
“Sorry, buddy, but this one is for one of our sons,” he informed him and they all sighed with disappointment.
When they finished with the whiskey there was one bottle that was just halfway filled and Harry took it out and opened it. He took out a dozen shot glasses and filled them part way and all the men grinned and took a sip. Then they all smiled.
“Oh, man, babe, that’s great, Jack Daniels couldn’t have made it better,” Jake declared and they kissed. Steve nodded.
“That’s great whiskey, Harry,” he told him. Harry grinned and put the bottle in a box. Then he rinsed out the tank while the men boxed up the six hundred bottles they had just made for shipping to the store.
Next they bottled the gin, then the vodka, the light rum, the dark rum, the tequila and finally the scotch. All the men were slightly tipsy from tasting so Harry pulled out the sandwiches he had packed and they took a lunch break. DJ laughed.
“I love working with you, buddy, this has been a lot of work, but where else can you get drunk at work,” he teased and they all laughed. Harry grinned.
“We’d better wait an hour before we drive or else Carl or Frank will pull us over and we might lose our licenses for six months,” he warned and they all nodded.
“Wow, this is great scotch,” Steve said after lunch. Harry made a face as he sipped.
“I’ll have to take your word, I don’t like scotch,” he said and Jake grinned and kissed him.
“Its great scotch, babe,” he said and Harry nodded. Then they decided since they had an hour to kill and they were at the plant, they might as well do a soda run so they made a batch of Dr. Pepper and Coke and diet Coke because all the ladies insisted they had to have diet. And they made some Fresca for Fran because she loved it and some 7-up since that was a nice change from the Coke. They loaded everything up in trailers and drove first to the Liquor Mart and dropped all the booze off and then to Harry and Jake’s to drop off all the soda in the front lawn. Harry sent off an email informing everyone soda was available at his house and how much everyone was entitled to if they wanted it. Of course everyone did and they all rushed over and grabbed it up. He and Jake carried theirs in the house before everyone rushed over so no one knew they and the kids took more than they handed out. After all, they were the ones who ran it and they worked hard, Harry always felt hard work deserved reward.
The next day Harry sent out an email informing everyone about the Talbert Distillery and its fine products which were now available for sale at the Liquor Mart. He offered everyone in town a free bottle of each kind of liquor as a way to say hello to the community and said the store would be open on Saturday for the sale. Everyone was talking about it all week in anticipation and David was furious.
“How dare he make liquor, what is he trying to pull here? I thought he was out of alcohol, where did he get more?” he whined and Gloria shook her head.
“I don’t know, I’ll ask Violet to find out,” she said and she called Violet to ask her to ask around. Violet asked Billy who was always a blabbermouth and he told her all about the liquor in the barn and how Jake and Harry had made hundreds of barrels of it like eleven years ago and they still had tons of it left. She passed the information on and David burst into tears when he found out. Gloria hugged him.
“He’ll never run out of liquor now, we’re ruined, no one will ever buy from us. Why did that little bastard have to bring down a liquor store? He knew I picked out a liquor store and he brought one down on purpose, he hates me,” David wailed. Gloria nodded.
“I know, darling but don’t worry, one of these days we’ll get even with him, you just wait,” she consoled him. He nodded and went to lie down. She sighed and wanted to run Harry over with her car. She decided then to help Violet in anyway she could to steal Jake away from that little bastard and ruin his life the way he had ruined David’s.
Saturday everyone showed up at the Liquor Mart for their free liquor and Harry and Jake handed out a box with six bottles and everyone gushed over them.
“I should have known you would have a plan, Henry, and would find a way to keep your store filled with liquor,” his mother Kate said with a pleased smile. Harry grinned at her.
“You know me, Mother, it was just a big science experiment when I made all of this, I’m just glad it all turned out as tasty as it did,” he said pleased with himself. Barb giggled.
“Of course it did, Mouse, you’re a great scientist,” she declared and everyone laughed. Tracey their oldest picked up a bottle of whiskey.
“Can I have this?” she asked and Kate frowned and took it away.
“Not until you’re eighteen, dear,” she told her and Tracey frowned.
“That’s not fair, why do you get to drink it and I don’t?” she whined. Kate rolled her eyes.
“I’ll give you a sip when we get home, dear,” she promised and the little girl’s eyes lit up.
“Really, Mom, great,” she exclaimed. Barb giggled as they walked away. Harry laughed and handed Carl his box. Carl laughed.
“I have a feeling Tracey isn’t going to like Jack Daniels,” he predicted. Harry shook his head.
“I don’t think so either, Carl, but with some kids you have to show them,” he said and Carl nodded.
“I suspect old David is having a big hissy fit right about now,” he said with a big grin. Harry giggled.
“I suspect so too but he’s got the same recipes that I do so if he runs out of liquor and can’t make any he is in the words of DJ and I quote, “Shit out of luck”,” he said and they both laughed.
“Well, that’s what he gets for charging five hundred dollars for a twenty dollar bottle of Jack Daniels,” Carl declared and Harry nodded.
“You have a nice day, Carl, and we appreciate your business,” he said and the man beamed.
“Thanks, Harry, you have a great day too, see you later,” he gushed and left. Jake smiled at his partner and kissed him.
“You’re such a nice person, you know that, babe,” he told him. Harry smiled.
“People like to hear that you appreciate them, it makes them feel special,” he said. He looked around the store. “I think that was everyone in town so we can close up and head home now, honey.” Jake nodded and they cleaned up, locked up and drove home, holding hands as usual.
“Daddy’s home,” Harry shouted when he entered the kitchen. Instantly seven kids jumped up, squealed and came running in to great them. Harry bent down and grabbed as many as he could for hugs. Jake grinned and put the box he was carrying on the table and bent down for his hugs.
“Did you bring me any whiskey, Daddy?” Sean yelled and Harry grinned and kissed him.
“I sure did, Sean, and you can have some after dinner,” he teased and everyone laughed. Sean giggled and Gertie barked. Mike walked in and laughed.
“That one knows a hundred jokes; what are you feeding him?” he teased. Jake grinned.
“I don’t know, him and Ryan are the funny ones, they’re always telling jokes,” he told him. Mike grinned.
“Is that my box on the table?” he asked and Jake nodded.
“We put an extra bottle of vodka in it for baby sitting duty, we appreciate you watching the kids for us,” he told him and Mike grinned again and patted him on the back.
“Hey, thanks, buddy, that’s super, I love your vodka, hell, for that I’ll baby sit any time,” he gushed. Harry grinned.
“Here that, honey, we have a free baby sitter and we’re got like six hundred bottles of vodka down at the store,” he teased and they all laughed. “Jake’s going to grill some steaks for dinner, Mike, why don’t you stay and help him?” Mike nodded.
“That sounds great, Harry, he looks like he needs some help when he barbecues,” he declared and Jake rolled his eyes.
I’ll have you know I’m the master chef when it comes to the barbecue grill, man,” he told him. They walked outside to light the grill and Fran and Harry exchanged an amused glance.
“Men are funny when it comes to the barbecue grill aren’t they, Frannie?” Harry teased and they both laughed. They went into the kitchen to get the rest of the meal ready and of course Harry’s buddy came in to help so he put Danny up on the counter to watch him slice cucumbers and tomatoes.
“Here you go, buddy, you want to help me chop up these tomatoes?” he asked cheerfully and Danny grinned and nodded. Fran smiled. Adam came in the kitchen.
“What’s to eat, I’m starving?” he complained. Harry grinned.
“There’s an apple,” he suggested and the little boy nodded and grabbed one. Of course when all the other kids saw he had one they all rushed in and grabbed one. Harry laughed and took a bowl into the living room for the cores and a cloth for them to wipe their sticky hands on.
They ate outside in the backyard and had a great time. Mike helped cut up steaks for the kids, he was great with them and all the kids ate with good appetites. He grinned at that.
“No food gets wasted in this house, does it,” he teased and Jackson laughed. Harry smiled.
“No way, all of my children are good eaters just like their dad,” he said proudly. Jake beamed.
“Poor Harry and Fran are going to have to open a restaurant when these boys get older. If they eat like this now, I can’t imagine how they’re going to eat when they’re teenagers,” Jake bragged. Fran and Harry laughed.
“That’ll be easy, instead of one roast for dinner, we’ll just cook two,” Harry told them. Mike grinned.
“With seven men to feed, you’d better make that three roasts,” he predicted. Fran giggled.
“It’s a good thing we’ve got two ovens,” she said and they all laughed. Harry shrugged.
“We can always go to another house bin and get a third if we have to,” he said and Fran groaned.
“Oh, man, I’m moving into the garage,” she teased and everyone laughed.
After dinner Mike stayed and helped with the clean up and then he left and then it was bath time and everyone went to bed and the men decided that it would be a great night for naked dancing so they danced and got all romantic and had a lovely time. They sipped whiskey sours in the candlelight and got all warm and fuzzy, just one each, they didn’t like getting tipsy when they had children to watch over, in case there was an emergency but one was nice to relax them. It had been a very nice day.
September came and now four children were off to school and they were all excited and Sean and Ryan were dreading the next year when Ryan would be old enough to go off to kindergarten and poor Sean would be left home alone with Danny. But Harry and Jake thought that the separation would be good for them, they needed to have time to develop their own personalities and not rely on each other so much. Especially Ryan who depended on his little brother too much, it would be good for him to be on his own.
All of the first kids were now ten and in fifth grade and Harry’s class was now in tenth grade and in two years would graduate and everyone was excited about that. Even the two who were a year younger were doing the same work as the older kids and loving it. Harry saw no reason to hold them back another year and had everyone working on the same projects. They had all missed the same amount of school and it had been easy to start them off in the same books and everyone appreciated being in the same grade. It was more fun that way.
Jake was left with only three at home and they were much easier to handle and he was able to do more things with them and they had lots of fun. He took them skating and bowling and on nature walks and to the playground and things he wasn’t able to do with all of the kids and they loved him for it.
They were sleeping one night when the alarm on Jewel’s old house went off and Harry sat up in bed and wondered what in the hell that noise was. Jake sat up too and they looked at each other. Then Harry realized what they were hearing.
“Shit, Jake, that’s the alarm on Jewel’s house, someone is breaking in to it,” he snapped. Jake sighed and reached for his shorts.
“Who in the hell could be doing that at three in the morning,” he muttered and they both threw their pants on.
When they got to the house, most of the men were gathered and watched Harry turn the alarm off. They all looked pissed.
“What happened, Harry? Did the alarm go off by itself?” Steve asked. Harry shook his head.
“No, someone tried to break in, everyone take a window or door and look around, I’ll check the security camera,” he said and walked in the house. DJ went with him. The security system was in the front closet and they found it easily and turned it on. They both laughed at Violet armed with a crow bar from her car at one of the back windows trying to jimmy it open. Steve and the other men walked in the house.
“We found one of the back windows has scratches on it, someone tried to force it open,” Steve announced. DJ laughed.
“Hey, guys, come and look at this,” he shouted and they all huddled in the closet and looked.
“Hey, that’s Violet, what is she doing?” Billy asked.
“She’s trying to open the window, the idiot, I guess she didn’t know about the alarm,” Jake surmised. Bobby laughed.
“Why in the hell is she trying to break into an empty house?” he asked. Harry shrugged.
“Maybe she thinks that if she can sneak in here and move in without us knowing about it then we won’t toss her lovely ass out when we find out,” he said and Jake laughed.
“Oh, that would be great, Violet and her itty bitty titties living right next door to us,” he declared and they all laughed. Harry sighed.
“I’ve had enough of that girl. Jake call Carl and Frank and wake them up, we’ve got her red-handed and that girl is going to jail for the night,” he decided and everyone laughed.
“Oh, man, I’ve got to see this,” DJ declared and they all stood outside Violet’s house and watched as she was dragged kicking and screaming down her stairs and put into the police car and taken to jail. Harry sighed and went back to bed.
The next day they called a town meeting and showed the video of her breaking into the house to the whole community to decide her punishment and Violet cried and said it was just a harmless prank, she hadn’t been trying to steal anything; she just wanted to live in the house.
“David told me about squatter’s rights and said if I moved into the house then Harry couldn’t throw me out because the house had been empty for so long and I was a squatter and I had the right to live there,” she told everyone. Harry sighed and stared at David who shrugged. Linda stood up.
“Why can’t Violet live in the house, it’s an empty house, Jewel doesn’t live there, it’s not Harry’s house, he already has a house,” she said. Harry stood up.
“It’s my house, I brought it down and I gave it to Jewel,” he told them. “When she went back to her planet the house was mine again and I decide who I want to live there and I certainly don’t want anyone but immediate family living in it. I’m saving it for one of my children to live it. Whoever lives in that house will share my barn and that’s a very private thing to do.” Kathleen stood up.
“It’s Harry’s house and he has the right to say who lives there and Violet and Susie have already asked if they could live there and he already told them no so they shouldn’t have tried to break in,” she reasoned. Reverend Milo stood up.
“Violet didn’t mean any harm, Harry, she’s just confused,” he said. DJ snorted.
“Violet is twenty-three years old, Reverend, she’s old enough to know what she was doing. She’s a demented bitch who’s been stalking Harry and Jake for years, ever since she was ten years old she’s had a crush on Harry and we all know that. Now, for some reason she’s switched that crush to Jake and it’s embarrassing to watch. Something’s got to be done about her before she does something really drastic and dangerous, the woman is dangerous,” he stated and more than a few people nodded. Kate stood up.
“You have an unhealthy fixation on my son and you need a psychiatrist, young lady. I don’t blame Harry and Jake for not wanting you to live next door to them. I say you should move to Farm Two and live with your parents,” she said. Violet gasped with shock.
“You can’t do that, I want to live with the other kids,” she wailed and began to cry. Harry sighed.
“Let’s not be drastic, Mother, Violet is fine where she is I guess, but I think a couple of weekends of picking tea would be a fair punishment for her little breaking and entering,” he said and a lot of people laughed. Carl stood up.
“That sounds fair to me, usually a first offense like this is community service for six months and a couple of weekends sound fair,” he told them. Lily stood up.
“I think David should join her, after all, he’s the one who gave her the crappy advice,” she stated and everyone nodded. David stood up.
“Hey, that’s not fair, squatter’s rights is the law,” he whined. Charles stood up.
“That law hasn’t been used for thousands of years, you idiot, you should pick tea for being an idiot,” he yelled and everyone laughed.
“Let’s take a vote,” Max said and they all voted and it was decided that for three Saturdays Violet and David would pick tea for eight hours as their punishment for their crime. Harry sighed because, after all, he was the one who was going to have to fly the silly bastards to Savannah to pick the damned tea and stay with them. Jake kissed him.
“We’ll take the kids and have a picnic and it’ll be fun, you’ll see,” he promised and Harry giggled.
“Seven kids in Savannah for eight hours, no way, honey. No, I’ll take them and pick some tea for us,” he said and Jake grinned.
Friday, Harry sent out an email saying that if anyone wanted tea he would take them to Savannah with the criminals tomorrow so of course about twenty people showed up because people did love their tea. Carl showed up with the prisoners and Violet glared at Harry like this was all his fault and he grinned at her.
“She looks pissed at me doesn’t she?” he asked Kathleen who giggled as they walked up the ramp to the cockpit.
“It’s her own stupid fault, squatter’s right, what kind of idiot plan was that, you and Jake would have tossed her ass out in an instant,” she declared and they both laughed. Harry called down to make sure everyone was on and secure and then took off. He flew to ten thousand feet and took the ship to two thousand miles an hour with an ease which impressed the six women in the cockpit with him.
“You’re such a good pilot, Harry,” Joon said and he grinned.
“Thanks, I was thinking about being a pilot when I was in college, my mothers would have had a fit,” he giggled. Nyla lifted an eyebrow.
“Why is that?” she asked.
“What, waste my intelligence flying a space ship, a monkey could do that,” he teased and they all laughed.
They got to the tea field and everyone got on the tractors first to clear the weeds which grew like mad in the jungle. Violet and David sat on the sides and watched because there weren’t enough tractors to go around. Once the weeds were cleared everyone took to picking and Carl supervised the two to make sure they actually did some work which pissed them off.
“I just had a manicure, this is ridiculous. I don’t even like tea,” Violet snapped. Carl shrugged.
“Everyone else does, this is community service, Violet, next time you should think before you try to burglarize someone’s home,” he told her. She glared at him.
“It wasn’t his home, it’s an empty house for Christ’s sake, no one lives in it, why can’t I live in it,” she snapped. Carl sighed.
“Talking to you girl is like talking to a brick wall. You can’t live in that house, its Harry’s house and he doesn’t want you living next door to him. For Christ’s sake, why can’t you get it through your thick skull, Harry and Jake are gay, homosexual, queer, faggots,” he shouted the last few words and everyone laughed.
“That’s right Carl, you tell her,” DJ shouted. Violet glared at them.
“Jake isn’t gay, he’s just confused, his mother told me that,” she insisted. Harry giggled.
“Well, darling, I’ll tell him that tonight while he’s sucking my cock,” he taunted and she flushed while everyone laughed. DJ patted him on his back.
“Oh, man, that was a good one, buddy, I can’t wait to tell everyone that,” he declared.
When Harry told Jake what he had said, of course, he blushed but Jake hugged him and laughed so long he got tears in his eyes.
“Oh, man, babe, I wish I had been there for that one, you really told her boney ass the truth,” he said and kissed him long and hard. Harry sighed and put his head on Jake’s strong chest.
“I didn’t mean to be so mean to her but I swear she was plucking my very last nerve, honey,” he told him. Jake played with his hair.
“I know, babe,” he whispered. Harry sighed.
“All that talk about your mother saying you were just confused and I got a little worried thinking what if you were really just confused and you weren’t really gay and woke up tomorrow and decided you were really straight?” he said and Jake laughed.
“You are such a silly goose, babe,” he teased and lifted his face up to his. “Remember old Bobby the hairdresser back on Memphis that I had a crush on and wanted to kiss?” Harry smiled and nodded. Jake traced the outline of those perfect cupid bows Harry called a mouth.
“I was gay long before I met you, babe, just like you were gay before you met me so no one’s going to come between us ever,” he declared and he kissed him. Harry wrapped his arms around Jake’s strong neck.
“I know I’m being silly, honey, let’s fuck and forget about Miss whatever her name is. I’ve been horny all day, you know how the heat in Savannah affects me,” he teased and Jake laughed.
“Yeah I know, I’m been waiting all day for you to come back,” he said and they made love and fell asleep all snuggled together.
The next two weekends they got Mike and Davy to watch their kids and while they were picking tea, Harry and Jake sneaked away during the rest break for some hot jungle love and laughed all afternoon because they were hot and sticky and very satisfied All their friends teased them because they all knew what they had been doing. Violet glared at them all afternoon because she knew.
That winter before they headed for Hawaii Harry and Jake took the kids skiing up at the lake for a couple of weeks and they all had a blast. He dropped off the rest of the town in Hawaii first so they wouldn’t complain and then the six couples headed for the slopes and had a marvelous time. The kids really enjoyed skiing and ice skating and it was a good change from the sand and beach. Then they packed up the farm and headed for the beach house.
“Man, that was fun, we should do that every year, before we go to Hawaii, we should go skiing first,” Kathleen gushed and all the ladies agreed. Harry nodded.
“We should, the kids should enjoy the snow as well as the beach,” he stated. “Doing the same old thing year after year gets boring, we should mix it up once in a while,” he said and they all grinned.
“Is that what you and Jake were doing the other night outside in the snow, mixing it up?” Grace teased and Harry blushed. All the ladies laughed.
“We were playing rescue dog and stranded skier,” he admitted and they all rolled their eyes and hooted.
“How on Minos do you play that?” Joon asked and Harry giggled.
“Well, I’m the stranded skier who’s lost in the blizzard, right,” he asked and they all nodded. “Jake is the Saint Bernard who is out looking for me, only when he finds me, he gets all hot and horny and attacks me and we have the best sex.” Kathleen giggled.
“You and Jake always have the best sex, you two are sex maniacs,” she declared and all the girls laughed. Harry nodded.
“After twelve years you have to spice it up to keep it fresh and new, Jake is easy, I like that in my man,” he declared and they all laughed. Down in the carrier the men were talking.
“So what were you and Harry doing out in the snow the other night?” Steve asked and Jake laughed. All the men looked at him. DJ wrapped his arm around his shoulder.
“It was sex wasn’t it?” he teased and Jake nodded and they all laughed.
“Oh, man, you and Harry have sex everywhere, what game where you playing out in the snow?” Charlie asked. Jake looked around to see if any children could hear and he leaned forward. All the men leaned in to listen.
“Well, we were playing stranded skier,” he told them. Synta grinned.
“How do you play that?” he asked. Jake grinned.
“Well, Harry was a stranded skier and he was lost in a blizzard right?” he asked and everyone nodded. “I was a Saint Bernard and I was out looking for him only when I found him looking so lost and hurt, I got horny and attacked him. It was so hot, Harry plays helpless so good, it brings out the animal in me and I can’t help but attack him. He whimpers really good and pleads and begs, it’s so hot,” he bragged and they all sighed.
“I could see that, Harry should have been an actor, he’d be really good,” Steve remarked and they all nodded. DJ grinned and slapped Jake’s back.
“You are one lucky bastard, if you ever think about leaving him, I’d kick your ass from here to Savannah,” he declared and they all laughed. Jake shook his head.
“Oh, no, I’d never leave Harry, no one would ever play stranded skier like he does,” he said and they all laughed.
Hawaii was the same as usual; they all unpacked and ran to the waterfall. Jackson and Emma were six, Cassie and Adam were five, Ryan was four, Sean was three and Danny was two, all of their kids were getting older and more precious than ever. They loved them more everyone day and every minute they spent with them was better than the one before.
“Okay, line up,” Harry shouted and all the kids laughed and lined up to be lifted and dropped into the water while the adults laughed and prepared to catch them. Kathleen grinned at him.
“That’s still a neat little trick you have there,” she shouted over the noise and he grinned and dropped two year-old Cameron right in front of her. She laughed and picked him up and he giggled.
“Do it again, Harry,” he shouted and Harry lifted him up and dropped him again while he giggled.
The next morning they were out on the play area talking and laughing and of course Violet and Susie were out with their tops off sun bathing and all the women laughed.
“Oh Christ, doesn’t she ever give up?” April sneered. Harry shook his head.
“I think that girl has a couple of screws loose in her brains, she doesn’t get it and she’s never going to get it so the only thing we can do is ignore her,” he said and they all sighed.
“Well, I’d still keep a close eye on Jake if I were you, Harry, you never know with men, the minute you think they won’t stray on you, that’s when you find out they’ve been cheating for years,” Kathleen told him. Harry nodded.
“I know, darling, but what can I do? I can’t tie him to me with a leash. I have to give him his freedom and just hope he loves me enough not to cheat and if he does then I have to decide if I love him enough to forgive him,” he said wisely and they all nodded.
“What if he leaves you?” Grace asked. Harry shrugged.
“I can’t tie him up and keep him a prisoner if he doesn’t want to stay, all I can do is love him the best way I know how and if he stays he stays and if he wants to leave then I have to accept it and go on, it’ll hurt like hell but if he wants to leave, I can’t make him stay,” he told them. Kathleen sighed.
“If Steve left I’d be hurt but its like you said, you can’t tie them up and keep them a prisoner, if they want to leave, they’ll leave,” she said and they all nodded. Then Harry grinned and reached into his bag.
“That’s enough sad talk, how about some chocolate?” he teased and they all grinned.
“Oh, yeah, I’d die for some chocolate,” Nyla declared and they all laughed. Harry took out one of his metal containers and they all were amazed that the candy was nice and hard and still cold.
“This is amazing, Harry, its still cold, how come it didn’t melt in that metal container?” April asked. Harry shrugged.
“This is a special metal called glyph and as soon as we find more of it Jake and I are going to make enough for everyone but we have to look in the mountains for some ore,” he informed them. Nyla nodded.
“We had such containers back on Minos, I remember them,” she said.
“Where did you get them?” Grace asked.
“From that Galactica ship, I grabbed a few before it blew up,” Harry told them. They all looked impressed.
“These would really come in handy, if you need someone to watch the kids while you go searching for ore let me know, I’ll help,” Kathleen offered.
“Me too,” April said and all the women nodded. Harry smiled.
“That would be great, I brought down a foundry and we can use it to melt the ore and make the containers. I know all the guys would love working in that,” he teased and they all laughed. Then Joon noticed the men coming back and it looked like they were carrying someone.
“Hey, it looks like someone got hurt,” she said and Harry jumped up and ran towards them. Jake thankfully was one of the men carrying Synta who was bleeding from his legs. But he seemed alright.
“What happened?” Harry asked as they laid him on the blankets. Jake shrugged.
“He fell off the ski and a shark bit him before we could pull him out of the water, no big deal,” he stated and all the men nodded. Joon sighed. Harry pulled the blanket away and they all gasped at the ugly bite. Harry rubbed his hands together and placed them over the bite and in a few seconds it was healed and Synta jumped to his feet and grinned. He hugged his wife who was very relieved.
“I guess you’ll be going out tomorrow on that stupid thing,” she said and he laughed.
“Of course, its fun and this was only a little shark and look, Harry healed it in just a few seconds,” he assured her. Everyone laughed and all the women thought the men were nuts.
“You men are crazy but we still love you,” Kathleen declared and Steve hugged her.
“Don’t worry, we look out for each other,” he told her and she shook her head. Jake and DJ went in to fetch everyone sodas and water and they all joined them on the blanket for some fun and told them all about the excitement. Jake glanced over Harry’s shoulder and grinned.
“I see she’s back again, man, that girl’s got a couple of screws loose,” he stated and all the girls laughed.
“That’s exactly what Harry said,” Nyla said and they all grinned. Jake reached out and pinched Harry’s nipples and he groaned and everyone laughed.
“These are my favorite titties,” Jake declared and Harry rolled his eyes. Emma and Jackson came over to the blanket.
“Daddy, can we go in the water?” he asked and Jake grinned.
“Sure, darling, let me take you,” he said and hopped up. And of course all the kids had to go so they walked them down to the water with the crashing waves and they had a ball splashing around. Jake and Harry took turns taking two at a time into the surf which made the kids scream and laughed, holding on to their dads for dear life. The ones watching got their feet wet and played in the sand which was fun too.
Then they walked back to the house and got rinsed off with lukewarm water and changed into shorts and tops and went into the house for lunch that Fran had waiting for them. Then everyone lied down for a nap, Jake stretched out on the couch and Harry fixed dinner. It was back to their old boring routine and everyone couldn’t have been happier. They had the best winter vacation ever and Harry and Jake played pirates several times and the couples got together for wine and games and barbecues and everyone enjoyed Hawaii.
Spring came and it was back to the fields and Harry planted extra fields of corn, barley and potatoes to replace the alcohol they had taken from the barn and the other men helped so it wasn’t anything. They enjoyed the free booze and liked helping make it so it was no problem to them to plant an extra field or two. David Marshall took out his recipe books and planted a field of barley and corn so he could make whiskey and scotch. He had a couple of stills and figured if he followed the recipes he shouldn’t have any problem making it. If that stupid Harry could make whiskey, why couldn’t he?
The kids went back to school and life continued in the little town and everyone was happy and busy. There was weeding to do and Church to go to and date nights to plan. Now that all the kids had kids they divided the date nights into two nights a month and took turns baby sitting and cleaning up. Farms One and Two dated the first Friday and Farms Three and Four dated the second Friday. Harry supplied the liquor for both nights and everyone was happy with that. He didn’t mind supplying the liquor, after all, he had a ton of the stuff and it was his community and it was a good will gesture. The problem was that some of the greedier people seemed to expect it and didn’t consider it the good will gesture that it was and considered it their due for being who they were and that pissed him off. Just because he had a liquor store didn’t mean he had to supply the liquor and he was angry with himself for supplying that first party years ago. He never should have taken that liquor out and let them fend for themselves, he had created their greed and he only had himself to blame. Now he was stuck with the greedy bastards so all he could do was grin and set up the bars.
Weeding came up and Harry reprogrammed all the tractors on the farm so that when you attached the weeder to them they would only go three miles an hour and that pissed a few of the people off who liked to go faster like Violet and Dr. Jackson but the others laughed and said if they didn’t like it they could just move to another farm and raise crap vegetables but on Farm Four they raised the best vegetables.
“You’re not supposed to go faster than three miles an hour, dear, why are you mad that the tractor won’t go any faster?” Kate asked in her reasonable tone and Violet flushed.
“Three miles an hour is too slow, why can’t we go five miles, we can still get weeds at five miles,” she snapped. Mike shook his head.
“No, we can’t, at five miles an hour you leave most of the bugs and bugs eat our crops. Everyone knows the most effective speed is three miles an hour. If you don’t like it then move to another farm but here we weed at three miles an hour,” he told her firmly and she stomped off to her tractor. Dr. Jackson sighed.
“Can I ride with you, Granddad, I love weeding,” Jackson said and smiled up at him. The man smiled down at his favorite grandson and beamed.
“Sure, Son, let’s get all those nasty weeds and bugs, we’ll kill all those bastards,” he declared and the two hopped on his tractor and Dr. Jackson let his grandson steer. Jake laughed.
“Was that your idea, babe?” he teased and Harry shrugged.
“I just suggested to Jackson that his granddad might want some company today and you know how much the kids love riding with him,” he said and everyone laughed.
“You’re very clever, Henry,” his mother Kate told him. Both of her older kids Tracy and Travis who were twelve and eleven had their own tractors this year and were loving weeding. Jake’s older brothers Monroe and Dwight had their own tractors too and so did all the older kids so they had a bunch of tractors in the field so weeding was easier than ever. Jake and Harry took their kids on their tractors and they had a ball riding. And, of course, all of them had to ride a couple of rows with granddad who loved to tell them stories, they all loved granddad.
The next week Harry and Jake took all of their kids to Dr. Dennis to get their teeth clean and their check ups and he proclaimed them the best teeth on the planet.
“You know Harry, we’re all getting pretty low on toothpaste and we’ll be running out soon,” he told him. Harry nodded.
“I know. Myla, mom and I have been working on an organic solution. You know toothpaste is mostly sodium fluoride with mint or something added to make it taste better. We can find those ingredients on the planet,” he explained and Dr. Dennis nodded. Harry continued.
“I’ve got a factory that I can use to make toothpaste, it wasn’t designed for toothpaste, it’s a factory that makes icing for cake decorating but those little tubes that hold the icing would be perfect for toothpaste,” he told him and the other man nodded. “Salt we can get from the salt mine we discovered in the hills and fluoride we’ve got so all we need to do is grow the mint and find the right formula and mix it all together and I was thinking that since you’re the dentist maybe you should be the one who makes the toothpaste,” he said and Dr. Dennis frowned.
“Oh, I don’t know about that, I only clean teeth, I wouldn’t know anything about running a factory,” he said and Harry nodded. He paid his bill and took his kids home. Dr. Dennis was just another lazy bastard who wanted something for nothing. Mike and Davy offered to make the toothpaste and the kids built the factory which was a small one and Myla, Kate and Harry worked on the formula until it tasted great and all of their kids liked it. Then they went into mass production and by Christmas everyone had a dozen tubes of the new toothpaste they called Eden Mint and they all loved it.
“We’re working on a vanilla mint and a cherry mint for the kids next,” Harry told everyone at the Christmas party and they all were impressed. Carl grinned.
“Vanilla mint sounds yummy, I would brush my teeth with that,” he declared and his wife giggled.
“Carl loves his vanilla pudding and ice cream,” she said and they all laughed. Carl shrugged.
“What are we going to do about shampoo and crème rinse?” Shelley asked him. Harry grinned.
“Well, for that I’ve got that covered. I brought down a Dove factory and in the spring we’re going to build that. Billy and Bobby have said they’re going to operate it and everyone’s going to have plenty of shampoo and crème rinse. The best thing is that we have the formulas so we’ll never run out,” he told them and everyone cheered. Shelley frowned.
“You couldn’t have brought down a Paul Mitchell factory?” she complained. Harry shook his head.
“There wasn’t one of those on the Roosevelt, Shelley, I brought down all the factories that were there and the Dove factory was the only shampoo one so we’re lucky to have it,” he explained and she nodded.
“I guess you’re right, but that’s a damned shame, my hair is going to look a mess without Paul Mitchell,” she whined. Harry shrugged and went back to his table. Jake grinned at him.
“Some people are never satisfied, babe,” he said and kissed him. All their kids giggled.
“I wonder how many factories the little fishy freak brought down,” Max sneered to Charles who nodded.
“It seems no matter what crisis we have that little fagola comes up with a solution,” he complained.
“Just once I’d like to see him fall on his face,” Max said and Charles nodded. David looked at them with surprise. Didn’t they realize that if Harry didn’t have a factory to produce something they all needed, they wouldn’t have toothpaste or shampoo or something they needed? They two of them were nuts.


At the kids birthday party all the boys announced that they wanted dogs for their presents and Harry nodded. Fran groaned and everyone laughed. Shelley giggled.
“Oh, poor Fran, you can always move in with us if you want,” she told her and Emma and Cassie ran and climbed on Fran’s lap and hugged her.
“Don’t leave us, Fran,” Cassie shouted and Fran hugged her.
“Don’t worry, honey, I’m not going anywhere, we were just teasing,” she said and Cassie stuck her tongue out at Shelley who giggled. Kate rolled her eyes.
“Those kids think Fran is their mother for Christ’s sake, it’s ridiculous our own grandchildren see more of that woman than us,” she snapped. Harry sighed and reached in the freezer for another container of ice cream.
“They love Fran and Jake and I love Fran so you’re just going to have to stop hating her and get over it, it’s been thirteen years, Mother, how long are you going to sulk?” he teased and she glared at him.
“I’m a grown adult, I don’t sulk,” she snapped and took the ice cream he handed to her. He grinned and they walked into the other room where seven cakes were waiting. All the kids had picked out different cakes and all the kids were excited about blowing out the candles like they were every year. And all the granddads and grandmoms were present for the happy occasion. Harry had even invited David and Gloria for the first time since she whined and complained about not being a part of her daughter’s life but the two hadn’t wanted to be in the house with twenty-four little kids.
“Happy Birthday, dear, Jackson, Emma, Adam, Cassie, Ryan, Sean and Danny, Happy Birthday to you,” everyone sang and the seven kids all blew out their candles and giggled. Jackson helped Danny blow out his three candles and everyone clapped. Then the cakes were cut and ice cream was put on the plates with the cake and everyone sat around and munched.
“Oh, Fran, this is excellent cake this year, is that almond in the batter?” Shelley asked and Fran nodded.
“You must have one of Harry’s cakes then, he used almond extract this year instead of vanilla to be different,” she told her and Shelley grinned.
“I ought to try that,” she said. Harry grinned.
“You should try it in your French toast, I did and now everyone won’t eat it if I use vanilla,” he told her and she nodded.
“That sound interesting, Henry, I’m going to try that,” his mother Kate remarked and Sissy nodded.
“That does sound good, I would have never thought of that, almond instead of vanilla, I’m going to make that tomorrow, Jackson loves French toast,” she told them. Jake laughed.
“Dad loves everything you cook, Mom,” he teased and they all laughed.
“Hey, Jackson, if our cow has a female, your name is up on the lottery and you’ll finally have a white milk cow,” Harry told him. The man beamed.
“It’s about damned time, I’m so sick of green milk I could puke,” he announced and all the kids laughed. Danny giggled and blew bubbles in his green milk. His granddad laughed at him.
“You love your green milk don’t you, Son?” he teased and Danny nodded. Dr. Jackson kissed him. Sissy grinned.
“I can’t tell you how much I love my husband since the grandchildren came along; he’s like a different man. He hasn’t needed any of those anger pills George gave him in years and all the kids love him,” she gushed. Jake grinned and hugged her.
“Harry said years ago that all it was going to take was some grandchildren to take away his anger and he was right,” he told everyone and they all looked at Harry who grinned.
“I read that in this book, it was about this couple, a boy and a girl, the old man was a mean grumpy rich guy and the son fell in love with this waitress and the old man said if his son married her he would disown him but the young man didn’t care,” he told them the story. “They got married anyway and the young man went to law school while the wife worked in a diner to support them and when he graduated he got a job. The whole time the old man refused to talk to them but when the girl got pregnant and had a little boy, they named it after the old man and overnight he changed completely and became the girl’s best friend. He retired from the law firm and turned it over to his son and spent all of his time playing with his grandson and all the grandchildren that followed and him and the waitress that he hated became best friends.”
“That’s a wonderful story, Harry,” Shelley gushed with tears in her eyes. Dr. George laughed and handed her a hankie. Harry grinned.
“I know, darling, I cried when I finished the book too, it was so romantic,” he said and his mother Kate rolled her eyes while Barb wiped tears.
“That is romantic, Mouse,” she sniffed.
“How could you read such drivel, Henry?” Kate snapped. Sissy laughed.
“Well, the boy couldn’t read math books all the time, Kate,” she teased and they all laughed.
After the party cleanup Jake turned to Harry.
“Are we really going to give each of the boys their own dogs, babe?” he asked and Harry shrugged.
“Your sons want dogs, do you want to be the one who says no, honey?” he asked and Jake shook his head.
“No way, babe, I remember how disappointed I got every time I asked my dad for a dog and he kept saying no. There’s no way I’m doing that to my sons,” he said firmly. Harry smiled and hugged him.
“Danny’s too small right now so we’ll let him share Bo and Gertie but the other boys are old enough. Emma wants Martha and George so we’ll give her them and Cassie wants kittens so we’ll let Martha have another litter and give the extra’s away, everyone loves kittens,” he told him and Jake nodded.
“I just hope Gertie has four puppies and not three like last time or one of the boys are going to be disappointed,” he said. Harry shook his head.
“No, we’ll just let Sean and Ryan share a dog, they’ll be fine with that,” he told him and Jake grinned and kissed him.
“You’re brilliant, have I ever told you that?” he teased and Harry gave him one of his famous slanty looks that made Jake shiver.
“Ever made love to a brilliant man in a closet?” he asked in a husky voice. Jake grinned.
“Summer or winter?” he asked. Harry tilted his head.
“I was thinking the basement storage closet, they’ll never look for us there,” he whispered and Jake nodded.
“You’re right, let’s be quiet, you never know if they’re listening,” he whispered back and they sneaked downstairs. Fran saw them sneaking and giggled as she headed for her sun room and some view-screen. Those two were so funny. They had that nice king-sized bed and they still insisted on making love all over the house in the weirdest places. They were never going to grow up, God bless them.
“Don’t look; but I think someone’s following you,” Fran whispered one day in February. Harry grinned.
“He wouldn’t be adorable and three years old would he?” he whispered back and she nodded. They both glanced around and saw Danny his youngest sneaking around the corner of the food prep room where they were making yogurt. Harry laughed.
“You can come in, Danny,” he called out and the little boy raced in. The rule was that none of the kids could come into the food prep room unless they had an adult to supervise. There were just too many machines for them to play with and after Emma and Jackson tried to make ice cream one day in the butter machine and made a terrible mess, Harry and Jake had declared the prep room off limits to the kids. Harry bent over and picked him up for a kiss. Danny giggled and kissed him back. Harry put him on the table and went back to mixing ingredients. He handed a piece of mango to the boy who ate it with a smile. Fran laughed.
“He follows you around like a puppy,” she remarked and Harry nodded.
“Speaking of puppies, have you checked on Gertie recently?” he asked. She nodded.
“Nothing so far, but it should be any hour, second, minute, she’s in her bed in your closet, the kids are in there watching her,” she informed him. He grinned.
“It’s not every day this house gets four puppies,” Harry declared and Fran shook her head.
“Just what this house needs, four more kids,” she said and they both laughed. Jake stuck his head in the door.
“Puppies come yet?” he asked, slightly out of breath. They shook their heads. He grinned. “Good, I didn’t miss it, the kids in there?” he asked and they nodded. He started to leave and then turned back. “I see you got your buddy there, hi, Harry’s buddy,” he teased and waved at his son who giggled and waved back. Harry laughed and feed Danny a piece of strawberry this time.
“Don’t pay attention to him, he’s just jealous cuz you’re better looking,” he told him and Danny giggled. Fran rolled her eyes. Then Adam ran in.
“Daddy, Daddy says to come quick, the puppies are coming and Gertie needs you to touch her,” he yelled and Harry grinned and picking up Danny he hurried to the bedroom. Fran and Adam followed. He handed Danny to Jake and all the kids moved aside for him as he knelt down next to Gertie who moaned in pain and snapped at him. They all screamed a little.
“Is Gertie going to bite Daddy?” Emma asked; her little face worried. Jake hugged her.
“Oh, Gertie’s in pain right now, but Daddy’s going to touch her and make the pain go away, then she’ll be just fine,” he assured her and all of the kids. They all huddled around him.
“Its okay, Gertie, let me just feel your belly, its okay,” Harry cooed to the dog who now licked his hands and he took away all of her pain and she wagged her tail and whined. Bo whined too and the boys kept him away so Gertie wouldn’t get scared. Then they all watched the miracle of birth and the girls thought it disgusting and the boys declared it gross and cool. Then the puppies were all born safe and sound and began to nurse and everything was alright, Daddy had come and made everything alright. All the kids cheered and clapped and started to name their puppies. All the older boys were getting one, Danny was only three and he had to wait till next time but Harry and Jake promised to share Bo and Gertie with him.
Both of the girls wanted the cats, Cassie wanted kittens but Emma wanted George and Martha, she loved those two old cats and they both loved her and followed her everywhere so Harry had given them to her. Martha had just given birth to four kittens and two of them were going to Cassie and two were going to Irene, DJ and Grace’s daughter. There were never enough cats and dogs to go around and everyone hated that Harry and Jake were keeping all of Gertie’s puppies and giving them to their sons. But they insisted that a boy needed a dog and their boys wanted a dog just like their Daddy’s dog.
“Poor Fran, living in that house with all seven kids, four cats and six dogs, it’s a zoo, not a house,” Linda remarked and all of her friends laughed.
“Four puppies, my God, they’ll pee all over the place, the house will smell like piss,” Myra made a face. Shelley shook her head.
“You don’t know Harry like I do, I guarantee he’ll have those puppies paper-trained and out in the yard faster than anyone can blink. That is one clean freak,” she retorted and they all laughed.
“Max has been inside Phillip and Stuart’s house and he says it’s the same way, those kind of men are like that, that’s how you can tell, if your son is too neat, that’s a sign that he’ll turn out gay,” Linda informed them. They all laughed.
“Well, that let’s my Georgie off the hook, I can’t even see his floor anymore for all the clothes and papers,” Shelley retorted with relief and they giggled.
The puppies were all house-broken in record time and there were a few accidents but the boy responsible for the pup got to clean up the mess so they learned early to look for the signs and rush their dogs outside quickly. Jackson named his male puppy Hero which was cute and Adam named his female puppy Lucky because he said he was lucky to have her. Ryan named his male puppy Zap and Sean named his female Zip so together they were Zip and Zap which was adorable and funny like the two brothers who were always laughing and making up silly jokes that only made them laugh.
They turned the game room into the dog room and took out the pool table that they never used anymore and put in dog beds and chew toys and some cat stuff and the kids had a ball playing in it. All their cousins came over to play with the puppies and Harry’s house became the place to hang out which he loved and always had cookies and healthy snacks like yogurt and fruit for them to eat. And, of course, the mothers would come with the kids and they’d hang out with Harry and they’d talk.
Harry decided to keep his beer at home too and not take it to the plant and bottle it. Maybe when the kids all got older, he would turn the beer making over to one of his boys and they could take it to the plant and bottle it, but he wasn’t ready to make it a full time job, he had enough on his plate.
The mini putt-putt was a big hit, especially since it was seventy-two holes of family fun that Harry left open twenty-four hours a day in the spring, summer and fall, closing only in the winter when the weather closed him down. He left the gate open and the shack unlocked so anyone and their kids could play whenever they wanted to and didn’t charge a penny which everyone loved and made a few people like Doug and Lily who charged for bowling and the movie theatre feel guilty. They felt so guilty that they stopped charging for those two things and started leaving them open twenty-four hours like Harry did and soon everyone else who owned things like that did too.
DJ left the roller rink open twenty-four hours, Roger and Zach left the YMCA open twenty-four hours and Sissy left her exercise club open all the time. It soon became a trend that you could do anything in town you wanted whenever you wanted; it was very easy and fun. And the adults finally realized that all of the food places that Harry and Jake owned were always opened and unlocked too and they could go in and fix themselves and their families a pizza, or tacos, or Arby’s anytime they wanted. And it wouldn’t cost them a dime, they were ecstatic!
“Kathleen, did you know that MacDonald’s is open all the time and Harry doesn’t charge for anything in it, all he asks is that we clean up after we use it?” Meri asked her daughter in an excited tone. Kathleen laughed.
“It’s been like that since he opened it, Mother, didn’t you read the email he sent out, he sent everyone an email telling you all that,” she informed her. Meri shook her head.
“It was so much fun, last night we went to play putt-putt, then we went bowling, then we ate at MacDonald’s and it didn’t cost us a dime, we had a terrific time,” Meri gushed. Kathleen giggled.
“We kids have been doing that for years, do you know that we don’t charge each other for stuff in our stores, we just trade what we want,” she told her mom who looked surprised.
“But why would Harry do that, he and Jake have all those stores, they could make a fortune,” she protested. Her daughter laughed.
“And do what exactly with it?” she teased her. “They already have a fortune and every single possible thing they could ever need, they don’t need anything else, we give them anything they want from our stores and we get anything we want from their stores, it works out just fine. Ask them if you can join their club, I’ll bet they say yes.” Meri looked surprised and nodded.
When she brought it up to her group of ladies they were all surprised and intrigued.
“Anything we like from Macy’s and all we have to do is give them anything they want from our stores; that’s quite a deal,” Linda remarked and they all agreed, that was quite a deal. So they all talked it over with their husbands who thought it a good deal and went one further, if Harry could do it, so could they. So they all decided to give each other carte blanch in one another’s stores and shook hands over it. And when all the other farms found out they got in on it too except for Gloria and David who snarled and said no one was getting anything for free in their stores.
Everyone went to Harry who grinned and gave them the same deal he was giving the kids and everyone was extremely happy, he and Jake had the best stores. He celebrated by giving everyone shopping in the store of their choice and most of the women picked Macy’s of course and some of the men picked the Home Depot and he and Jake opened stores and handed out key cards and let the town go wild. Except, of course, for Gloria, David, Susie, and Violet who all stayed home and sulked.
Then of course the whole thing went sour when everyone began fighting about who was getting more stuff from who’s store and who was taking advantage of whom and people starting locking certain people out of their stores and everyone reneged on the whole thing and informed everyone that the whole free shopping thing was ridiculous and how can they make a living and support their families for twenty thousand years if they let people just come off the streets and grab stuff. So everyone said the deal was off and it went back to the way it used to be but everyone had a wonderful time shopping for the short time.
Then Max and Charles came up with the bright idea that they needed an economy if they were going to survive as a town and for that they needed a bank and paper currency. Everyone was sick and tired of carrying around gold to pay for everything; it was heavy, cumbersome and a nuisance. So they asked Harry if he had brought down a bank.
“Actually I did bring down a bank, do you really think we need one now?” he asked and everyone nodded. They were all sick of carrying around gold. He nodded.
“I brought down a depository also, where we can print money and make coins, but you know, you just can’t print money, someone is going to have to deposit gold into the depository for the town’s economy,” he informed them. They all looked at one another. No one had that kind of gold or wanted to put it up. Harry shrugged.
“I’ll put up twenty million dollars and we’ll print twenty million dollars worth of currency but it’ll be my bank, the First National Bank of Edenville,” he declared and everyone was fine with that. Then he grinned.
“And my picture goes on the twenty dollar bill,” Harry stated and Max stood up.
“Why should your picture go on the twenty, we should hold a lottery to see whose picture goes on what bill and what coin, that’s only fair,” he stated and Harry nodded.
“Maybe for all of the rest of the money, but if it’s my bank and my millions funding the economy, the least you can do is put my face on the twenty. After all, I did save everyone’s life by finding the planet and leading us here, and it is a fantastic planet I found, or don’t you remember the thirty thousand or so years you’re all going to live?” he teased them and Jake burst into laughter. Kate stood up.
“I think Henry’s right, he’s putting up the money, he’s face should be on the twenty,” she said and everyone laughed. Jan stood up.
“I agree with Kate and Harry, his face should be on the twenty, he saved all of us, we should honor him by putting his face on one of the bills,” she said and everyone but a few agreed. So they voted and Harry got his twenty.
“Why did you want your face on the twenty, babe?” Jake asked when they got home and put the kids to bed. Harry giggled.
“When we finally get the money printed and all the ATM’s out, what do you think everyone is going to run out to do?” he teased and Jake laughed.
“They’ll run out and take money out of the ATM and when they do, they’ll get five Harry’s,” he said and laughed. He reached out and pulled him into his arms.
“Do we even have twenty million, babe?” he asked. Harry nodded.
“And I’m using my money and not yours for this foolish crap,” he told him. Jake grinned.
“It’s all our money, silly, and you can use any of it you want, but an economy, who the hell are they fooling, we’re going to print twenty million dollars of money for a hundred and ninety-eight people, that’s insane, babe,” he declared and Harry giggled.
“Why do you think I said twenty instead of five or ten, I wanted to see how stupid they were and they’re really, really stupid, honey,” he said and they both laughed.
The next day they started work on the bank and the safe was a marvel to see. They had to use the Elizabeth to lift it up and put it into place and only Harry had the combination. David wanted to be the bank manager but he didn’t have any experience. Pete Campbell had been a bank manager and so Harry made him the bank manager and made David a teller which made the man happy.
Next they built the depository and the security on that building was very impressive. Even DJ and Steve who considered themselves hackers couldn’t figure out how to get into this system. Harry could but he didn’t tell them how, he wanted his twenty million to stay put.
Next they held a lottery for the pictures on the money and everyone’s name was written on ping pong balls in the machine that printed names on golf balls and placed in the bingo game and spun around. Harry supervised since he was already chosen and his mom Kate was voted as the picker since everyone figured she’d be impartial. She turned on the machine and the balls spun around and when she flipped the switch and ball rolled into the slot. Everyone gasped and held their breaths as she opened the slot and picked up the ball. She turned to Harry.
“What are we selecting now, Henry?” Kate asked. Harry grinned.
“The face for the one dollar bill, Mom,” he told her. She nodded and looked at the ball.
“The picture on the one dollar bill will be of Max Tyler,” she announced and Max stood up and waved while everyone cheered for him. Harry grinned and typed it into his computer. He could see people writing it down.
“Now we’re picking for the five dollar bill,” he called out and Kate flipped the switch and a second ball fell out and she pulled it out and looked at it.
“The picture on the five dollar bill will be of Carl Warner,” she announced and surprised as hell, Carl stood up and everyone cheered. His wife kissed him. Harry grinned.
“Now we’re picking the ten dollar bill,” he called out and his mother flipped the switch and another ball fell out and she picked it up and read it.
“The picture on the ten dollar bill will be Kathleen Tyler,” she announced and with a squeal Kathleen jumped up and waved her hand and everyone cheered.
“Now we’re picking the fifty dollar bill,” Harry called out and the switch was flipped and another ball fell out.
“The picture on the fifty dollar bill will be Lily Thomas,” Kate announced and Lily jumped to her feet and everyone cheered and clapped for her.
Then they called for the hundred dollar bill and Charlie Baxter was called and his father looked pissed that it was his son and not him. Everyone cheered for Charlie though so he had to also.
Next they called for the five hundred dollar bill, the largest one they were going to issue and they name Kate called out was Sarek who stood and they all cheered for him except for few who thought an alien shouldn’t be on their money.
Next they called for the penny and Kate flipped the switch and the ball fell out and she read the name and laughed.
“And the face on the penny shall be mine,” she announced and showed them all her name on the ball and they all laughed and cheered for her. Harry giggled and typed in her name.
“Now we’re picking for the nickel,” Harry called out and the switch was flipped and the ball dropped out and Kate picked it up.
“And the face on the nickel shall be Dr. George,” she announced and everyone cheered for Dr. George.
“Now we’re picking the dime,” Harry said and Kate picked up the ball and looked at it.
“The face on the dime shall be Gloria Marshall,” she announced and Gloria squealed and jumped up. David jumped up and they kissed.
“Now we’re picking the quarter,” Harry called out and Kate flipped the switch and picked up the ball.
“The face on the quarter shall be Jake Talbert,” she read and Jake grinned and kissed his kids. Harry grinned and typed in his name and blew his honey a kiss. David stood up.
“That’s cheating, they both can’t be picked,” he yelled. Kate frowned at him.
“I assure you, I am not cheating, but if I pick your ball, Mr. Marshall, I’m putting it back because I don’t like you,” she said and everyone laughed. He pouted and sat down.
“Next we’re picking the half dollar,” Harry called out and the switch was flipped and Kate picked up the ball and laughed.
“The face on the half dollar shall be the very stupid and imbecile David Marshall,” she announced and everyone broke into laughter as he stood up and giggled.
“And, of course, the face on the commemorative gold dollar with the Roosevelt on one side and the planet Eden on the other will be my son Henry, our savior,” Kate informed them solemnly and they all stood up and cheered and clapped. Harry stood up and took a bow and then informed everyone who had been picked that Doug would be taking the official photographs in his studio and a committee would pick out what was going on back of the bill. The meeting then ended.
“You do know that the twenty dollar bill and the quarter are the two most popular pieces of currency,” Harry informed his husband on the drive home. Jake grinned and kissed his babe’s hand.
“You didn’t rig it so I’d get picked for something did you, babe?” he asked and Harry giggled.
“You can’t rig ping pong balls, Jake, that’s silly,” he declared and Jake laughed.
“You’re right, I’m sorry I asked,” he apologized. Harry giggled again. Jake grinned. “What did you do, I know you did something,” he said. Harry sighed.
“If you must know, I sprayed your ball with clear acrylic enamel to make it heavier than all the other balls, that way it would fall to the bottom when the switch was flipped,” he confessed. Jake laughed.
“You little cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater, if I had ended up on the penny, I would have still loved you,” he teased and Harry laughed.
Once the official pictures were taken they looked around for places to put on the back of the bills. Harry flew Doug out to Mykonos to take a picture of the six waterfalls for the back of the twenty and on the front of all the bills they put the double symbol of the Roosevelt flying over the planet Eden and they used the words ‘In God We Trust’ like the original dollars had said and had always said since money was made back on Earth.
On the back of the one dollar bill they put a picture of the Community Center; on the five they put an oasis from Savannah and on the ten, volcanoes from Volcano Island. On the fifty went the glorious mountains of Sherwood and on the hundred went a view of the Northern Pole with its glorious lights. On the five hundred Sarek produced a picture of Eden’s system showing it as the fourth planet from the sun, which everyone loved.
On the penny Kate insisted on putting Barb’s face on the reverse side making it a double-faced coin and everyone laughed so much about it that they decided to go along. For the nickel Dr. George wanted Shelley so another double-faced coin was made, after all, they couldn’t do it for one and not the other. For the dime Gloria picked a picture of her, David and their dog Poopsie and everyone laughed and put it on. For the quarter Jake and Harry picked an American Bald Eagle holding arrows in one claw and an olive branch in the other with the words E. Pluribus Unum which meant ‘out of one many’. Everyone wanted to know what they signified and Harry explained this was on the quarter in the Twentieth Century on Earth and so they wanted it on their quarter.
“That’s very impressive, Harry, I didn’t know that,” Carl remarked. Kate sighed.
“Is there anything you don’t know, Henry?” she asked a little sarcastically. Harry sighed.
“There are a lot of things I don’t know, Mom, we just did a little research, anyone could have found that out and you have to admit, it makes a pretty quarter,” he said and everyone nodded. It was the prettiest coin.
For the fifty cent piece David didn’t know what to pick since his wife already picked the picture he wanted so he picked a picture of the bank where the money came from and he was going to work. That made the man giggle and annoyed the rest of the people in the room except for his wife who thought his giggle cute.
And the design on the gold dollar was Harry at fourteen and twenty-one on the front and the Roosevelt and Eden on the back, it was very special and he liked the way the computer did it. Everyone gushed over it when they showed it at the town meeting when they showed all the computer facsimiles of what the bills and coins would look like and Violet wanted to scream at all of them. All of this ‘Harry is our hero’ crap was beginning to get on every one of her nerves.
Harry deposited twenty million in the depository and several witnesses, Max and Charles among them counted the gold and he locked it up. Then he, Steve and DJ went to work turning the special paper, copper, silver and yet more gold into currency and coins. In secret they minted sixty-seven special quarters with the faces of the survivors from their Roosevelt colonist I.D. cards from March, forty-one forty-five when they first came aboard and prepared to sleep on the front and a picture of the Roosevelt on the back. They put them together in a commemorative set to hand out at the opening of the bank and had two for every man, women and child to keep for eternity.
The bank opened and everyone lined up to open their checking accounts and buy some money. Cindy Campbell had some teller experience and they put her to work so they had four desks working and everyone was very patient. David looked most impressive in an Armani suit from his store. Harry wore a suit also to lend an air of importance to the affair but inside he was laughing his ass off.
Carl and Jenna were his first customers and he typed in their information correctly. They lived at Number 3, Farm Two Drive, Edenville, Eden, and since they had no post office, there was no postal code. Harry expected them to ask for a post office next. They deposited two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and he showed them the safe where the money would be kept and locked up and they were very impressed with it. Then he threw in a lifetime safe deposit box for free and they accepted and he took them through that routine and handed over the little key for them to keep safe. He knew that people loved those little keys just like they loved putting their important papers in the safe deposit box at the bank. It made them feel secure.
They picked out antique checks with a fancy ‘W’ and he gave them two checkbook covers for free and said their checks would be delivered when they were printed just like their statements would come on the fifth of every month and be delivered to their house. Then they wrote out a cashier’s check for cash and withdrew some money and Harry took them to his window and handed them freshly minted bills and rolls of coins which made them very happy. Then he took them back to his desk and showed them the commemorative quarters and they gushed over them. He handed them theirs, two for every member of their family and they couldn’t have been happier.
“Thanks, Harry, this is a wonderful bank you have here,” Carl gushed and shook his hand. Harry smiled and thanked him for his business and informed them that their ATM cards would be delivered by end of day tomorrow. They loved hearing that and he was ready for the next customer. And that’s how it went for the rest of the day until he and his team had seen every single person in town.
Tammy, Amy, Susie and Violet were different customers; they just came in with gold and wanted to buy some money. They didn’t have any stores and their parents wouldn’t give them one of theirs and they didn’t have enough money to open checking accounts. Harry solved this little problem by giving them each two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and opening a checking account for them. They all couldn’t have more surprised, especially Violet.
“But I thought you hated me,” she said and looked at him. He shrugged.
“I don’t hate you, Violet, but I really wished you’d stop flirting with my husband,” he told her and she flushed red with embarrassment. “I know you girls don’t have any stores so you don’t have an income so Jake and I decided that you should have some money of your own, so we’d like to do this for you.”
“You could give us one of your stores,” Violet said with a sly grin. Harry shook his head.
“The point is to give you some money so you’d be like everyone else who has money,” he informed her. So he opened their accounts and sent them on their way.
The next day he and Steve put all the data into the computer and it shot out all of the ATM cards and they tried them out to make sure they worked and then put them in envelopes and delivered them personally to everyone in town. As soon as they left they knew everyone would be heading for the next ATM to try them out. For everyone’s convenience they put one in every farm by the craft house, by the hospital and Mill, and all over town. Harry had no idea what they were going to spend all that money on but it was there for when they needed it.
When Steve and Synta made the next toilet paper run they put Harry’s twenty dollar bill on green toilet paper as a prank and everyone laughed hysterically and then fought over it, everyone wanted it for their bathroom. They had to make another batch to meet the demand. Harry grabbed a case of it for his house and he and Jake giggled every time they went into the bathroom.
“I feel bad wiping my ass with your face, babe,” Jake said as he climbed into bed. Harry laughed and rolled over to face him.
“I bet Max and Charles get a real kick out of going to the bathroom, Linda and Myra must have to force them to come out,” he teased and Jake laughed.
“I ought to go kick Steve’s ass for putting your face on the paper,” he said and Harry grinned.
“I think it’s a funny joke, in a hundred years or so, he’ll get tired of making toilet paper and then we’ll get even and put his face on some,” he said and Jake grinned.
“I like the way you think,” he said and then he turned to the door. “Did you hear that, I thought I heard something,” he said and got out of bed. Opening the door he was surprised to find their youngest sitting on the top of the stairs.
“Danny, I thought you went to bed hours ago, did you have a bad dream, angel?” he cooed and picked him up. The little boy snuggled in his neck. Jake looked at Harry. “I’ll put him back in okay?” he said and walked from the room. He returned a few minutes later and hopped back in.
“Poor little tyke,” he said. Harry smiled and kissed him.
“You’re such a good dad,” he told him gently. Jake kissed him and they began to make love, slowly at first and then more passionately and a little louder. The little boy standing outside their door listened to the sounds and smiled. Then he turned around and went back to his bed. Bo hopped up on the bed and soon they were fast asleep. He just needed to make sure that his world was secure and it was so now Danny could fall asleep.
During the summer break they all drove up to the cabin by the lake to go camping and with seven kids and six dogs in the Jeep it was a fun ride. They had to pull a trailer with all of their stuff but they had fun and Harry lifted everything to the cabin which made all the kids laugh.
“When do you think I’ll be able to do that?” Jackson asked. Harry shrugged.
“I don’t know, if you keep drinking white milk then probably never, you have to drink green milk to develop your telekinesis,” he told him and Jackson frowned. Adam laughed and patted him on his back.
“Don’t worry, Jackie, I’ll lift stuff for you,” he teased and Jackson frowned at him.
“My name isn’t Jackie, you idiot, don’t call me that or I’ll smack you,” he yelled and they started to wrestle. Jake walked by and picked up one in each arm and they laughed as he juggled them.
“Two little boys want to get dropped in the lake I think, what do you think; babe?” he asked and Harry nodded.
“I think you’re right, honey, they’re all fired up and need to cool off, a nice refreshing dip ought to do that,” he said and both boys began to yell as their father started walking towards the lake.
“No, don’t throw us in Dad, please Dad, save us,” Jackson yelled. Jake laughed and put them down.
“Help us unpack instead of beating up on each other or in the lake you go,” he told them and the two boys nodded and laughing walked back towards the trailer, their arms around each other, best friends once again. Harry and Jake grinned at each other.
“Who wants a canoe ride?” Harry announced when they were all unpacked. Seven hands went up and the dogs barked so they all put on their water wings and raced towards the boat house. Harry and Jake walked and they took the two long boats out of storage and they all climbed in. Harry took Danny, Emma and Cassie while Jake took the four boys. Harry had Bo and Gertie and Jake had the other four dogs, it was fun watching them steer in the water. Harry giggled.
“I think you have one dog too many, honey,” he called out and Jake laughed.
“You think?” he teased and all the boys laughed. Then Zap saw a fish and barked, jumped in to catch it and all the other dogs jumped in and almost cap-sized them. All the boys screamed and Harry used his powers to level them.
“Lucky’s going to drown, Dad, do something,” Adam screamed, tears coming to his eyes. Harry lifted the dogs back into the boat and all the boys cheered and hugged their precious pets. Jake grinned.
“That stupid Zap, Sean; that dog is crazy, did you drop that dog on his head?” he teased and Sean giggled.
“He wanted to play with that fish,” he defended his puppy. Jackson giggled.
“He wanted to eat that fish, I’m starving, can we have lunch?” he asked and then went to shore and Fran had lunch ready. They all pigged out and then played quietly in their rooms. Only the three little ones would sleep, the four older kids were too big for naps and would spend the time reading and doing puzzles and games. Jake stretched out on the couch and snoozed and Harry made potato and macaroni salads for dinner. They were going to barbecue and he made hamburger patties with chopped onions in them the way they liked them. Then he made ice cream cookies for dessert and put them in the freezer and chopped up a bunch of fruit for breakfast and took sausages out of the freezer for breakfast. Fran had made eight loaves of bread so they were set for bread.
When the kids got up they went outside and played while Jake fired up the grill and Fran and Harry set the picnic table and brought out all the food. The kids helped and soon they were all eating and enjoying the food.
“Man, babe, you make the best potato salad in the world,” Jake declared and all the kids grinned.
“You do, Dad, Aunt Kathleen puts pickle relish in hers and it’s disgusting,” Jackson said and all the kids giggled. Emma nodded.
“She puts pickle relish in everything, even her tuna fish and that’s just gross,” she said and Cassie nodded. Jake nodded too.
“I agree with you, baby girl, pickle relish is good on hot dogs but not in tuna fish,” he said firmly and all the kids nodded. Harry grinned.
“Well, some families like some things and some families like other things, you kids don’t like pickle relish in your tuna because I never put it in, but Stevie and Stephie do because their mother has always put it in,” he explained. Jackson shook his head.
“No, they hate it too, they think it’s gross and disgusting too,” he informed them. Emma giggled.
“Stephie thinks her mother is the worst cook, that’s why she loves coming over to our house, she says you’re the best cook on the planet,” she said with pride. Harry giggled.
“Well, don’t tell Aunt Kathleen that, you don’t want to hurt her feelings,” he told them and they all nodded.
“We don’t, we just ask for ham or bologna,” Adam told him and he looked at Jake and grinned. Jake ruffled his son’s hair.
“You’re a very clever young man, just like your dad,” he said and Adam grinned.
A few days later Jake and Harry took the girls up on their offer to watch the kids while they went exploring the mountain caves looking for ore. Harry had a Geiger counter in case they ran into a uranium deposit; he didn’t want to risk anything dangerous and wanted to be prepared.
They walked carefully into the first cave they found, they had never seen a bear or wolf but that didn’t mean there weren’t any.
“Here big bad bear, here big bad bear,” Jake called out softly as they entered the darkness. Harry giggled.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to call for them like that, honey,” he retorted and Jake shrugged.
“Well, I really don’t want to call one, babe,” he told him. They looked all around the cave and luckily there was no one home. Harry laughed with relief and they picked a good spot near the back corner and began to dig with their shovels.
“Hey, babe, these rocks look interesting, look how silver they are and they kind of look like metal,” Jake commented as he picked one up. Harry held one up to his computer sensor and lots of numbers flashed onto the screen. He grinned.
“I love this planet, honey, you found it, this is Glyph, this is the metal we needed to find and we found it on the first try, talk about lucky,” he declared and they kissed. Harry looked around the cave and got that look in his eyes. Jake shivered and found himself getting hard. He bent his head and nuzzled Harry’s neck, biting gently at the flesh which caused Harry to moan. Together they fell to the ground, pulling at each other clothes in a frantic need to get naked.
Afterwards they lied on the dirt, all entwined together and Harry laughed.
“Oh, I love this cave,” he declared and Jake laughed and kissed his neck.
“Me too, babe, this is my favorite cave on the planet,” he told him. Harry sighed.
“I could make love with you, Jake, eighty times a day and still not get enough of you,” he told him solemnly and Jake brushed his hair from his face and smiled down at him. He kissed him tenderly.
“I know, Harry, every time I’m in you I never want to leave, I just want to be a part of you,” he whispered and they smiled. Then they got up and got dressed and dug for a couple of hours and got a couple of bags of rock to take back to camp.
“Look what we found,” Harry announced when they arrived back at the cabin. Everyone looked up.
“Don’t tell me you found the metal already,” Steve said and the two men grinned and dumped their bags on the ground. Everyone picked up a rock to examine it.
“This is glyph?” Kathleen asked and Harry nodded and picked up her iced tea to have a sip.
“Yep, all we have to do now is dig out a ton of it, melt it down and make coffee pots and metal containers for everyone,” he said and they all groaned.
“Oh, man, every time you discover something, we end up picking or digging,” Charlie complained. Jake laughed and patted him on the back.
“You don’t have to dig if you don’t want to buddy, but when we build that foundry and all that ore starts melting, you’re going to want to be there,” he predicted. Charlie nodded.
“Yeah, you’re right about that, I’ve never seen metal melting, I bet that’s a sight,” he said. Harry nodded.
“Oh, yeah, liquid metal, that’s gotta be like lava flowing,” he told them and all the men looked impressed.
“Well, count me in on that,” DJ said firmly and all the men nodded.
“Oh, yeah, me too,” Hans stated.
“Well, I guess we’ve got our diggers,” Harry declared and they all laughed.
He sent out an email to town telling them about the ore discovery and the new metal they were going to be melting in the foundry they were going to be building and if anyone was interesting in helping make the coffee pots and metal containers wanted to be included in the process, well, they had to show up to help dig. All the men on Farm Two and Three rushed to the lake and the men on Farm One laughed at them. Even Reverend Milo thought the idea of liquid metal was fascinating and couldn’t wait to see the foundry in action. Dr. George thought it might be interesting too and showed up several times with Bernie. The rest of the men on their farm teased them but they didn’t care, their fascination got the best of them.
When they had dug out three tons of metal Harry said they had enough and they lifted it back to town with the Elizabeth and they began work on the foundry. It took them all summer because with school and all their busy schedules and everyone taking their summer vacations and weeding and the summer harvest and fall planting they could only work on it Saturdays and a little at a time but they finally got it done and they brought the ore in and melted it.
“Oh, man, look at those rocks melt, what’s the temperature in there, Harry?” Carl asked. Harry grinned and pointed to the temperature gauge.
“It’s nineteen hundred degrees Fahrenheit, Carl,” he announced and all the men watching grinned.
“How hot is lava?” Brian asked. Harry glanced back at his students.
“Eric, what’s the average temperature of lava?” he asked and the teen grinned.
“The average temperature of lava is thirteen hundred to twenty-two hundred degrees Fahrenheit,” Eric informed them proudly and they all they all looked impressed. Phillip put his arm around his son and beamed.
Next they moved to the pouring section and they all watched with awe as the machines poured the liquid metal into the shapes and then they moved down the line and the shapes came out and were put into the cooling tanks and they each got to stick their hands in and pick up one of the finished products which were still hot.
“Oh, man, this pot is still hot,” Roger exclaimed and they all gushed over them.
“This is so cool, we made a coffee pot, Harry, you’re a genius,” Frank declared and everyone grinned. DJ hugged him.
“This is the best factory on the planet, what else can we make here,” he asked. Harry shook his head.
“This is a foundry, we can make anything out of metal that you gentlemen think of, all we have to do is develop the molds and retool the machines and that’s not hard to do,” he explained. They all grinned.
“Hell, we got a mountain full of metal, let’s think of something else we can make,” Frank said and everyone cheered. Harry grinned and everyone shook hands.
The following Sunday they passed out coffee pots and metal containers with lids to everyone and bragged about their hard work. All the women were impressed with the pretty flower designs on the containers and the craftsmanship of the work.
“You men made these, why these are lovely,” Jenna gushed and kissed her husband who blushed.
“So you made a coffee pot, big deal,” Max snapped. Harry shook his head.
“It is a big deal, Max,” he told him. He looked at everyone and held up his pot. “Even if this wasn’t a special metal, it would be a big deal. You’re looking at something that was made from ore that came directly from the ground that we dug and then melted and poured into molds. We did it all by ourselves and none of us are professional metal workers. This is very impressive work and I am very proud of all of us,” he told them and everyone beamed. Then he continued.
“This metal glyph is a very neat metal,” Harry told them. “When you put coffee in this pot, it will stay hot for hours, all day and it won’t get bitter, it’s like a thermos only better. And if you put something cold in it, it will stay cold for hours, so if you put ice cream in one of these metal containers and take it on a hike, in a couple of hours, when you stop for lunch, your ice cream will still be frozen.” They all looked impressed.
“Wow, that’s pretty neat,” Jenna said and everyone nodded. Sarek stood up.
“We had such containers on our planet, what you call your refrigerators and freezers were made of this metal and we didn’t need crystals to power them,” he informed them and they all nodded. Harry grinned and then tilted his head to think.
“This might save us a lot in food storage, think of what will happen if we put our vegetables and fruit into containers made up of this metal. I wonder if it will stay fresh all year round? That would save us plastic bags. I’m going to make a couple of large containers, put some vegetables and fruits into them and do an experiment and see how they do after a year. If it works, we can put them in our basements instead of all the wrapping and canning that we do every year. We can simply wash our vegetables and fruit and then store them in our glyph containers,” he explained and everyone looked excited.
“Oh, that would be so great, I’m so tired of bagging tomatoes I could scream,” Linda declared and everyone laughed. Sarek stood up.
“Actually, Harry, you don’t have to experiment, we always kept our produce in metal containers on Minos and our food never spoiled,” he told everyone and Harry nodded.
“Well, men, it looks like we’re going to be retooling the foundry and digging some ore,” he said and they all grinned. Carl stood up.
“Well, you can count on me, boss,” he said and they all stood up. Harry looked at the men on Farm One.
“Since you gentlemen are going to be getting containers you’re going to have to show up for work also, no one gets a free ride,” he told them and they frowned.
“Maybe we don’t want containers, maybe we like the plastic bags,” Max said. Linda slapped his arm.
“If you don’t show up for work, Max, I will because one way or the other, I’m getting some of those metal containers,” she snapped and he rolled his eyes.
“Fine, fine, I’ll dig ore, but we were doing fine with the bags, I don’t see the need to change what was working fine,” he said. Jenna shook her head.
“This new way is going to be so much easier, don’t you want to make it easier for your wife, think of all the extra time she’ll have to spend with you and the kids,” she told him. He sighed.
“Fine, fine, I guess progress is coming whether I like it or not,” he complained. And he and the other men on his farm bitched and complained the whole time they dug which was the rest of the year. Harry had estimated that it would take ten tons of ore to make enough containers for everyone’s basements and that included the two tons they had left over from the pots. They cancelled school which made all the kids happy and the older kids helped with the digging which made their fathers happy and by the time the harvest came they had enough ore and the factory went into overtime producing enough containers for everyone’s basements.
In between all the digging all of Harry’s students who were now sixteen and fifteen came to him and wanted to know if they could have two houses, they wanted a girl’s house and a boy’s house and wanted to move to Farm Four with the rest of the kids.
“Sure, Eric, no problem, let me get my computer,” Harry said and he got it out. He let them select from houses that still had their food so they would get packaged food. And they had already talked with their parents and everyone was cool with them moving out so when they started building the next day there were no shouting matches or arguments or fights. The houses went up in a week and the barn that they would share in another week and the teens were all set. Harry fetched them two green cows and their names were already on the list for the lottery so they just had to wait.
They made the containers in the shape of freezers and put one air-tight door on the top in the center and wheels on the bottom so they could easily be rolled into position and they weren’t very heavy or thick so everyone loved them. Harry and Jake took turns working shifts so one of them could be home with the kids at all times and when they finished everyone got the same number of freezers so no one could whine or complain. There was one left over so Harry took it home and said to hell with anyone who complained but since no one knew he had it, he figured they couldn’t bitch about it. And everyone had enough; no one had to wrap anything so everyone was happy.
“We’re going to make shelves next month, so be prepared for more digging,” Harry informed them at the next town meeting. A few people groaned but most people thought shelves would be so handy and make storing food easier.
“I think shelves would be great, my tomatoes are all bunched together and I don’t like that,” Linda stood up and said. Shelley nodded.
“My apples and peaches are all mixed up,” she told everyone and they smiled.
“If my Queen wants shelves then she gets them,” Dr. George stood up and declared and Max rolled his eyes.
“My Princess wants a box that you can open in the front,” David announced and some of the women looked interested. Jenna stood up.
“That would be handy for the pantry, Harry, can you make a box like that?” she asked. Harry stood up.
“That would be easy, we just need to retool the machine and dig the ore,” he said and all the men grinned. Carl stood up.
“I’m up for that, boss,” he declared. Max snorted.
“You’re just a big Neanderthal aren’t you,” he sneered and Carl shrugged.
“Digging ore and melting it is a real man’s job, what’s the matter, Max, too much of a challenge for you?” he sneered back and everyone laughed.
They all rushed back to the mountain and before the first snow fell everyone had three new metal food boxes in their pantries that opened in the front with shelves and dividers in their food storage boxes in the basements and they were all happy. Now any time of the year they could just reach into a box and pull out an apple or potato and it would be just as they had just picked it off the tree or dug it out of the ground, just as fresh. Once again Harry was everyone’s hero and Violet hated his guts.


“Don’t worry Sean, Ryan will be home after school and you can play with him then,” Jake told his four year-old son as they waved to the five older kids as they rode with Harry to school. Sean nodded and walked with his dad and Danny back into the house. This was the first time he and Ryan would be separated since he had been born and he didn’t like it one little bit. Harry had thought at first to keep Ryan back a year and then send them to kindergarten together, it wouldn’t have hurt anything, but he realized that it was important for them to develop their own personalities and not be so dependant on one another and this was a good first step.
And they adjusted. Sean played with Danny who was a year younger and the two developed a special bond. But, of course, the minute Ryan came home; Sean dropped Danny like a hot brick and rushed to his older brother. Danny never seemed to mind though because he’d rather spend time with his dad and followed Harry around which Harry never minded because he loved the company and always made time for all of his kids. He and Jake made a special point to spend time and do special things with just two or one of them just by themselves, like take the two girls skating or the two older boys to the race track. It was important not to show favorites and to spend time with them individually also.
For Halloween Harry dressed all of his kids in cute little homemade costumes that were a cross between a fairy and a gnome and had both Jake and Fran guessing as to what they were. Neither one could come up with the correct answer as the seven grinned and looked at them. Finally the two gave up and looked at Harry who giggled.
“I give up, babe, what are they?” Jake asked and Harry nodded to Sean who walked out cute as hell and waved his hand under his chin and in a perfect imitation of Max Tyler sneered.
“We’re fishy freak fagola’s, Dad,” he sneered and Jake’s mouth opened wide and his eyes went wide and all the kids laughed. Fran giggled.
“Oh, my God, he sounded just like Max,” she declared and Harry giggled.
“Aren’t they the cutest things you’ve ever seen,” he gushed and Jake threw back his head and laughed and hugged them.
“Oh, my God, babe, old Max is going to pee himself when Sean does his impression, I’ve got to get the video camera for this,” he said and Harry nodded. They couldn’t wait to get to the Center for the party.
When they walked in wearing the same costume everyone exclaimed as usual and said they were giving up, there was no beating Harry and his magic sewing fingers.
“What on Earth are you guys?” Linda asked. Harry giggled and Sean stepped forward.
“Hey, Harry, get your little fishy freak fagolas out of here,” he said exactly like her husband Max and she looked shocked and then burst into laughter.
“Oh, my God, he sounds just like Max, hey, Max, get over here and hear this,” she yelled and Max came over. He laughed at the costumes.
“What the hell are you supposed to be?” he sneered. Sean giggled.
“Hey, Max, don’t you recognize a fishy freak fagola when you see one?” he sneered exactly like him. Max gasped and then burst into laughter.
“Oh, my God,” he exclaimed.
“Oh, my God,” Sean exclaimed, copying the older man exactly. Everyone around them laughed.
“The kid’s got you down pat, Max,” Carl remarked and Max laughed so hard he wiped tears from his eyes.
“What the hell are you, Harry?” he asked. Harry grinned.
“We’re fishy freak fagolas, Max,” he announced and everyone laughed.
All night Max kept coming back to their table to get Sean to do his impression and every time he would break into laughter and pat the boy on his shoulder.
“Harry, you’re raising one little terrific kid here,” he would gush and walk away laughing. Harry would roll his eyes and smirk and wink at his children who would all giggle. When it came time to announce best costume Harry and his children won and Sean got up on stage to accept the award and Max couldn’t help making him do his impression for the crowd who ate it up. Everyone cheered and clapped and Sean took a bow and Max wiped tears from his eyes.
The turkey hunt came and Jake took Jackson with him since he was seven and a big boy and Harry thought that was a good idea as long as he stayed close to his dad and obeyed him. Jackson promised and Harry told Adam he could go next year when he turned seven.
“I hate being the younger brother,” Adam protested. Harry sighed and hugged him.
“I know, darling, but that’s one of the benefits of being older, but look at it this way, you get to do things before Sean, Ryan and Danny,” he consoled him. Adam grinned.
“That’s true, poor Danny will be the last for everything, that sucks,” he declared. Harry nodded. Poor Danny just grinned; he had no idea what they were talking about. Harry took all the kids outside to pick up leaves in the yard and they had a good time. All the dogs had gone hunting with Jake and Jackson.
When the hunters came home, Jackson was grinning with excitement.
“Oh, wow, you should have seen all the turkeys flying in the air and Dad was shooting them down, it was so cool and Bo and Gertie chased them and brought them back,” he told his brothers and sisters. “All the dogs were running in the woods and bringing birds back and having the best time, it was so cool, I love hunting, Dad says when I’m ten I can have my own rifle and shoot turkeys.” Harry looked at Jake who shrugged.
“Max said that was the age Steve was when he got his first gun,” he told him. Harry nodded.
“Well, he’s the expert bird hunter so he would know,” he said. Jackson looked at him.
“Does that mean I get a rifle when I’m ten?” he asked with hope in his eyes. Harry nodded.
“If you want to hunt turkeys you have to have a gun. You can’t just point your finger and go bang,” he said and pointed his finger at him. All the kids laughed. Jackson hugged him.
“Thanks, Dad, you’re the best,” he declared and Harry hugged him back.
“I can see we’re going to have a lot of hunters in this family, it’s a good thing we love turkey,” he said and Fran laughed.
“Oh, yeah, I love smoked turkey,” she said. Emma made a face.
“I love to eat turkey but don’t expect me to go shooting any,” she said. Harry shrugged.
“Well, Emma, you never know, you might like hunting, why don’t you try it once when you’re older and see if you like it,” he told her and she shrugged.
“Okay, I’ll try it once but it sounds disgusting,” she said and Cassie nodded.
“Really, men are so gross,” she declared and they ran to the bedroom to play with their dolls. Harry laughed.
“I guess they start young with that silly nonsense,” he told Jake who nodded.
“That’s what they get for hanging out with Kathleen, that woman is nothing but trouble,” he teased and Fran giggled.
“I’m going to tell her you said that,” she teased and they all laughed.
Thanksgiving was the same, Dr. Jackson overate and Kate whined about the turkey recipe and Tracey and the other kids cursed which made Sissy giggled and Barb blush. Monroe asked when he was getting a car which made his father laugh.
“A car, boy you’re only twelve years old, what are you going to do with a car?” he asked. Monroe shrugged.
“Drive it,” he replied and everyone laughed. Harry grinned at him.
“You’ll get a car at fifteen just like everyone else got a car at fifteen,” he informed him. Monroe nodded.
“Abby was driving at twelve when you all first arrived on the planet,” he told him. Harry nodded.
“Yes, but that was different, we were only sixty-seven people. Now we’re a hundred ninety-eight and all the adults have decided that fifteen is young enough to be driving,” he said. Monroe sighed.
“Fine, but I think fourteen is old enough, there’s no where to go and nothing to do, at least if we had a car we could up the ocean highway or to the lake and hang around,” he said. Harry nodded.
“How about in the spring if we build a soda fountain, sort of a clubhouse just for you kids to hang out in? I think I have one and it would be off limits to the adults and you can have it for dancing and playing video games, how does that sound?” he asked and all the older kids got excited.
“Wow, that would be cool, Harry,” Tracey exclaimed. Kate frowned.
“”What do you mean off limits to adults, Henry, I don’t like the sound of that,” she said. Tracey frowned at her.
“He means that you can’t come in a sit around and stare at us, it would be our place to hang out, not yours,” she told her. Kate sighed.
“I do not sit around and stare at you,” she said. Tracey nodded.
“Oh, yes, you do, Mother,” she stated. “Whenever Joan and I hang out at home you have to wander in to see what we’re doing like you have to check up on us, its annoying as shit.” Sissy giggled and Barb looked at her food. Harry grinned at Jake.
“Tracey has a potty mouth,” Emma remarked on the way home. Fran laughed.
“Well, I hope you don’t think because she uses those words that you can,” Jake told her. Emma shook her head.
“Jackson said one of those words once and Daddy washed his mouth out with soap,” she informed him. Jake looked at Harry and grinned.
“You did that, babe?” he asked and Harry nodded. All the kids laughed and Jackson made a face.
“I certainly did and I’ll do it to any of them that use that kind of language in my house. I don’t use that language and I don’t want my children using that language, its rude and I don’t appreciate rude,” he said firmly and they all nodded. Then Harry grinned.
“Now if someone hits you in the head with a hammer, then you can say a bad word. You can say, why in the ‘bleep’ did you hit me in the head with that hammer?” he teased and they all laughed. “But unless that happens, I don’t want to hear it.” Jake grinned and kissed his hand.
New Year’s Eve Harry brought out the two cases of pink champagne he had and everyone groaned. David brought out four cases of regular that he wanted a thousand dollars a bottle for and giggled when he informed them of the price.
“I’ve got a cellar full of grapes and I’m making champagne this winter while we’re in Hawaii so next year we’ll have the bubbly but this year, its pink or you pay for David’s, or just drink mixed drinks,” he told them. “The pink is over a hundred years old, it can’t be that bad,” he reminded them and they all nodded. And when they opened it they found out he was right, it was quite delicious. And no one wanted to pay the outrageous fortune David was charging for his wine, in fact, he didn’t sell one bottle.
“I can’t believe those cheapskates would rather drink pink champagne than buy a bottle of mine, that stupid Harry Talbert ruins everything,” he snapped. Gloria sighed.
“Oh, well, let them drink that crap and the crap he’s making, we’ll keep this good stuff just for ourselves,” she said and he nodded. They locked it up in their car and opened one bottle just for themselves.
After they put the kids to sleep, Harry and Jake danced a slow romantic together and kissed slowly, moving across the dance floor like a well-oiled machine. They had been dancing together so long they could do it with so little effort. They gazed into each other’s eyes and smiled. Violet saw them and almost lost her dinner. Could they being any more trite? Who the hell cared, two men didn’t belong together like that; it was an abomination against God. All those gay people should be forced to separate and marry boy/girl the way it should be and they should never be allowed to have children. All of those poor children were going to grow up with distorted beliefs that it was alright to be gay and that was just wrong. She glared at her father. All that crap about loving the sinner and hating the sin was just that, crap. They ought to pass some law forbidding them to get married and have children, then Jake would have to leave Harry and maybe then she’d have a chance to get him to notice her.
At midnight Harry and Jake sat with their children and kissed the New Year in.
“It just gets better every year doesn’t it, babe?” Jake murmured. Harry laid his head on Jake’s strong chest.
“Yes it does, honey, I love you so much,” he whispered and they kissed again. Violet stood in the doorway and watched them. She made a face and stomped away. Across the room Mike nudged Billy and they both grinned.
“She just never gives up, does she?” he teased and they both laughed.
“I’m just glad she doesn’t like me, she gives good head but that’s all she’s good for,” Billy stated and they laughed again.
The following year they had Harry’s champagne and it was marvelous and everyone was ecstatic except for David who was crushed even when he and Gloria were given a bottle just like everyone else and they sipped the wine and found it tasted just as good as Dom Piergnon that they wanted a thousand dollars a bottle for.
“Does that little fagola bastard do everything perfectly?” he snapped and she made a face.
“It seems that way doesn’t it,” she said with a sigh. What they didn’t count on was that most things were just a matter of reading the directions or recipe and then following the steps and if you did that carefully you were bound to end up with what you wanted and that’s just what Harry did with everything he tried. He followed the directions.
The following year Danny entered kindergarten and now Jake didn’t have anything to do but Harry had that all covered. He took out a craft shop from Sherwood and made Jake a wood shop teacher and a gym teacher and everyone was happy to have him, especially the kids who didn’t have anything fun to do at school except for art and music and that got boring after a while. Then they made Dr. Jackson a coach and that made him happy and soon they had a basket ball team and a football team and all the men were happy about that and they played games and had lots of fun. They moved the players around so that everyone could play and no cliques could get formed and everyone loved that. Harry made a computer program that rotated the players on a weekly basis and all the boys loved him for that, now their fathers couldn’t push them like old Max and Charles and the fathers of Farm One liked to do, it was completely fair and impartial.
For the girls Lily coached ballet and gymnastics and dance and they had a great time with that and, of course, Jenna was a former cheerleader and Harry made uniforms which they loved and pom-poms and they formed a little band, he knew how to play several instruments and several other parents knew how to play instruments and soon a lot of the kids were learning the flute, violin and other instruments. All of Harry and Jake’s kids picked out one and their house was soon filled with the noise of practice. All the dogs hid in the basement during practice time and Fran escaped to her sunroom.
“Is Ryan playing the trumpet or is he torturing the cat?” Jake teased as they heard the boy practicing. Harry giggled.
“Oh, hush, he’s getting much better, it used to sound like he was torturing a weasel,” he joked and they both laughed. Jackson came in the room.
“Oh, man, did someone die or is that Ryan again?” he asked and Harry giggled.
“He’s trying really hard, be nice,” he chided. Jackson laughed and flopped down on the floor.
“I don’t sound that bad when I practice my violin do I?” he asked and both dads shook their head. “Good, cuz then I’d have to kill myself,” he declared and Jake kicked his ass with his foot and Jackson giggled. Emma came in with her fingers in her ears.
“Isn’t he finished yet, poor Martha is under the bed and won’t come out,” she said. Harry sighed.
“Well, he can’t go outside, the last time he did he killed three squirrels,” he said and they all laughed.
“I heard that,” Ryan yelled from the game room.
“Sorry, darling,” Harry yelled back. Ryan came into the room and flopped on the couch.
“I’m giving this thing up, I suck big time,” he announced and all the kids cheered. Jake frowned at them.
“No, Son, all you need is more practice, if you practice you’ll get better,” he told him. “Right, Harry,” he said and everyone looked at him. Harry sighed.
“Sometimes more practice just isn’t the answer, musical ability isn’t for everyone, maybe you have other talents, Ryan, maybe you should try the drums, God knows you like to bang around here enough,” he said and Ryan’s eyes lit up.
“Yeah, that would be cool, or the guitar, I love the guitar, Dad,” he gushed. Harry stood up.
“Let’s go to the music store and see what else they have because if I have to listen to you playing that trumpet one more second, I’m going to have to kill myself,” he declared and everyone laughed. And of course all the kids wanted to go so they all loaded up in the SUV and headed for the music store.
“How many stores do you and dad own, Dad?” Jackson asked on the way. Harry grinned.
“Fifty-four,” he said and they all gasped.
“Wow, I bet you own more than anyone else in town,” Adam said. Harry nodded.
“Yep, and when you grow up, you can have any of the stores you want,” he told them and they all nodded.
“I want the jewelry store,” Emma announced and Jake laughed.
“I knew she would pick that one, babe,” he said and everyone laughed.
“I want Toys R Us,” Danny shouted and they all laughed.
“I want the Coke factory,” Sean announced and Ryan grinned.
“Me too, I love Coke,” he declared. Harry nodded.
“That’s good, that’s a big one and it’ll take two of you to run it,” he told them and they beamed. Cassie shrugged.
“I don’t know what I want, I’ll figure it out later,” she said and Harry nodded.
“That’s okay, darling, you don’t have to pick right now,” he said and she grinned.
They got to the music store and everyone rushed inside and looked around. All the boys wanted guitars, so Harry let them pick one out and he got videos on how to play the instruments for them and music books for when they learned. Both girls picked out tambourines so they could be backup singers and Harry let them get microphones and amps so they could start their own band if they wanted to. Sean got drums and Danny got a keyboard that was a piano too.
When they got home he sent out an email to all the older kids offering them guitars and keyboards and microphones in case they were interesting in starting bands and he was surprised that no one seemed interested so he just shrugged and put the email away. He couldn’t force them to be creative. All of his kid’s friends wanted them though and he took them all to the store and they picked out guitars, keyboards, drums and of course amps and microphones.
What Harry didn’t know was that his mother Kate was the music teacher at school and everyone hated music because they hated her so no one wanted anything to do with music because they thought that if they learned how to play an instrument it would land them in her class longer or with her and they hated her so much. If he had known that he might have worded the email and informed them that she wouldn’t have anything to do with their bands.
On the second and fifth Saturday Harry and Dr. George had regular clinic hours in the morning for anyone who wanted to come in to talk with them and get healed or get some ailment looked at. When Charles’s fourteen year-old daughter Hilary and her best friend fourteen year-old Ashley Roberts walked in the clinic he was surprised to see them and asked what he could do to help. He was surprised when they asked if they could talk to Harry in private.
“Sure, you can talk to Harry,” he said and Harry took them into a private room.
“What can I do for you, ladies, today?” Harry asked gently because he had a suspicion he knew what they wanted. They looked at each other and Ashley decided to be the brave one.
“Harry, if we ask for something private, you can’t tell my father about it, right?” she asked and fiddled with her purse strap. He nodded.
“That’s correct, anything I help you with is between us, I can’t even tell Jake about it and I promise you I won’t tell anyone,” he said solemnly. They both sighed with relief.
“We want a birth control shot, we heard they’re a hundred percent accurate,” Hilary said and Harry nodded.
“You do understand that if you’re going to be sexually active, you also have to have a yearly pap and an exam,” he informed them and they shrugged.
“Our mom said we have to do that anyway since we started our periods,” Ashley told him and he nodded.
“Sure, I can give you the shots, you wait right here and I’ll be back,” he said. Ashley got a panicked look on her face.
“You won’t let Dr. George see them will you?” she asked. Harry shook his head.
“No, I won’t, I promise,” he said and they both sighed. He walked to the back and got two shots and skipped writing on the inventory sheet what he had taken. Then he went back to the room and gave them the shots. They hugged him and left. He walked back to the main office and went back to his computer work he was doing. George glanced at him but he didn’t offer up any comments and the older man sighed.
“Birth control shots, was it?” he asked and Harry just kept working. Dr. George sighed.
“Well, its better to give a fourteen year-old girl a birth control shot than it is to perform an abortion on a fourteen year-old girl,” he stated and Harry agreed.
Harry took a box of shots home with him and sure enough the following week he got a lot of visitors, all female and fourteen and all wanting birth control shots, even a couple of thirteen year-olds wanted the shots and he gave them to them also. It was better than a couple of thirteen year-old pregnant girls.
The following year nineteen fifteen year-old marched down to Harry and Jake’s Jeep dealership and picked out the car or Jeep they wanted. He gave them to the kids for free which pleased all of their parents tremendously. He had all of the extra cars from the beach houses and craft houses plus two hundred and fifty Jeeps for them to choose from and they all took their time and picked the one they wanted to most. Carl and Frank had taught them all in Driver’s Ed at the school and they had all passed the test so everyone knew they were ready to drive. Harry had a surprise for them, he had sneaked away to the woods beyond town and built them a twenty mile round circle road with two roads crossing it for them to drive around and in the middle of it he was going to give them a house to hang out in. It would be their private hang out and none of the parents needed to know about it if the kids didn’t want them to know.
“Okay, everyone follow me and I’ve got a little surprise for you,” Harry announced over channel thirteen when all the kids were in their cars. They all followed him out of town and to the new road. When they reached the house site he parked and got out. All the kids got out and looked at him.
“What’s this place, Harry?” Ben Emery asked. Harry smiled.
“This is the new teenage hangout, if you want one, it’s a five bedroom house and you can put anything you want in it from my stores, music, games, videos, whatever. And this road here goes in a circle, twenty miles around and across so you can practice your driving, just don’t kill yourselves or your parents will kill me,” he told them and they all laughed.
“Hey, this is pretty cool, thanks, man,” Alistair Smith exclaimed. All the kids nodded and hugged him.
The older kids helped them put it up and they decorated it with stuff from Harry and Jake’s stores and if a couple of the rooms had beds Harry didn’t say a word; that was their business. The house had food and they called it the ‘Clubhouse’ and all the younger kids wanted to hang out there and they couldn’t because the only way to get there was to drive and none of the older kids with cars would take them.
“Do you know the kids have some kind of clubhouse in the woods they go to hang out?” Linda asked Myra at coffee one day. Myra nodded.
“Hilary goes there all the time with Donna, now that she has a car, I barely see her,” she said and June nodded.
“The same with Ashley, as soon as she comes home from school, she hops in that car and it’s off to the clubhouse until bedtime, she even cooks there,” she told them.
“How did they get a house in the woods?” Shelley asked. Linda snorted.
“Harry gave it to them, who else, he gives them cars, he gives them houses, and they can walk into any of his stores and take what they want. We don’t have any power over them. When Max threatens Maribeth with taking away her allowance, she just laughs at him and says who cares, she doesn’t need any money,” she said. Shelley nodded.
“Georgie never asks me for any money, everything he brings into the house comes from one of Harry and Jake’s stores and when I ask him how much it costs, he says they gave it to him,” she told them.
“Face it, ladies, as long as they have Harry to give them everything they want, we have no control over them,” Linda stated and they all frowned.
“I know he saved us and he’s made life easier on the planet for us with the metal containers and toothpaste and shampoo and everything but these are our kids and he has no business interfering with the way we raise them,” June said. Meri sighed.
“What are we going to do next year if the kids decide that sixteen is the perfect age to move out? Steve and Kathleen moved out at sixteen; what if my Maribeth decides that sixteen is the right age to move out,” she whined and they all looked shocked.
“Well, they can’t, we won’t allow that, we have to have a town meeting and tell Harry that he simply cannot give the kids any houses until they are eighteen years old,” Linda snapped. Shelley laughed.
“He won’t listen to us, he didn’t listen to us before, what makes you think he’s going to listen to us now,” she said.
At the next town meeting they brought it up, Jake was at the meeting and everyone glared at him. He just shrugged.
“Jake, you’re going to have to talk with Harry and tell him not to give the children any houses until they’re eighteen,” Jenna told him. He stood up.
“You’re all going to have to talk with Harry, I don’t have anything to do with the houses, they belong to him,” he said firmly. Kate stood up.
“That’s a crap answer and you know it, Jake, don’t you have any say in this matter?” she asked. He nodded.
“Of course I do, and I think if your children want to move out of the house when they’re sixteen then they should be able to move out when they’re sixteen You’re not wardens in a prison, you’re mothers, for crying out loud, let your children live their own lives and stop trying to control them,” he told them. Jan stood up.
“He’s right, all three of my oldest boys have already asked Harry for a house and next year they’re moving out. Joy and I are both fine with that, for Christ’s sake, let your children breathe, stop trying to choke the life out of them,” she said. Sarek stood up.
“Our twins are both moving out next year and have asked for a house and we think it’s terrific that they want to be independent and self-sufficient, you should embrace your child’s free spirit not try to crush them under your thumb,” he said. Kate sighed.
“Tracey and Travis are both moving out next year and there’s nothing Barb and I can do to stop them and, of course, Harry is going to give them a damned house. You’re all barking up the wrong tree if you think he’s not going to. He gives a damned house to anyone who asks for one. That’s what he told me, all they have to do is ask and he gives them a damned house,” she informed them. Jenna stood up.
“That’s not right, these are our children and they’re minors, we should have a say in what they do,” she snapped. Reverend Phillip stood up.
“Well, really I don’t understand what the big fuss is about, it’s not like they’re going to Regis Six or the Episolon Galaxy. They’re going to another house, probably right on your farm or another farm right down the road and you’ll see them all the time, every Sunday at Church and dinner and during the week,” he said and they all glared at him. He sighed and sat down.
“Well, I for one can’t wait until Harry and Jake’s children are sixteen and they ask him for a damned house and they move out,” Max shouted and slammed his fist on the table. “On that day, I shall be laughing my ass off.” A lot of people nodded and agreed with him. Jake sighed and wanted to be in the other room.
At dinner Harry noticed a lot of people glaring at him. He looked at his husband.
“Is it just me, honey, or is everyone mad at me?” he asked and Jake grinned.
“Oh, no, babe, they’re all mad cuz you’re giving houses to the kids and they’re all moving out,” he told him. Harry giggled.
“That’s not happening till next year and they’re mad already?” he teased and Jake nodded.
“Old Max is going to laugh his head off when Emma and Jackson move out when they turn sixteen,” he said. Harry shrugged.
“Well we’ll have to deal with that when it happens, just like all the other parents. It’s a fact of life, kids grow up and they leave home, you can’t keep them with you forever,” he said and glanced at his kids. Emma and Jackson were eleven and cute as shit. Harry grinned.
“It’s a shame we can’t freeze them at this age for a couple of years though,” he teased. Jackson looked up and shook his head.
“And then I’d get stuck with grandmom for two years in a row as a teacher, no way, Dad, she’s a rotten teacher,” he informed him. Harry nodded.
“I figure she would be, she’s a real pain as a mother,” he said and all the kids laughed.
The following week they went out to weed their crops and noticed that the wheat didn’t look right. Harry got off the tractor and examined it and noticed lots of little tiny bugs had invaded it.
“Hey, Jake, come and look at these, I’ve never seen these bugs before have you?” he asked and Jake looked at them.
“Christ no, shit, babe, we’d better get rid of them before they attack the rest of the crops,” he said and they went to work. The entire wheat field had to be destroyed on every farm and the ground treated. They examined all the other fields and didn’t find any of the bugs in any of the other fields and surmised them must have flown in from somewhere and just landed in the wheat first.
“Well, whatever they were and wherever they came from I think we got them all,” Dr. George announced at the emergency town meeting. Harry nodded.
“We’ve treated the soil and we’ve got plenty of wheat to plant next year so we’re going to be alright,” he told them. Linda stood up.
“That’s fine for next year but what are we going to do until next year?” she asked.
“Yeah, Harry, what are we going to do for bread until next year?” Carl stood up and asked. Harry sighed.
“I know you’re not going to like this answer but every time we’ve sorted through the extra house bins looking for coffee, tea and extra stuff, cereal and crackers and stuff, we’ve sorted out the bread mixes and Bisquick and have put them aside. I’ve got about twelve bins full of that stuff just waiting for us,” he informed them and everyone frowned.
“Oh, God, not the bread mixes,” Lily moaned. Harry nodded.
“We have no flour and we have nothing else, so I really don’t see any choice do you?” he asked and everyone looked at each other and shook their heads.
The next day Harry brought four bins to each farm and let everyone go crazy and fill up their cellars. When Jake went out to get some for their house though, Harry grabbed his arm.
“Don’t get too much, honey, just get special breads like Bisquick and pancake flour and stuff like that,” he told him. Jake looked confused.
“Why’s that, babe, we’re going to need bread too, we’ve got seven kids to feed,” he said. Harry gave him a mischievous grin.
“We’ve also got a bakery with a thousand pounds of flour in it,” he whispered and Jake grinned and kissed him, hard and long. Fran saw and whistled.
“You two are in a good mood for bread mix day,” she retorted. Harry grinned and wigged his finger and she came closer.
“We’ve got a bakery, Fran, with a thousand pounds of flour in it, shush, don’t tell anyone okay,” he whispered and her eyes lit up.
“Holy crap, I forgot about that,” she whispered back. Harry giggled.
“I almost did too but then I checked the inventory and there’s even two-hundred and fifty pounds of rye flour so we can have rye bread,” he gushed and she grinned.
“Oh, wow, I love rye bread,” she gushed.
Jake went out and got them some pancake mix and Bisquick for biscuits because Harry always said that made the fluffiest biscuits so he got six cases of that and six cases of pancake mix and a couple of cases of flavored bread mixes that he thought might be a nice change and that’s all they took. They put what people didn’t take into one bin and took it to the Center and left it and did that with every farm in case people ran out.
That night Harry and Jake flew the Elizabeth to Sherwood and opened the bins for the bakery and found the precious flour and other cool things for baking and loaded up an empty bin. They parked it close to their house and sneaked it into their cellar closet and put a lock on the door. Harry put the empty bin up on the hill and they flew home and laughing, did it in the hanger because they were spies hiding from the enemy on a mission to save the planet.
“Where did you and Jake go last night?” DJ asked the next day as they were walking into Church. Harry yawned because he was tired.
“We flew the Elizabeth to a top secret mission to save the planet,” he teased and DJ laughed.
“You and you sex games, I swear, one of these days you’re going to have to include me,” he declared and Jake rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, right, buddy,” he told him. Everyone who heard laughed.
At dinner everyone complained about the bread mixes and at Harry’s table they complimented his biscuits.
“Well, Bisquick always makes the best biscuits,” Harry remarked and his mother nodded.
“That is true, but a whole year of those damned bread mixes? I hate sandwiches on that bread, they always fall apart when you eat them,” she complained. Barb nodded.
“The flavored bread is nice though, kind of like cake more than bread,” she said. Sissy sighed.
“Well, we should be grateful that we have them, after all, if Harry hadn’t brought down all those extra houses, then right now, we wouldn’t have any bread or biscuits or pancakes or anything like that,” she said. Everyone sighed and nodded.
A few months passed and Fran began to feel a little guilty but the boys didn’t. Harry made six loaves of bread and four loaves of rye one morning and she wanted to take one of each to share with Edna. Harry sighed and refused.
“You know the minute you tell Edna about the flour, Fran, she’ll tell Jenna and Fiona and Sarah and then everyone will know and those greedy bastards will all demand that we share it with them. I refuse to share my flour with people who call me a fishy freak fagola,” he said firmly and she nodded and sat at the table.
“You’re right, I’m sorry, sweetie, there’s no way to share with just a few, they would blab to everyone and soon they’d all come crashing through the door demanding their fair share,” she said sadly. Harry patted he shoulder.
“You’re a generous person, Fran, and I love you but most of those people don’t appreciate anything I do for them and they never have. Look at the liquor on date nights. I’ve been giving it to them for free for the past eighteen years and every single week do I hear a thank you, nope. All they do is bitch and gripe because I won’t let them take home a free bottle or I don’t have the drink they want or I forgot something. They’re all selfish bastards and I’ve had it up to my eyeballs with all of them,” he told her and she nodded.
“You’re right, Harry, they never say thank you, all they do is bitch at date night and act like they’re doing you a big favor by drinking your free booze, shit on them, they don’t deserve any flour,” she said firmly and her guilt was gone. Especially when the next date night came and Edna complained that he never brought any wine, just beer and mixed drinks and she loved wine, why couldn’t he just bring a couple of bottles from his wine cellar for people who liked wine. Fran was shocked and appalled at her friend’s rudeness.
“Oh, don’t worry, Edna, as soon as we get more grapes next year or the year after, I’ll be making some wine too,” Harry told her cheerfully. She frowned at him.
“You mean I have to wait two or three years for wine?” she asked. Harry shook his head.
“I’m sure David has a lot of wine left in his store you can buy,” he told her and she looked shocked.
“Are you kidding, he wants a thousand dollars a bottle for his liquor,” she snapped. Harry shrugged.
“I guess if you wanted it bad enough, you would pay that much,” he said and she shook he head.
“No way, I guess I’ll just have to wait for you to make some,” she whined. When she joined Fran for dinner she was pissed though. “You would think with all of his wine he wouldn’t mind sharing a few bottles with me,” she muttered. Fran smiled but didn’t say anything. She offered her a nice dinner roll she had made with Bisquick instead. Edna took, buttered it and frowned when she bit into it.
“God, I miss flour,” she said. Fran nodded.
A few days later Kate came over when the kids were eating lunch and wondered what they were eating. Harry smiled and offered her a sandwich.
“No, thank you Henry, Barb is making egg salad and I love her egg salad, what are you eating today?” she asked and looked at the table.
“We’re eating pastrami and Swiss cheese on rye bread with mustard and potato salad,” he told her and she nodded. He walked her to the door and then she frowned.
“I don’t remember any of the bread mixes coming in rye bread,” she said. He nodded.
“Oh, yes, we found a case and we love it,” he lied smoothly. She nodded.
“Well, that sounds perfectly dreadful to me,” she said and left. Fran giggled when he returned and he winked at her and sat down to enjoy his sandwich. Jake wagged a finger at him.
“You’re a very bad boy,” he told him. Harry nodded.
“Will you punish me later?” he asked suggestively and Jake felt his heart stop. All he could do was nod. Harry giggled. Jackson looked up.
“Why was Dad a bad boy?” he asked. Harry grinned.
“I told your grandmother a little fib. I didn’t like to do it but sometimes in life you’ll find out that you have to do it to prevent a big fat stink and this was one of those times,” he told them. All the kids nodded.
“Is it because we’ve got flour and everyone else has bread mixes?” Emma asked and Harry nodded.
“You’re a very clever girl and, yes, that’s exactly the reason, please whatever you do; don’t mention to anyone that we’ve got flour, first it’s none of their business and second, it’ll cause a big fat stink,” he explained and they nodded.
“I don’t gossip anyway, I just listen to gossip, that’s more fun,” Cassie declared and Harry grinned.
“You’re a very clever girl too, darling, in fact, we’re raising a houseful of very clever children,” he announced and all the children sat up higher. Danny grinned.
“I like rye bread, can we plant some rye seeds next year?” he asked and Harry nodded.
“Yes, we can, I think that’s an excellent idea,” he declared and they all grinned.
A month later Kathleen was at their house with the other ladies and Harry baked a cake using a mix and they all sighed.
“This just doesn’t taste as good as your usual cakes, Harry,” she said and he grinned.
“This cake is fine, Kathleen, there’s nothing wrong with this cake,” he told her. She nodded but he knew she didn’t believe him. Danny came in the room.
“Can I have some cookies?” he asked and Harry nodded. He came back munching on some chocolate chip cookies and April grabbed him.
“Hey, those look yummy, how about one for your Aunt April?” she teased and he giggled and handed her one. He escaped to the game room where all the kids were playing and she bit into the cookie.
“Oh, wow, this is terrific, I can’t believe you made this with a mix, here, Kathleen, taste this,” she said and handed a piece to her friend.
“Oh, wow is right, Harry, this cookie is great; how did you get this from a mix?” she asked. Harry laughed.
“Now, if I told you that Kathleen, I’d have to kill you,” he teased and they all laughed.
“You are the best cook, Steve and the kids are always complaining about my cooking, I swear if I hear it about my tuna fish one more time, I’m going to scream,” Kathleen told them. Harry laughed.
“Stop putting pickle relish in it, they hate pickle relish in their tuna fish Kathleen,” he explained and she looked shocked.
“But I love pickle relish in my tuna fish,” she said. He shrugged.
“Well, you’re the only one in your house who does, darling,” Harry told her and she giggled.
The next day Kate came over and Harry answered the door.
“Hello, Mom, what can I do for you?” he asked. She smiled.
“You can give me a box of your rye bread mix. Barb says she hasn’t had rye bread in years and she is dieing for some,” she told him. Harry shook his head and she frowned.
“Sorry, Mom, we used up the last box the other day and there’s no more left,” he informed her and she looked shocked.
“But you said you had a case of it,” she stammered. He nodded.
“Yes, but I also have seven children, Jake, me and Fran to feed and everyone loved the rye bread so much we pigged it up,” he explained. She sighed.
“You don’t even have a slice left for your mother?” she asked and he shook his head.
“You should have asked yesterday, Jake ate the last of it this morning for breakfast, he loves his rye toast,” he said. She sighed and went home. Barb was very disappointed when she found out but what could you do? When they mentioned it to Jan she remarked that she didn’t know the bread mixes came in rye, she had never seen that variety. In fact no one they talked to had ever heard of rye bread mixes from Genco.
The next day at school Kate went to talk to her son and found him eating his lunch. She walked up to him and tapped her heels. He looked at her.
“Did you want something, Mother?” he asked politely.
“Yes I do, you know I’ve been talking to a lot of people Henry and no one has ever heard of rye bread mixes from Genco, they didn’t know they made them,” she snapped. He shook his head.
“What exactly does that mean, you think I made them up?” he teased and she frowned.
“No, I didn’t say that, but I find it hard to believe that all of a sudden you have rye bread and then when I ask for some you don’t have any, why are you hiding your rye bread from me?” Kate snapped.
“I’m not hiding my rye bread, Mom, do you hear yourself, how ridiculous you sound,” he laughed and took a bite out of his sandwich which thankfully was on wheat bread. She glared at him.
“Well, how do you explain that out of all the people on the planet, you manage to find the only case of rye bread?” she asked. He shrugged.
“I was the one who looked through most of those bins, Mom. They were my bins and anyway I didn’t find it, Jake was the one who found it,” he told her. She pursed her lips.
“There’s something funny going on here and I don’t know what it is but I know you’re hiding something from me,” she snapped and walked away.
“Have a nice day,” he called to her back and giggled.
“I swear my mother is such a royal pain in the ass,” he told Jake that night as they were getting ready for bed. Jake laughed and rubbed his back. Harry sighed.
“Oh, honey, I would keep you just for the back rubs,” he declared and Jake laughed softly and moved around to the front and pinched his nipples. Harry groaned.
“Only for the back rubs?” Jake teased and Harry shivered as his honey nuzzled his neck.
“Mm, you know all the right buttons to push don’t you,” Harry murmured and Jake grinned and pushed him back on the pillows and straddled him. Harry gave him a passion filled look, his purple eyes dark and half closed. Jake trembled at that look.
“Oh, babe, don’t you ever look at anyone else that way,” he murmured and kissed him hard. Harry wrapped his long legs around Jake’s waist and scratched the inside of his thighs driving him insane.
“Oh, it’s like that tonight,” Jake whispered harshly and he reached for the lube. Harry pinched Jake’s nipples and licked them, sucking hard and drove him wilder. Jake groaned and lost control. He entered him hard and took him with powerful thrusts and Harry kissed him hard, their bodies covered with sweat as they climbed the peak together and exploded as one and laughed and kissed.
“Oh, wow, honey I love you,” Harry whispered against Jake’s smiling mouth. Jake kissed him hard.
“I love you too, babe,” he whispered back. They fell asleep wrapped together.
A few days later Harry was taking several pineapple-upside-down cakes out of the oven when Kathleen came to call. She brought all of her kids who were more than happy to run screaming into the game room and play with his and both parents grinned.
“Oh, yummy, those look terrific, what kind of cakes are those?” she asked. Harry grinned and placed one on a plate and turned it upside down and took away the pan. She laughed when it revealed the pineapples and cherries.
“Oh, it’s a pineapple upside down cake, I didn’t know you could bake those with the mixes,” she said. Harry grinned.
“You can bake anything with the mixes, darling, you just have to be creative,” he told her. He flipped cakes number two and three and put then on the table to cool. “Would you like some coffee?” he asked and she nodded. Jackson came running into the kitchen.
“Can we have some cookies?” he asked and Harry nodded. Jackson grinned and took the whole container into the other room. Kathleen grinned.
“Well, that’s the end of the cookies,” she teased. Harry grinned and reached for another container.
“Only those cookies, would you care for a cookie?” he asked and she grinned.
“Yummy chocolate chip with nuts, my favorite,” she gushed and she bit into it. “Oh, man, Harry, you can’t tell me you made these from a mix, you’ve got to give me the recipe,” she said. He grinned and ate his own cookie.
“Now, darling, you know I don’t share recipes,” he told her and she sighed. Fran came in the room and began to make a sandwich. Kathleen watched out of the corner of her eye.
“That’s weird bread, Fran, what kind is that?” she asked. Fran looked at Harry who winked.
“That’s rye bread,” he told her. Kathleen frowned.
“Rye bread, I didn’t know the bread mixes came in rye, I’ve never seen rye,” she said. Harry shrugged.
“We only had the case and its all gone, that’s the last of it,” he told her and she nodded.
“Well, then you got lucky to get the only case,” she said and he nodded. When she left Fran looked at him. He sighed.
“No, Fran, I don’t feel guilty lying to my best friend because at the last date night she was the one who bitched because I didn’t bring any junpars so she could have a junpar daiquiri and since they had been the special drink the last time, why couldn’t they be the special drink this time too, she didn’t like bloody Mary’s,” Harry said with a trace of bitterness. Fran nodded.
“Like I’m supposed to use up all my junpars making her damned drinks! If she wants a junpar daiquiri, why doesn’t she bring them to date nights,” Harry muttered as he cleaned up the dishes. He felt tears come to his eyes and wiped them away. He was really getting tired of all of his friends treating him this way.
Spring came and they all took to the fields to plant once again. They rotated fields and Harry planted an extra field on his farm and everyone was surprised when he brought out some rye seeds and asked him where they had come from.
“Jake and I were checking out our bakery and they were in there along with some wheat seeds. That’s why we have some different varieties this year. Our wheat should be stronger and we should get a higher yield,” he told them and everyone looked pleased.
“Well, we could certainly use that,” Steve remarked and everyone smiled. It didn’t take them too long to pick up the rocks and plant the new field. All the kids loved picking up the rocks and laughed at Dr. Jackson kicking his digger every time he had to pick up one.
“Man, granddad is sure funny,” Jackson giggled and Harry ruffled his hair.
“I know, you should have seen him the first year when we had a ton of rocks to pick up, I thought he was going to wear his foot off,” he teased and all the kids laughed.
After the crops were planted, Harry fooled around with his purple crystals and black ones and a security field and tried to work on some kind of force field that would protect the crops from flying bugs but allow the sun to come in. He was having no success when his mother interrupted him on Saturday afternoon.
“Henry, we have to talk,” Kate said and walked into the barn where he was working. He glanced up and Danny giggled. She smiled at the boy.
“Is he going to be stuck up your ass for his entire life?” she inquired sarcastically. Harry shrugged.
“Well, at least I’ll know where to find him,” he replied and Danny giggled again. “Darling, why don’t you ask Fran for an apple or something,” he told his son who nodded and ran off. Kate nodded.
“You lied to me, Henry, and I want to know why,” she said calmly. Harry sighed and dropped his screwdriver and faced her.
“My life is none of your business, Mother, what goes on in my house is none of your business. You have a big mouth and you like to blab my business to other people who have no right in knowing my business so if I said any untruths to you then I would hardly call it lying,” he said just as calm. She gasped.
“You’re my son, of course what you do is my business,” Kate snapped. Harry shook his head.
“I’m thirty-two years old, Mom, I stopped being your business a long ago and you have no right in my life. You are nothing but a simple observer and all you need to know is what I choose to let you know,” he told her and she was shocked.
“I can’t believe my own son would speak to me this way, how dare you,” she yelled. He sighed.
“Oh, give me a break, how dare you march in here and demand things from me like I was a twelve year-old child. I’m an adult and I don’t have to tell you a thing that I don’t want to. You have no right to come in here and demand anything. Who in the hell do you think you are? Just because you’re my mother doesn’t give you any special rights to my life. This is my life, not yours; you would think after all these years you’d understand that but obviously you haven’t gotten the point yet. I love you, Mom, but you need to butt out,” he told her and she nodded.
“Fine, I’ll butt out, but I still think you were lying about the rye bread mixes, there were no rye bread mixes were there?” she asked. He shrugged.
“That’s none of your business,” he told her and she pursed her lips.
“You sneaky little bastard, somehow you’ve got flour and you don’t want to share it with the rest of us. Where in the hell did you get flour and rye flour? No one has ever seen rye flour on this planet. Where in the hell did you get some?” she snapped. He shrugged.
“I really have no idea what you’re talking about, Mother,” Harry said calmly and she stomped her foot.
“Why won’t you tell me?” she yelled, her face getting all red. He looked at her like she was crazy.
“Mother, you’re going to have a heart attack if you don’t calm down, now really, you need to go home and lie down,” Harry told her and she turned around and walked home muttering about ungrateful sons. Harry giggled and went back to his project.
“She’s going to figure it out,” he told Jake while they were cleaning up the dishes. Jake nodded.
“Oh, yeah, once she gets over the anger part she’ll remember where the rye seeds came from and put two and two together and remember the bakery,” he said. Harry giggled.
“Oh, well, let’s just hope she doesn’t call an emergency town meeting to discuss it in front of everyone,” he said and Jake grinned and kissed him.
The next day they were eating dinner when the doorbell rang. Harry jumped up to answer it. When he saw it was his mother and the rest of the farm he wasn’t too surprised.
“Hello, everyone, your timing stinks, we’re eating dinner, come back in an hour,” he told them. Kate shook her head.
“We need to talk, Henry,” she declared. Harry shook his head.
“Didn’t you hear me, Mother, we’re in the middle of eating dinner, you’ll have to come back in an hour, now goodbye,” he said firmly and shut the door. They all looked shocked. Kate banged on the door and rang the bell a few times but Harry didn’t come back and they were left with nothing to do but leave and come back.
After the dishes were done, Harry sent the kids to their room and prepared the living room for the meeting. Jake looked at him.
“What are you going to tell them, babe?” he asked. Harry shrugged.
“The truth of course, honey,” he said and smiled. Jake smiled and kissed him. Fran retreated to her room and Harry giggled.
“Chicken,” he teased and she nodded.
“You betcha,” she declared and escaped. Jake let everyone in and they all took a seat. Kate started to speak and Harry held up his hand.
“I’ll talk for a minute if you don’t mind,” he said calmly. He looked around at the angry faces and wondered what the fuck gave them the right to be angry. And he noticed who was missing and smiled.
“I see Sarek and Myla have decided not to join you,” he observed and a few looked uncomfortable. “I can guess what they told you when you informed them that you thought I had flour and wasn’t sharing it with you, he probably told you that one, it was my flour and I didn’t have to share if I didn’t want to and two, if I wasn’t sharing that probably meant that there simply wasn’t enough flour to go around and so I wasn’t sharing with anyone. And he would have been right if that’s what he told you.” Harry paused and Kathleen glared at him.
“What do you mean there wasn’t enough?” she asked. Harry shrugged.
“When Jake and I went to the bakery and opened the bin, there wasn’t enough flour to share with everyone. We couldn’t give even a fifty pound barrel to every house so we decided to not give any to anyone and we kept it all,” he told them.
“But we’re your friends,” Mike protested. Harry nodded.
“Yes, that’s true but there wasn’t even enough flour to give a fifty pound drum to each of our friends. How could we pick who was going to get flour and who wasn’t? Whoever we didn’t pick was going to be angry and hate us so we couldn’t give it to anyone, we couldn’t play favorites,” he said and Kathleen sighed.
“You’re right, Harry, if you had given me some and not April, she would have cried for a month and I would have felt so guilty I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy it,” she said and jumped up and hugged him. He hugged her back.
“And, Kathleen, darling, if you want a junpar daiquiri at date night, bring a junpar, don’t expect me to bring them for you, okay?” he said and she looked surprised.
“I’m sorry, did I do that?” she asked and he nodded. Kate sighed.
“That’s it, he says there wasn’t enough and we’re supposed to believe him?” she asked and they all looked shocked.
“Of course, Harry wouldn’t lie,” Mike snapped at her. She glared at them.
“He lied to me,” she snapped. Kathleen giggled.
“Well, no offense, Kate, but sometimes you’re so rude, we lie just to get away from you,” she confessed and the woman looked shocked.
“I’m rude?” she asked and everyone nodded.
“Sometimes I talk frankly and bluntly but how is that rude?” she demanded. April giggled.
“Marching in here and telling us to murder our children was kind of rude,” she reminded her and everyone laughed. Kate rolled her eyes.
“Oh, that was years ago, no one cares about that,” she declared. Harry shook his head.
“Every time I look at Jackson I care about that, Mother,” he told her gently and she looked surprised again.
“You young people carry a grudge too long, you need to get over it,” she snapped. “So I guess this means, Henry, you’re not going to share any of your flour with us?” she asked and he shook his head.
“You know, Mother, my job on this planet is not, I repeat, not to make your life easier and more comfortable nor is it to share every single thing I’ve got with you,” he informed her. “There are going to be many times during the next thirty thousand years that I’m going to have something that I’m not going to share with you. The sooner you realize that the easier time you’re going to have.” She shook her head.
“I cannot believe what a selfish child you’ve grown up to be, if I had known this I would have never given birth to you,” Kate snapped and Jake laughed. She glared at him. “You think that’s funny?” she sniped. He nodded.
“You didn’t give birth to him, Kate, he’s a Dolphin remember, you and Simon created him and birthed him in a chamber,” he reminded her and everyone laughed while she flushed.
“Oh, go to hell all of you,” she snapped and walked out slamming the door on her way. Harry giggled.
“I’ll tell you what I will do,” he told them. “Tomorrow Fran and I will bake rye bread and I’ll give everyone a loaf okay?”
“Sounds great to me, I love rye bread,” Jan said and everyone agreed that would be great.
Harry delivered the bread the next day and even took a loaf to his mothers and Barb gushed over it while Kate glared at him. Harry laughed and hugged Barb and blew a kiss at Kate who stuck her tongue out at him. Sarek seemed very pleased with his bread and laughed when he was told of the meeting and said, of course, that’s exactly what he told them.
“You would think after eighteen years some of these people would know me better but I guess greed takes over,” Harry told him sadly. Sarek nodded.
“Your problem, my friend, is that you are too generous and people have taken advantage of that and expect it. Now, when you don’t give in to them, they call you selfish and greedy when they are the ones who are greedy,” he said. Harry sighed and went on with his deliveries.
The harvest came and all the wheat was fine and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. All of the unused bread mixes went back into the bins and the bins went back on the hill. Harry told Jake that from now on he wasn’t taking anymore packaged goods out of his houses for anyone, from now one they were on their own. Jake smiled and hugged him.
“I don’t blame you, babe, these selfish bastards don’t appreciate what you do for them, let them go without potato chips and crackers for a couple of years and then see how they like it,” he said and Harry smiled and kissed him. They took their kids and Fran out to some bins and went through them and sorted out lots of great stuff and the kids had a ball grabbing all kinds of cereal and cookies and crackers. Fran loved it too, it was her first time and she found sodas that she hadn’t had in a long time.
“This is great, boss and we don’t have to share with anyone, I like this,” she declared and everyone laughed. They took all the goodies home and stocked up their basement storage and pantry and no one said a word to anyone. It was just another family outing.
For Halloween all of the kids wanted to be different things and Harry made seven different costumes and a family tradition was over but he was happy. The together routine was getting old and trite anyway and he enjoyed making the different costumes. Emma and Cassie wanted to be fairy princesses and Jackson wanted to be a doctor so Harry made little green surgical scrubs for him. Adam went as Abe Lincoln with beard and stovetop hat and Sean and Ryan went as clowns which suited them perfect. Danny insisted he wanted to be a fagola again so Harry put him in Ryan’s costume from last year only this year he added rainbow glitter and fairy wings that sparkled and Danny loved that. Harry and Jake went as monks with brown robes and rope belts and Fran went as the wicked witch and was quite scary.
“Oh, thank God, no more theme costumes,” Linda exclaimed when she saw the family walk into the Center. Harry rolled his eyes and started to set up the bar.
“The kids all wanted to be something different this year,” he told her and smiled. She nodded and reached for the vodka. She frowned.
“Hey, where are the olives?” she asked. Harry shook his head.
“Unless we can find some olive trees on one of the Greek Islands we’re out of olives,” he told her and she sighed.
“You couldn’t find anymore in your bins?” she whined. Harry shook his head. He had a whole case at home but he wasn’t giving out anymore to these people, everything he took out of the bins was for his family from now on.
He took his food to his table and set it up and Jake helped. He had a big vegetable platter, cookies, brownies and little sandwiches as well as mini crab cakes and egg plant strips and fried zucchini that the kids loved. He set up the punch bowl and poured the punch and all the kids started dancing. DJ blasted the music and the strobe lights began to flash. Harry grinned and pulled Emma into his arms and she giggled.
“Dance with your old man, darling,” he asked and she nodded and they danced. Then she saw Stephie and ran off and he was left to dance with Danny until he saw Cameron and then Harry was left with Jake who grinned and pulled him into his arms.
“Looks like you’ve been deserted, babe,” he said and Harry grinned.
“I guess I can’t compete with Frankenstein,” he said and they both laughed. Danny came back running back with his buddy Noah.
“Fly us, Daddy,” he begged so Harry flew them over the crowd and everyone pretended to be scared of the flying monsters and the little boys giggled and made scary noises.
“Hey, look, it’s a flying fagola,” Max said to Charles and they both laughed. Of course a few people heard them and the comment got back to Harry who rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, those two are lucky if they’re going to see another saltine cracker,” Harry muttered under his breath. He smiled and laughed and talked with everyone but he didn’t know why but all of a sudden he hated them all, every single one of them except for Sarek and Myla, these two he considered his true friends. They were the only ones who didn’t want something from him or expected him to give them something for nothing. He went outside to walk in the cool night air and cried. He didn’t notice Danny following him until he felt him hugging him and then surprised he looked down.
“Hey, look, its Harry’s buddy, how you doing, buddy?” he asked and Danny grinned. He bent down and picked him up.
“Don’t cry, Dad, its going to be alright,” Danny whispered. Harry nodded.
“I know, darling, I’m just feeling sorry for myself. That’s what I get for being such a pushover. When you let people shove you around all the time, sometimes they knock you down and wipe their feet on you and that’s not much fun,” he said. Danny nodded.
“Let’s go inside and get a kiss from Dad, that’ll make us feel better,” he told him and Harry laughed and kissed his cheek.
“You’re absolutely right, that’ll make everything all better,” he said and they went back inside. Jake saw them coming in and looked at them. He saw Harry had been crying and kissed him.
“You okay, babe?” he asked. Harry nodded.
“Okay now, my buddy said a kiss from you would make it all better and he was right,” he said and Jake smiled at his son.
“You said that, Harry’s buddy?” he teased and kissed his son who giggled. “You’re a clever little buddy,” he told him and Danny laughed and decided it was time to eat.
It was a fun party and Meri won for best costume and it was a joke because her costume was a rented one from Kathleen’s shop and Harry laughed and said who cares, he didn’t, he never cared about the stupid award, he made the costumes for his kids. And he let them play in them for the rest of the year afterwards so they had a great time with them. He and Jake had a great time pretending to be monks on a secret mission and ended up in the back yard and then in the green house which was nice and spooky and it was fantastic sex. Harry had trouble sitting down the next day and giggled all day. Fran laughed at him and swore one of these days the two of them were going to explode.
The turkey hunt came and all the kids went so Harry went too and five of them had their own rifles and Dr. Jackson thought that was strange.
“Where did you get all those rifles?” he asked and Jake smiled.
“I told you last year, Dad, the people who owned our house had a rifle collection,” he told him. His dad snorted.
“But those are little rifles for kids, you mean to tell me he had all those little rifles too,” he snapped. Jake nodded.
“Yes, I told you Adam and Trisha were planning on have a lot of kids,” he said and Dr. Jackson sighed.
“I like my golf shop, but damned I really thought I clicked the gun shop and not that stupid camera store,” he muttered and Jake patted his back.
“I know, Dad, that’s a damned shame,” he said and winked at Harry.
Thanks to Harry and Jake all the boys who wanted to hunt had rifles appropriate to their age and got turkeys and had a blast. Emma and Cassie who thought it would be gross and disgusting loved to hunt turkeys and they went several times a year and found the dumb birds in the same spot every time which made them all laugh.
And, of course, dinner was the same as usual. Dr. Jackson over-ate, Sissy gushed about how wonderful family was, Kate whined about the recipe and Jake offered to take the some of the kids skating and everyone had a great time. They all cleaned up the Center together and left happy and smiling. Afterwards at home there were plenty of leftovers and all the kids got together for a football game and it was fun.
New Year’s Eve was another family party and David and Gloria were bored out of their minds. Violet was too.
“Why the hell do they have to bring all the damned kids with them, couldn’t they leave them home,” she snapped. Mike looked at her like she was crazy.
“Why would they leave them at home, this is their New Year’s too,” he said. She sighed.
“A New Year’s Eve party is supposed to be for adults, with alcohol and food and party favors, not with little kids running around blowing those stupid horns and making a lot of noise,” she told him. He shrugged.
“I like the kids, it would be boring without them,” he said and walked away. She sighed. There went her chances of getting laid tonight. She looked across the room at Harry and Jake who were surrounded by kids as usual. They were all dressed up in fancy dresses and suits and looked very handsome and the two little girls looked very pretty. She noticed Gloria staring at Emma and grinned. Yeah, she thought, I bet you’re sorry you gave that away.
Everyone was old enough to stay awake so they all danced and sat at the table and had a great time until Max made the countdown and then Harry let them all have a little glass of champagne and all the kids giggled at the bubbles tickling their noses and made faces at the taste of the wine.
“This is gross,” Emma declared and spit it back into her glass. Harry laughed and handed her a soda. She drank that gratefully. Jackson sipped his champagne and made a face. He reached for his soda and sipped that instead.
“No offense, Dad, but that sucks,” he said and Jake laughed.
“You’ll like it when you get older,” he told him. Jackson nodded. Adam was the only one who actually liked it.
“This is good, I like it,” he said and drank his brother’s. Harry laughed and hugged him.
“Good, then you can help me make the liquor and I’ll give you the Liquor Mart,” he told him and Adam grinned and nodded.
“Great, Dad,” he said. Harry smiled and they cleaned up the table and packed everything up to go home. Unlike some people who liked to stay later, he liked to have his kids in bed as soon as possible. They hugged everyone goodbye and left. Jake drove with both hands and watched out for drunks and Harry closed his eyes for a minute.
They got home safely and put everyone to bed and Harry washed the dishes and put everything away and crawled into bed. Jake snuggled up close and closed his eyes. Harry giggled.
“You don’t really think I’m letting you go to sleep without fucking me, do you?” he teased and Jake laughed and rolled over on top of him. He lifted his legs up and positioned himself.
“Fooled you, I’m already lubed up and ready to go,” he said and Harry pinched his nipples.
“You should have been a boy scout, honey,” he teased him and Jake slowly entered that hot tight hole and they both gasped. “Oh, God, Jake, you feel so good,” Harry murmured. Jake smiled and kissed him hard and long.
“Babe, I love you,” he whispered and they made love slowly, holding back as long as they could, teasing, kissing, gasping, gently biting and playing until they couldn’t hold off any longer and they yelled as they found release.
“Happy New Year, honey,” Harry whispered and Jake smiled and they drifted off.


Chapter Five

January they went to the lake and went skiing and the kids all had fun until a blizzard came and covered the mountain and they couldn’t get out of the cabin for days. Harry announced that winter fun was over and took the families to Hawaii for fun in the sun.
“Thank God, you dug the Elizabeth out and took us away from all that snow,” Kathleen gushed as they flew towards the sun. Harry grinned.
“I know, darling, being trapped in a cabin with seven kids all screaming ‘I’m bored’ is enough to drive anyone insane,” he stated and they all laughed and agreed. He landed near the houses and all the kids ran outside screaming and hollering. Fathers walked out more slowly, laughing and talking. The wives and Harry walked down the ramp and met them. Jake pulled Harry into his arms and kissed him.
“I swear if I heard, ‘are we there yet’ one more time, I was going to kill the kid who said it,” he growled and they all laughed. Harry giggled.
“Ah, poor honey,” he sympathized and kissed him. They unloaded and took the animals to the barn and they rounded up the kids to help unpack. Then it was off to the waterfalls to go swimming, the first thing they always did.
“This is so much better than being snowed in,” Emma gushed to her best friend Stephie who grinned.
“Really, Megan was whining so much in the cabin, I wanted to kill the little brat,” she said and they both laughed. All the girls, Emma, Stephie, Cassie, Megan, Shannon, Sharon, May, Patsy, Penny, Irene, Ruth, Colleen, Cheryl, and Naomi all played together and were best friends. The three older girls, Emma, May and Stephie of course because they were twelve thought they were superior to the other girls. Cassie because she was eleven was part of their crowd some of the time and some of the time was part of the ten year-old crowd.
Now that the kids were older Jake and Harry were more free to take moonlight walks at night while they were sleeping and they took full advantage of that and walked barefoot in the surf holding hands and talking, stopping often to kiss.
“There they go again, look at them, always kissing, you would think after all these years they’d get tired of kissing each other,” Violet snapped as she peered out her window. Susie giggled.
“Really, it’s been eighteen or nineteen years, give it a rest already,” she remarked.
“I bet if my breasts were bigger, then Jake would notice me,” Violet said and flopped on the bed. Susie sighed and looked at her friend.
“Why don’t you ask Dr. George if he could do plastic surgery on you to make them bigger,” she told her. Violet sighed.
“I already did and he said he wasn’t qualified to do that, only a plastic surgeon could do that and the hospital isn’t set up to do that kind of thing,” she snapped.
“Well, Harry doesn’t have any titties and Jake seems to like that,” Susie said to comfort her. Violet glared at her friend.
“Men aren’t supposed to have any, women are, stupid,” she snapped. Susie shrugged and got up.
“Well, I’m tired of sitting here listening to you whine about Jake again, I’m going to Billy’s party, are you coming?” she asked. Violet shook her head.
“I’m tired of his stupid parties, all he does is makes the girls go topless so he can play with their breasts,” she whined. Susie giggled.
“Yeah, but he makes the boys go bottomless and that’s fun,” she declared and left the room. Violet made a face and went back to the window. She could see the two men walking in the distance only this time one of them, Harry it looked like was running ahead and Jake was chasing him. She wondered what they were doing and saw Jake catch up and toss Harry over his shoulder and carry him off into some trees and they disappeared from her view.
“Shit,” she muttered and realized that they were probably going to do it under the trees and here she was stuck in this house with nothing to do and no one to make love with her. That just wasn’t fair. She decided to walk down to David and Gloria’s where she knew none of the older men would make fun of her small breasts and they would always welcome her.
“Honey, you make such a dastardly pirate and ravish me so well,” Harry murmured and sighed with contentment as he laid his head on Jake’s strong chest. Jake laughed softly and played with his babe’s hair.
“You’re such a nice little captive, I really thought you were weeping there for a minute, babe, it made me feel like a criminal,” he told him. Harry giggled.
“We should do a movie, old DJ would love that,” he teased and they both laughed.
“I want to get some harem pants for you and play sultan and slave boy, that would be really fun,” Jake gushed and Harry looked up at him.
“Okay, honey, I’d love to be your little slave boy,” he told him and they kissed. Then it got too cold and they quickly got dressed and walked home. Harry giggled.
“Oh, man, I’m going to have sand up the crack of my ass all day tomorrow,” he complained and Jake laughed.
“You say that every time, babe,” he told him. Harry smiled.
“I guess I do because it’s the truth,” he said primly and they both laughed and kissed. They took a shower at home and Jake did a sand inspection and announced he was clean which lead to other things which made them both extremely happy and tired so they curled up and fell asleep. Jackson heard the giggling and thought he had the weirdest parents on the planet. Adam thought so too.
“Man, those two are always doing it; don’t they ever get tired of sex?” Adam asked his brother who shrugged.
“It must be fun because all the adults are always doing it,” he remarked. Adam snickered.
“Do you think Violet and Susie are going to be out tomorrow naked sunbathing?” he asked and Jackson giggled.
“They are every year so probably,” he sneered and they both laughed.
“I don’t like that Violet, she’s always making goo-goo eyes at dad,” Sean said from his bed.
“Yeah, but dad never pays any attention to her, he’s gay and gay men don’t have sex with women,” Jackson told them.
“Roger and Zach have sex with each other and with Wendy too,” Adam said. Jackson snorted.
“Yeah, but they’re bi-sexual not gay,” he informed them. “Our dads are gay so they only have sex with men and they’re not like the other parents who have open marriages; they only have sex with each other.” His brothers nodded.
“I wonder why?” Adam asked. Jackson shrugged.
“I think it’s because Jake is too possessive. Do you see the way he looks at Harry sometimes when other men are around, especially when DJ or Steve put their arms around him? He gets this gleam in his eyes, like ‘that’s my property you’d better get your hands off,’” he said and they all laughed.
“Oh, yeah, I’ve seen that look before at parties when dad’s gotten a hug from DJ or Charlie, Jake gets this killer dog look in his eyes,” Adam said proudly. They all grinned, they liked that. Sean giggled.
“I woke up one night and they were doing it under the kitchen table,” he told them. They all laughed. Ryan rolled over.
“That’s nothing, they do it all over the house when we’re asleep, they play all kinds of crazy sex games all the time, they even do it in the backyard,” he joined the conversation. Jackson laughed.
“They’re crazy sex fiends, face it gentlemen, our parents are sex maniacs,” he declared and they all laughed and went back to bed.
The next morning all the boys were looking at their fathers and giggling and Harry looked at them.
“What is up with you gentlemen this morning, did you take a crazy pill last night?” he teased and they all burst into laughter. Sean rolled his eyes.
“No, but you and dad are sex fiends, Dad,” he told him. Harry giggled.
“What, you’re just figuring that out?” he teased and they all laughed. Emma rolled her eyes.
“Is that all men can think of, sex?” she sneered and they all laughed again. Jake patted her hand.
“That’s right, baby girl, you tell those animals,” he said. Harry rolled his eyes.
“Well, as interesting as this conversation is, I’m the barer of bad news people,” he said and they all groaned.
“What do we have to do?” Adam complained. Harry grinned.
“I got an email and it seems that everyone is almost out of coffee and you know what that means,” he told them and they all brightened up.
“Oh, cool, we get to go to Savannah,” Jackson gushed. Jake laughed.
“Picking coffee beans is fun?” he asked and made a face. Jackson shrugged.
“Not really but we’ll get to see the monkeys and get some oranges too and play in the jungle and that’s fun,” he told him and Jake grinned.
“Well, heck, now I want to go,” he declared and they all laughed.
After breakfast the volunteers lined up and loaded into the passenger carriers and Harry flew them all to Savannah. The ladies rode up in the cockpit with him and the men rode down in the carrier with the kids and they had a ball talking which they never got tired of doing. They landed in the field and weeded first and all the kids got to ride the tractors which they loved doing.
“Christ, don’t they realize that’s boring work?” Violet sneered to Gloria who rolled her eyes.
“What do kids know, they’re foolish,” she agreed. She was staring at Emma who was riding the tractor with her brother, the one they called her twin who was taller and blacker than she was and looked nothing like her. How dare they call that boy her precious baby girl’s twin! Harry and Jake should be shot for not giving her back her daughter. She glared at the two men, but she had to admit Emma looked really happy.
After the weeding everyone began picking and with so many workers it only took them the morning to get all the beans that were ready. Then after lunch, the kids marched off to look at the monkeys and get some oranges while everyone else rested.
“Oh, man, look at the baby, isn’t it so cute, Dad, can I have a monkey?” Emma asked and Jake laughed.
“Emma, those things have very sharp claws and very deadly teeth, you can’t have a monkey,” he told her and she frowned.
“Really?” she asked and he nodded.
“Trust me, baby girl, you don’t want to make one of those creatures mad at you,” he said firmly. She nodded, of course she trusted her dad; he would never lie to her.
Harry lifted the oranges back to the ship and they loaded up and flew home, it had been a lovely day. The next day he flew back to Edenville and roasted the beans and divided them into fifty pound drums and gave everyone their coffee and everyone was happy. Then the next day he took the kids back to Savannah for tea and they had the best time because after they picked the tea, he took them to the oasis for nuts and they all loved that. Afterwards he flew to the Mill and they got to help roast and divide them and make peanut butter which they thought was the neatest thing.
“Oh, man, Emma, your dad is so cool, he knows how to do everything,” ten year-old Gail Evans gushed and Emma beamed.
“Okay, Team Harry, as a special reward for all of your hard work, I’m now going to take you shopping to the store of your choice,” Harry announced and all the kids cheered.
“Toys R Us,” screamed half the children.
“Tower Music,” screamed several older kids.
“The Disney Store,” screamed a couple.
“Oh, Macys,” screamed Hillary and Ashley. Harry laughed. He dropped off Jake with half the children at the toy store and the older kids at the music store where he told them they could get five things, whatever they wanted, and they all got excited by that and he dropped off DJ with some other kids at another store and he ended up at Macys with the two girls who wanted summer dresses and earrings so that’s what they got.
“Oh, thank you Harry, you’re very generous,” Ashley gushed as they left the store. He smiled at the pretty girls.
“You did the work, ladies, I always reward hard work,” he told them and they beamed. He picked up all the happy kids and flew everyone back to Hawaii with the tea and nuts and they handed them out. All the adults who had decided they didn’t want to pick tea were disappointed that they had missed out on a free shopping trip, especially Violet and Gloria.
“Hey, you didn’t say you were taking people shopping,” Violet snapped when she saw the Macy’s bag. Harry shrugged.
“The kids worked hard and you two should know, I always reward hard work,” he stated and all the parents nodded. Carl put his arm around his shoulder.
“That’s right ladies, Harry is a firm believer in the value of rewarding hard work,” he gushed and they rolled their eyes. All the kids hugged him as they walked away with their goodies.
“You have the best dad,” Becky Tyler said to Jackson who grinned and nodded. He had gone shopping at Tower Records and had some cool stuff including a music video player and music videos; it was going to be a great vacation thanks to his generous dad. Jake kissed Harry.
“You are the best, babe; that was a great idea, it made all the kids happy and we got enough peanut butter for the year,” he said with satisfaction. Harry grinned.
“The kids worked hard, picking nuts is hard work and hard work deserves a reward. I don’t know why people make a fuss over that,” he said shaking his head. Jake grinned.
“They’re idiots, don’t pay any attention to them, babe,” he said and they went home.
That night they sat around and played a board game with their friends and everyone had a great time sipping drinks and laughing.
“That was nice today, Harry, letting the kids go shopping,” Steve remarked and Harry nodded.
“Those kids worked hard today picking nuts for six hours,” he told them. Kathleen made a face.
“Better them than me, ugh, I hate picking nuts,” she declared. Everyone laughed.
“Yes, but you love peanut butter,” Steve reminded her. She giggled.
“I know, especially on bread late at night, it’s my favorite snack,” she confessed. Joon nodded.
“And she always complains about it being purple and says peanut butter should be brown,” she told everyone and they laughed again. Harry shrugged.
“I’ve gotten used to purple peanut butter, I would think the brown is weird after all these years,” he said. Jake nodded.
“Remember when we used to find it in the bins and we’d gush over it,” he reminisced and they all sighed. DJ frowned.
“We haven’t done the bins in a long time, how come?” he asked. Harry shrugged.
“I’ve been so busy with school and everything, besides I’ve been thinking that we’d better save some of that stuff for later in case we get more failures like the wheat thing and we need the food in an emergency,” he told them and they all nodded.
“Yeah, that sounds good, we just might need that food if all of our crops fail one time,” Charlie remarked and they all shuddered.
Later when they went to bed Jake turned to his love.
“Do you think that would ever happen, all of our crops failing at the same time?” he asked. Harry shrugged.
“It could happen, you never know. Those bugs could fly back and get in all the fields at the same time. That’s why I’m working on the force field, so that that doesn’t happen,” he told him. Jake nodded and hugged him.
“You’re one smart little fortune cookie,” he teased and Harry grinned and reached down for his favorite toy.
“I’m one little horny fortune cookie, can I play with this for a little while?” he asked with a sly grin and Jake groaned as those magic hands did their job.
“Oh, babe, what you do to me with just one touch,” he moaned. Harry slid down in the bed and gave it his full attention. Jake closed his eyes and grinned.
That winter Harry perfected his force field and planted a little crop of flowers to see if it worked and it worked beautifully so he and Jake flew home and got crystals and made dozens of force fields for all of the farms. DJ, Steve, Carl and Brian helped put them together and the men worked all winter on them.
In the spring after planting Harry took the force fields to Farm One and demonstrated how they worked, how to turn them off and on for weeding. Everyone was very impressed.
“You mean that if those little flying bugs come back these force fields will keep them from getting to the crops,” Dr. George asked and Harry nodded.
“No flying bugs or crawling bugs are going to be able to get through this beam but the sunlight will still get in, it doesn’t affect the ultraviolet rays at all,” he told them. They all nodded.
“Why that’s brilliant, Harry,” Dr. Dennis remarked and Bernie nodded again. Max snorted.
“I hope you’re right because if these crops don’t grow, it’ll be all your fault,” he sneered. Dr. George sighed. Harry nodded.
“I tested them in Hawaii, Max and the flowers I tested the beam on grew just fine so I know that the sunlight will get through the beam. We tossed all kinds of bugs and debris at it and nothing went through, it all bounced off,” he explained. Dr. George grinned.
“If you say it works, Harry, that’s enough for me,” he stated and everyone but Max and Charles agreed. So they set up the force fields and all the fields got protected and everyone watched the fields carefully and they were all relieved when the crops all began to grow normally and even better than before because no birds could get in to eat the seeds and no bugs could get in to eat the plants.
“These force fields are great, our crops never looked so great,” Carl gushed at the town meeting and everyone was smiling. Brian stood up.
“Our wheat is already knee high and it’s never been knee high this early, Harry you’re a genius,” he declared and everyone laughed. Kate beamed and Max sighed.
A week later they didn’t like Harry quite as much.
Linda Tyler walked into the house and slammed the door. Her husband sighed and tried to read his book, but of course she stormed into the living room and demanded his attention. He looked up and smiled.
“Did you have a pleasant time at lunch, dear?” he inquired politely. Her face got red.
“Does it sound like I had a pleasant lunch? I swear, Max, sometimes you can be so dense,” she snapped and headed for the vodka bottle. He sighed and laid down the book.
“I thought this little mother-daughter outing was Maribeth’s idea,” he said with a frown. She glared at him.
“Oh, it was, she wanted to inform me, not ask me, but to inform me that she and Donna are moving into their house on this so-called kid’s farm that they’re starting and she wanted my blessing,” Linda’s voice rose almost hysterically. Max sighed.
“Well, dear, she is sixteen and you know, Steve moved out at sixteen,” he tried to reason. She stomped her feet.
“I don’t care what Stephen did, this is my daughter. If that little bastard Harry wouldn’t give them a house then she couldn’t move out. But when I called him he said he couldn’t do that, he said she had the right to her own life and I had no right to interfere with it,” she laughed and poured another belt. Max lifted an eyebrow.
“Well, you should have known the little fagola would say that. He’s been nothing but a pain in the ass since we got here and he’s never going to change. I can’t wait for the day when his kids turn sixteen and want out, then I’m going to laugh,” Max sneered. Linda flopped on the couch.
“There’s nothing we can do to stop them. Harry gives them a car at fifteen and then he gives them a house at sixteen. He’s like the King in his own little kingdom and there’s nothing we can do to prevent it,” she said and began to cry.
“Calm down, Mother; no, I didn’t give them a house, they asked for one,” Harry told his mother Kate as calmly as he could. He rolled his eyes at Jake who grinned. Harry then looked at Fran who made a ‘don’t look at me’ expression with her hands. He waved at her and looked back at the phone’s view-screen.
“No, I’m not going to do that, Mom, they asked for a house and I’m going to give them one,” he said. “Why, because they’ve my brother and sister, that’s why. I give everyone a house if they ask for it and I don’t care who hates me for it. If they don’t want their kids to move out of their house then they should take it up with their kids, not me. I’m not the house arrest police. Goodbye, Mother, this conversation is over.” He clicked off the phone and walked into the other room and gave a brief yell.
“Chill out, Dad,” his son Sean told him. All the kids laughed. Harry grinned and sat on the couch next to Danny who moved over for him.
“If I ever get to be that much of a pain in the ass will one of you please shoot me?” he teased and they all grinned. Ryan made his fingers look like a gun and took aim. Emma giggled and jumped on his lap.
“You’re not a pain in the ass, Dad, you’re the best,” she said and kissed him on his cheek. The boys all made sucking noises and she stuck her tongue out at them. Cassie giggled.
“She just wants a new dress for the summer dance so she can get Owen Thomas to notice her,” she informed them and Emma jumped from his lap to her sister’s back.
“You rat fink, you weren’t supposed to tell anyone that,” she yelled and the two began to fight. Jake grinned and he picked up one angry daughter in each arm.
“Cassie, apologize for breaking your sister’s confidence and Emma apologize for jumping on your sister,” he ordered in that stern tone that made all the kids obey him. The two sisters made up and headed for the kitchen for a soda. Harry rolled his eyes and Jake sat down beside him. They kissed and the boys all rolled their eyes.
“Do you have to do that in front of us?” Adam complained. Jake grinned.
“Yes we do, kissing happens to be an expression of love and I love your dad very much,” he explained. All the boys except for Danny groaned. Harry laughed and got up.
“I’m going to get a soda and some cookies, would you like some, honey?” he asked Jake who nodded. Ryan and Sean looked at each other.
“Yes, dear,” they both said at once. Jake kicked them with his feet while they giggled.
“Bring me back a soda too please, Dad,” Danny called out. Harry nodded.
“Please, Dad, give me a break, another suck up,” Jackson retorted and reached for his brother’s feet. “You know what we do to suck up’s around here don’t you?” he told his youngest brother who looked at him with a deadly gleam in his eyes that should of told his eldest brother to back off but didn’t. When Jackson reached for his feet again, Danny launched himself off the couch and onto him. It was over before it started and the younger boy had him pinned down and was choking him.
“What do we do to suck ups?” he sneered. Harry came back into the room and observed.
“You can’t drink your soda and eat cookies and choke your brother at the same time, so pick one,” he said calmly and Danny shrugged and got off his brother who gave his dad a grateful look. Danny was small but he was a deadly force when provoked. The eight year-old jumped back on the couch and grabbed the Dr. Pepper and bowl of cookies his dad handed him and Jake turned the movie back on.
“Settle down, I’m watching my movie,” he declared and they all snickered.
“Yeah, your movie, right, Dad,” Ryan tossed him a snide look. Jake tossed him a cookie which made him happy and shut him up which made Jake happy and he could hear the movie. He and Harry grinned at one another and kissed which made Danny happy.
Emma and Cassie both got new dresses for the summer dance and the boys all got new shirts and pants which they could have cared less for except for Jackson who took the most time in picking out his clothes. He had a major crush on Luke Myers and he wanted to look perfect. He hadn’t told anyone about his feelings for boys yet but he knew his fathers would understand, of course they would; after all, they were gay. He figured his youngest brother Danny was also gay; it was something he just knew. They other boys he really couldn’t tell yet, but Danny, he knew for sure. He was so much like his dad Harry and he was so obviously gay, you could even tell that in those pictures they had of him when he was younger. They all screamed gay to Jackson but maybe they did because he knew it now.
All the kids went to Elementary School until the eighth grade and then they were supposed to transfer to the High School but they didn’t have enough teachers for separate schools so everyone went to the same school. But they had their summer dances on different nights. All of the Talbert children were in seventh grade or less so they all went to the same dance. Harry and Jake both chaperoned and promised to stay as far away from them as possible. Jake took his position at the main entrance to prevent any kids from wandering the halls and getting into classrooms and Harry took his position just outside the gym doors to prevent kids from wandering outside in the parking lot. They kept in constant communications by cell phone; it was going to be a boring evening for them.
Inside the gym seventy-seven third through eighth graders stood around trying to find the courage to dance with each other. DJ, the music man, played hip songs and the decorating committee had done a great job at making the gym in a starlight café, the theme for the summer dance. There was punch and lots of baked goods to eat courtesy of everyone’s mothers and everyone should have been having a great time but the boys were on one side of the gym and the girls were on the other side.
Finally Sean and Ryan made the first move and manly walked over and asked their cousins Patsy and Penny to dance. The twins who were eight, giggled but agreed and the four took to the floor and started the ball rolling. Soon more brave men walked to the girl’s side and some braver girls dared to walk to the boy’s side and the dance began. Jackson walked over to Luke and started to talk and to his surprise Luke talked back and they had a great conversation until stupid Claire Baxter came over and asked him to dance and of course he had to or he’d look gay. So he gave Luke an agonized glance and danced with Claire and when he dumped her and got back, Luke was dancing with his cousin Allison Talbert and he didn’t get another chance to talk quietly with him the rest of the dance. He was crushed. So when Mitch, Phillip’s son came up to talk with him, he practically ignored him and Mitch walked away, he was crushed but Jackson didn’t know that, he was too busy being crushed.
Emma did get Owen Thomas to notice her, but he ruined it by trying to feel her up and she had to slap him, which by having five brothers, she did very well and knocked him down. Then she kicked him and walked away leaving everyone laughing at him. Then Cassie told Adam who took Owen into the bathroom and beat him up. Owen didn’t have any fun at the dance at all.
Harry caught six couples trying to sneak out of the dance into the parking lot to make out and promised not to rat on them but sent them back into the dance. He called Jake to watch for them and all six tried to sneak into classrooms to make out. Jake didn’t rat on them either but escorted them back to the dance where they stayed having found out their two exits were blocked. Harry and Jake got a big laugh out of that.
Finally the dance was over and they took the kids home. Everyone looked like they had had a good time except for Jackson who looked moody and Emma who looked angry but the rest of the kids looked happy. Especially Adam who appeared quite happy and swore he had a lovely time. Cassie giggled when he said that but wouldn’t say why, just that she was glad she had a lot of brothers. Harry took that as a good sign and smiled at them. He and Jake held hands on the drive home like they usually did and Danny smiled.
“I know Danny’s gay but do you think any of the other boys are?” Harry asked as they were getting ready for bed. Jake looked surprised.
“Danny’s eight years old, Harry; how can you know he’s gay?” he asked with a bit of a frown. Harry giggled.
“Because I was once a gay little eight year-old, that’s how I know, honey,” he told him and climbed into bed. “I think Jackson is too, and I’m fairly certain about Adam but the other two I’m not quite sure, they’re hard to read,” he said and Jake snorted.
“Just because you’re gay and I’m gay doesn’t mean our sons will be gay too babe,” he said. Harry laughed.
“They’re Dolphins and they’ve got the gay gene, they have more than a fifty percent chance. But more than that, I know a gay man when I see a gay man and when I look at Danny, Jackson and Adam, I see a gay man,” he said firmly and Jake sighed.
“Well, if you see a gay man, then you’re probably right, you should know, and you’re definitely right about Danny, even I can see that,” he said with a big grin. “Hell, anyone could see that, he’s just like you babe, no eight year-old is that organized and straight,” Jake said and they laughed.
“Jackson was really worried about his clothes for the dance. I think he’s got a crush on someone at school. I think it might be time for the sex talk. He’s twelve going on thirteen and things are happening to his body and he’s going to have questions. We need to have that talk with him and we need to have it soon,” Harry said firmly. Jake looked horrified. Harry giggled.
“I take it that means you want me to do the talk?” he teased and Jake nodded.
“Do you mind?” he asked weakly. Harry shook his head.
“I think that would be best, I think you’d be too embarrassed,” he decided. Then he decided to tease him. “If I do the boys, of course, that means you have to do the girls,” he said and Jake’s eyes went blank. Harry broke out laughing.
“Don’t worry, honey, I’ll do the girls too,” he said and hugged him. Jake sighed.
“Oh, man, I was going to have to commit suicide, babe,” he declared and Harry giggled.
Harry got a couple of good books to help him and knocked on the door to Jackson’s room, he had decided to do him first thinking that a gay son would be easier than a daughter.
“Come in,” Jackson called out and Harry peeked in.
“Hey Jackson, we need to have a little talk, is right now good for you?” he asked and watched a wary look come over his son’s face.
“Sure Dad, come on in,” he said and Harry carried his book in with him. He saw him glance at the stack of books with curiosity and sat down on chair facing the bed and smiled at his almost teenage son. Harry cleared his throat.
“I hate to be the one to break it to you, Jackson, but your father and I have decided that its time for the most embarrassing moments in your life,” he informed him solemnly. “It’s time for you and me to have the sex talk,” he said with a twinkle in his purple eyes. Jackson’s purple eyes widened and his mouth opened.
“The sex talk, oh, no way, man, we don’t have to do that, Dad,” he pleaded. Harry shook his head.
“Nope, I’m afraid you’ve been out-voted on this one, you’re getting too old not to know this stuff and I hate to use clichés here, Son, but you’re body is changing and you’re changing from a boy into a young man. There are some things you’ve got to be curious about and I’m the man to tell you everything you’ve been wanting to know but afraid to ask,” he told him and smiled. Then he opened the first book to a big picture that showed the inside of a penis and Jackson’s face got red but he looked really interested in it so Harry’s finger pointed to everything and he described what it was and how it worked.
Then Jackson began to ask questions and before he knew it Harry was turning more pages in other books and showing him neater stuff about babies and the female side of things and how babies were made and all of that was cool. Then he talked about masturbation and how cool that was and he even talked about technique and how to hide a woody when you got one at school. He was really cool about a lot of things.
Then he talked about sexuality and how to determine your own and how it didn’t really matter who you picked as long as you were happy. And he talked about the difference between making love and having sex and that made lots of sense to Jackson. Then he talked about desire and feelings that he could have for someone and Jackson admitted to having feelings for someone and Harry said that was great, feelings were a great thing to have, that’s what made them different from animals. He told him to go real slow with his feelings though until he was sure they were returned because just because he had feeling for someone didn’t mean they had to have them for him. He said the worst thing in the world was trying to force someone to return your feelings when they couldn’t and that made perfect sense to Jackson.
And they talked about sometimes sex being like ‘scratching an itch’ and that was perfectly alright as long as you knew that’s all it was because sex was supposed to be fun and you were supposed to enjoy it and if you didn’t, well, you were doing it wrong. That made Jackson laugh. They talked about incest and rape and child molestation and all the scary stuff that went along with sex. And then Harry told him the best thing about sex and that was the one thing Jackson really wanted to know about but was afraid to ask about and that was blow jobs. Harry explained all about them, how to do them and how to get them. He even gave Jackson a little rubber dick to practice on if he wanted to. Jackson grinned and hugged him. Then Harry explained that he shouldn’t tell his Dad he gave that to him, Jake was a little embarrassed by his son’s sexuality, not that he was gay, he was okay with that, but no one wants to admit their son might want to have sex.
“But you’re okay with it?” Jackson asked a little confused. Harry smiled.
“As long as it’s with boys your own age and everyone agrees to it, I’m fine with it,” he told him. Jackson hugged him again.
“You’re the best, Dad,” he declared and Harry kissed him.
“I just want you to be safe, Jackson, and be careful, darling, don’t confuse sex with love or love with sex, keep the two separate and you’ll be fine,” he said and Jackson nodded. Then Harry grinned.
“Now I have to have the same talk with Emma and I haven’t a clue what to say to a girl, is there any hope she’s a lesbian?” he teased and Jackson giggled.
“Not a chance, Dad,” he said and Harry laughed and stood up.
“Oh, well, wish me well,” he said. Before he left the room, Jackson called him back.
“Hey, Dad, how did you know I was gay?” he asked. Harry grinned.
“Like I wasn’t an almost thirteen year-old gay boy myself?” he teased and Jackson looked surprised.
“Oh, yeah,” he said. Harry grinned and shut the door. He knocked on the door to Emma’s room and peeked in when she said to come in.
“Emma, darling, we need to have a talk, are you free right now?” he asked and she nodded. He came in and sat in the chair that faced her bed. She looked at the stack of books he held with the same curiosity her brother had shown. He smiled.
“What’s up, Dad?” she asked.
“It’s time for the most embarrassing moment of your life, darling,” he told her and she looked blank. “Your father and I have decided that it’s time for your sex talk.” She shook her head and put the pillow over her face. Harry laughed.
“Go away, Dad, I’m not listening to you,” she insisted. He pulled the pillow away.
“It’s either me or one of your grandmothers, you pick,” he said and her eyes got a panicked look.
“Oh, God, not one of them, I pick you,” she said quickly. He laughed again and opened the book. She took one look at the picture of the female reproductive organs and blushed beet red.
“Oh, God, kill me now,” she said dramatically.
“That’s exactly what your dad said when I told him he was going to have to do the girls, he said he was going to have to kill himself,” he teased and she giggled. So he went on to describe her insides and how they worked and before she knew it she forgot to be embarrassed and got interested in how her body worked.
“Didn’t we talk about this already when we talked about my period?” Emma asked him. Harry nodded.
“We touched on it briefly but now we’re going to talk about it all, darling,” he told her and she looked intrigued.
Then he showed her the penis and she giggled and turned red some more but he explained how that worked and then showed her how they worked together and how babies were made and developed and that was really fascinating and she loved that part.
Then he showed her the vagina and she blushed again but was fascinated because she never realized that there were two holes down there and he suggested that she take a mirror one day and look.
“Not with you here,” Emma declared with another panicked look. Harry giggled.
“Of course not, I don’t want to see that, I’m gay remember,” he teased and she remembered and laughed.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot,” she said, “Sorry, Dad,” she apologized. He patted her knee.
“That’s okay, sweetie,” he forgave her. Then he showed her special parts of her body and talked about masturbation which was kind of embarrassing but still kind of neat, she’d beat none of her grandmothers would have never talked about that. And he told her all the things he had told Jackson about sex, love, desire and telling the difference between them and about sex being fun and if it wasn’t you was doing it wrong. She laughed at that too.
With her he talked a lot about birth control and how both people should be responsible for it but how in the real world men were selfish bastards and would leave it all up to her and then blame her if she got pregnant so in the long run it would be easier for her to just take care of herself and let the man worry about himself. And when she was ready and even if she wasn’t ready, but just in case she might want to experiment, she could come to him, privately and no one else, not her other Dad, not Dr. George, not anyone else had to know, and he would give her the birth control shot himself and it would just be between the two of them. She listened and she believed him because she knew her dad would never lie to her.
Then Harry showed her the little vibrator Kathleen had picked out for her and gave her instructions on how to use it and Emma was shocked and curious about masturbation and Harry showed her, her clitoris and how it was like a little woman’s penis and how fun it was to play with it. Emma giggled and blushed but she could see exactly what he meant and confessed to already doing some of that and liking it. He did tell her to use the device on low for a while until she got used to it and to use it over her panties until she got used to it.
“If you have any questions about what men and women do in bed together Emma you can ask your Aunt Kathleen anything at all, she’s really nice and she’ll answer any questions and won’t tell me what you ask, she’ll keep them private, just between the two of you. I don’t know anything about straight sex so I really can’t help you there,” he teased and she giggled.
“No kidding, Dad,” she teased him back.
He left some of the books with her and a rubber penis so she could practice and play with it too; and she thanked him and they hugged and he left the room hoping he had done a good job and that they wouldn’t run out and have sex. He laughed at that but what else could he do? He didn’t want them to run out and experiment with other kids and get hurt, he wanted them to know what he knew at that age and he knew a lot so he wanted them to know a lot. Knowledge didn’t mean you had to run out and did it, it just meant that when you did do it, you were prepared.
And of course both kids took the books and the rubber penises to show their friends and all the kids learned about sex from Harry and they all loved the books and giggled at the pictures except, of course, the ones that caused shivers, those they loved.
And of course Emma and Jackson showed their younger siblings Adam and Cassie and the two couldn’t wait for their sex talk the next year and get their own books. Their dad was the coolest and best dad on the planet, all of their friends agreed on that.


Chapter Six

Summer vacation came and the whole group went to the cabin at the lake to go camping and this year they were going to do a little mountain climbing. The kids were all excited and had all their gear. A few of the women thought eight and nine were too young but Harry was there and he could catch them if they fell so it was alright and the men said they were going to be using safety lines so the kids would be safe so they smiled and crossed their fingers.
The first mountain they took the kids on was a cliff face with a ledge and it was really steep with lots of hand holds for them to hold onto and the kids all looked at it and grinned. They could climb this easily. Jake and DJ went first to put in the safety lines and then the kids began to climb starting with the older boys first. Harry, Steve and Charlie checked their lines and harnesses and let them have at the wall while the women watched with bated breath.
“This is so cool,” Jackson told his cousin Stevie who grinned at Martin and the three boys who were all twelve and a half began climbing at the same time.
“Look at them go; they look like little monkeys,” Kathleen remarked and April giggled.
“That looks like fun, maybe we should try it,” she gushed and Joon laughed.
“Maybe we should, why should the kids and the men have all the fun?” she agreed. The boys easily reached the ledge and everyone cheered. Now the three girls, Emma, Stephanie and May got hooked up and attempted the wall and just as easily as their brothers and cousins, the girls climbed the wall. Everyone was impressed.
One by one the thirty children climbed the first wall and then the second steeper and harder cliff face until they reached the summit and everyone cheered and celebrated with juice and snacks. Then they got to repel off down and that was even more fun. Then they went swimming in the lake. It was a great day.
The next day they tried a different way up the same mountain and this was more of a challenge. The ladies wanted to join but Harry made them go back to the first way and practice that way first because he said they weren’t ready for this way yet. This pissed them off until the kids challenged them and they all laughed and the challenge was on and they all returned to the first side and had races to the ledge. Cassie surprised everyone by winning first place with Jackson in second.
“We’re not raising children, babe, we’re raising little monkeys,” Jake remarked and everyone laughed while the children beamed with pride.
The third day they made it to the second side and everyone climbed and it was the most fun they had ever had.
“This is great, sweetie, is your harness too tight?” Grace asked her daughter Irene who giggled.
“No, Mom, its not,” she said and rolled her eyes at her cousin Ruth who giggled.
“That’s the trouble about bringing moms along, they nag,” Ruth complained. Nyla laughed.
“I heard that,” she told her daughter who laughed.
“I meant for you to,” she informed her and everyone laughed.
When they left camp two weeks later all the kids hugged Harry and Jake for their great idea.
“Thanks, Uncle Harry, I had a great time,” Martin gushed and Harry hugged him back.
“You’re very welcome, Martin, I had a great time too,” he told him and it was true, Harry loved being with all of the kids. He loved all of the adults too. They had a great group and all enjoyed one another’s company.
Fall harvest came and the pumpkins were picked. This year they had an eighty-four pound one and all the kids were excited about winning the contest. All of Harry’s children were excited about the pumpkin chunking contest and the trick they were going to play on their grandmother.
“Oh, man, this is going to be so cool, I can’t wait to see her face,” Jackson gushed and Emma giggled. Harry grinned. Jake wasn’t in on the great secret but he had been hearing the giggles all month and couldn’t wait for the unveiling. He smiled at the kids in the car and laughed at Harry’s face.
“It’s that good huh, babe?” he teased and Harry giggled with the kids. Danny giggled the loudest.
“Granny’s going to rule the day she messed with us,” he declared and all the kids cheered. Jake raised his eyebrow giving him a devilish look.
“Well, I can’t wait to see this, you kids haven’t let me in the barn for weeks,” Fran complained from the back seat. Cassie giggled.
“It was for your own good, Frannie, if you had seen it, we would have had to kill you,” Sean said in a serious tone and all the kids broke out in laughter. Fran laughed too.
Finally everyone was out in the field and the giant pumpkins were brought out. Farm One had a sixty-five pound one which Carl booed as a weakling. All the kids laughed and Max and Charles glared at him. Then Farm Two brought out their seventy-three pound beauty and everyone gushed over it.
“That’s a beauty,” Phillip declared and everyone swore it was the winner. Then Farm Three brought out theirs and it weighed sixty-eight pounds and Farm Two looked smug. Then Farm Four brought out their pumpkin and everyone gasped at the size of it and Max laughed.
“That looks bigger than yours, Carl,” he sneered and Carl flushed. Then they weighed it and the meter read eighty-four pounds and everyone gasped.
“What the hell are you feeding your crops, Harry?” Carl demanded and all the kids laughed.
“Why, Carl, we feed our crops love, right, Team Four?” Harry shouted and they all cheered and clapped. Everyone laughed.
Then the pumpkin chunking contest began and everyone brought out their machines and the real fun began. There were catapult and cannons and all kinds of weird designs and some of them worked and some of them failed and all of them got laughs and moans and they had lots of fun. David Marshall’s design, a machine that swung the pumpkin around crashed the pumpkin right into Max’s SUV and took out the rear window.
“Marshall, you idiot, you’re paying for that window and you’re cleaning up that mess,” he shouted, his face growing redder by the second. David giggled and everyone laughed.
Kate brought out her machine with the help of her sons and this year it was a swinging design, they seemed to be popular this year. This one was very tall and swung the pumpkin high and then let it go. She grinned when her pumpkin reached the two hundred and fifty yard mark and shot Harry a smug look. Then his kids rolled out their machine and uncovered it. Everyone took one look at the giant sling-shot and laughed.
“You’ve got to be kidding, Henry, that thing isn’t going to work,” Kate exclaimed and giggled. Harry shrugged and Jackson and Adam struggled with a big pumpkin and he helped them to put it in the middle of the leather strap. Then all three of them pulled the strap back and on the count of three released it.
“Holy crap, look at that pumpkin go,” Carl exclaimed and they all watched the pumpkin sail up in the sky and clear out of the distance and away.
“Is it going to land?” Davy wondered aloud but it didn’t look like it. They all looked at Harry’s sling-shot with awe. Kate snorted.
“I don’t believe for a second that thing sent that pumpkin that distance,” she declared. DJ, who was in on the gag, went and picked up another pumpkin, struggling with the weight and they did it again. This pumpkin went as high as the last pumpkin and they all gasped with wonder as it sailed clear out of sight. Then Kate stomped her feet and walked over to the pumpkins and picked one up. She brought it back to the sling-shot and put it in the middle of the leather strap and struggled to pull it back.
“This is very difficult,” she muttered. All of Harry’s kids stood behind her with their hands over their mouths and everyone looked at them and began to realize that this was all a gag and began to laugh.
“Do you want some help with that, Mom?” Harry asked cheerfully. Kate shook her head.
“No, thank you, Henry, I can do it,” she replied and Harry grinned behind her back. She pulled the strap back all the way and released it. The pumpkin immediately fell to the ground in front of her with a big splash and all the kids and Harry laughed and she got a confused look on her face as the whole town laughed. Kate turned around to see them laughing and glared.
“What is the meaning of this, Henry?” she snapped. Harry giggled.
“It’s a joke, Mom, we played a joke on you,” he informed her. He turned to the crowd. “The first two pumpkins had lifts in them; that’s how they soared out of here like that, they were booby-trapped. DJ was in on it,” he told them and everyone laughed. Kate was not amused and that made it all funnier. Then she saw the humor and pointed her finger at her grandchildren.
“You little devils, I’ll get you one-by-one for this little gag,” she promised. Sean giggled.
“Oh, yeah, grandmom, I’m really scared,” he retorted and they all laughed again. Then they brought out the real machine, a giant spring loaded device and it sprang an amazing three hundred yards and won the contest and everyone cheered and it was placed in the place of honor for the year. They put the giant sling-shot there too just for fun because it was so cute. Some of the older boys went searching for the pumpkins and found both of them and brought back the lifts. Harry really appreciated that and gave them free shopping in the store of their choice, they picked Tower Music and had a blast.
Halloween came and all the kids had picked out their costumes and Ryan and Sean wanted to be cowboys. Harry was in the sewing room finishing up their shirts and had just handed Sean his shirt when the little smart-ass thanked him by saying, “Thanks, Mom.” This had pissed Harry off considerably and he jumped up from his machine, unzipped his jeans and pulled out his privates and waved them at his son.
“Excuse me, young man, but do these look like the genitals of a women, no they do not, these are my balls and this is my cock and a woman doesn’t have them,” he snapped. “I am your father, not your mother and from now on, you will call me dad, or father but never mom or mother, do you understand that?” Sean looked at him and his penis and nodded.
“Yes, Dad, I understand,” he said and Harry nodded. Fran stood in the doorway.
“You have a very pretty penis, Harry, nice and straight,” she observed. Emma and Cassie giggled. Harry grinned.
“Why, thank you, Fran, Jake likes it and that’s all that counts,” he remarked and put it back in his pants. Sean shrugged.
“I was just making a joke,” he told his sisters who shoved him out of the room.
“Don’t call him Mom, you idiot, he doesn’t like that and you know it, God, boys are so stupid,” Emma declared and Sean rolled his eyes.
“God, boys are so stupid,” he mimicked her and she shoved him again, so he shoved her back. They kept shoved each other until Jake walked by and pulled them apart.
“Hey, hey, no shoving in the house, take that outside, you little animals,” he told them and they laughed.
“Sean called dad, mom and he flashed him his privates,” Cassie told him and Jake’s eyes widen. Sean rolled his eyes.
“God, Cassie, you’re a little snitch,” he accused her. She shrugged.
“Fran or dad would have told him, I like to be first with the news, I’m going to be a reporter when I grow up,” she informed him smugly. Emma giggled.
“That would be right for you, Cas, you know all the gossip,” she said. Cassie shrugged.
“Gossip, news, it’s all the same in this town,” she declared and they all laughed. Jake smiled down at her.
“You’re just like your mother, Cassie, she liked all the gossip and knowing what everyone was doing too, she flew around her like a little bird she was adorable, just like you,” he said and bent down to kiss her. Cassie beamed and they all went outside to play. Jake went in the sewing room.
“What’s this I hear about some mad flasher?” he teased as he sat down in the chair next to the machine where Harry worked. Harry looked up and made a face.
“Sometimes I swear that boy knows what buttons to push and then sits on them just to irate me,” he complained and sighed. Jake grinned and leaned forward to kiss him. Harry smiled.
“He called you mom again did he?” Jake asked and Harry nodded.
“I don’t think he’ll be doing that again for a long time,” he said and giggled. Jake laughed.
“Not if you whip it out and flash him he won’t,” he teased. Harry groaned.
“Fran was walking by and she saw it too,” he confessed and Jake laughed some more.
“The girls saw too, you’re really having a day aren’t you, babe?” he said and Harry nodded. Jake leaned forward and nuzzled his neck. Harry moaned. “I know just the thing to improve your day, babe,” he whispered and Harry wrapped both of his arms around his love’s neck and Jake picked him up. They kissed long and passionately. Ryan walked into the room, saw when they were doing and walked back out. He passed Adam in the hall.
“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you, major making out,” he informed him. Adam made a face.
“Again, don’t they have a bedroom for that?” he asked in a loud voice so they would hear. They both heard laughter and then their dads walked past them in the hall.
“Yes, they do and that’s where they’re going so don’t disturb them for at least two hours,” Jake said and he and Harry rushed past them. Harry giggled and the boys laughed.
“Christ, you’d think they got enough of that at night,” Ryan remarked. Harry laughed.
“Oh, no, darling, you never get enough of that,” he called out and Jake laughed.
The two boys went outside where their siblings were with long faces and Emma looked at them.
“What’s up with you guys?” she asked. Ryan gave a big exaggerated sigh.
“There’s nothing fun to do and there won’t be all day because those two locked themselves in the bedroom again,” he complained. The girls giggled.
“Again? What do they do in there?” Cassie demanded. Emma giggled.
“You know, Cassie, Jesus, Jackson showed you the book,” she said and all the kids laughed. They had all seen the pictures.
“Yeah, but our dads doing that stuff, how gross,” Adam declared and they all agreed; that was gross. Jackson and Danny came out.
“What are you guys talking about?” Jackson asked. They all laughed.
“Dads have locked themselves in the bedroom again,” Ryan told him and he laughed.
“Again, man, that’s like the second time this week,” he retorted and they all laughed. Danny grinned.
“Harry must be horny,” he remarked. Sean shook his head.
“Nah, this time it was Jake, he went looking for Harry,” he informed them. The girls giggled.
“I wonder who does what to whom?” Sean wondered and everyone giggled. Jackson lifted his eyebrow and looked remarkably like Jake.
“Oh, that’s easy, Jake does Harry,” he told them and all of the boys nodded. Emma looked insulted.
“How do you know that Mr. Smarty-pants?” she demanded to know. He sighed.
“It’s not an insult to Harry, so don’t get offended, he likes it that way, silly goose, some men like it and he’s one of them,” he informed her and Danny nodded. She raised her eyebrow.
“How can he like that, it looks like it’ll hurt,” she made a face. Danny smiled. Then they explained why it didn’t hurt that much and why it was so much fun and she blushed.
“I guess, but still it’s kind of gross picturing our dads doing that,” she declared and they all laughed. Cassie grinned.
“You boys are so lucky, you’ve got that big penis and a prostate gland, all we’ve got is some stupid clitoris, that’s not fair,” she whined. All the boys grinned.
“Yeah, Cassie but you’re going to be able to lay an egg and that’s pretty damned cool,” Jackson gushed and she flushed.
“Yeah, but that means I’m only going to be able to do half blow jobs,” she told him. He smiled.
“That’s all girls do anyway, at least according to Uncle Steve and Uncle Charlie, I heard them one night complaining to Dads about it and they were bragging about giving each other head, that’s what they called it and their wives only give half blow jobs and they said the good thing about men was they did great blow jobs,” he informed them and everyone looked impressed. Then he continued.
“And they said that women gave the best cunnilingus which is female blow jobs so if you want that to be done right you have to get another women,” he said. “All the adults on the planet are bi-sexual meaning they have sex with both men and women and they think that everyone should be bi so they can have sex with as many people as they want and I think that’s a great idea.”
“I think that’s great too,” Emma decided and all the kids nodded except for Danny.
“If you can, you can be bi-sexual, but I don’t think I can,” he told them. Jackson nodded.
“Well, if you’re gay, Danny, then you can’t help it, then you’re just going to have to have sex with all the men,” he said and everyone laughed. Cassie patted his knee.
“That’s still a lot, Danny,” she assured him and he grinned.
They got up and went to discuss the matter with their cousins.
In the bedroom Harry lied with his head on Jake’s strong chest and played with his curly dark chest hairs.
“I love making love in the afternoon with my honey,” he gave a sigh of pleasure. Jake grinned.
“Well, I’m glad to be of service,” he said and Harry giggled.
“Do you know we’ve been doing this for eighteen years now and I think we’re really, really good at it,” he bragged and Jake laughed and his fingers roamed through Harry’s curly sandy brown hair.
“Did you get your hair cut today, babe, it’s really curly,” he asked and Harry nodded.
“Nyla came over today and cut all of our hair,” he told him. Jake smiled.
“I love you hair when it’s just cut, its so cute and adorable, it makes you look fourteen again,” he gushed and Harry smiled and licked his dark brown nipple. Jake closed his eyes and moaned a little.
“Mm, I like that,” he murmured. Harry smiled; of course he liked it, that’s why he did it.
“Emma and Cassie just got a trim, they’re having a contest to see who can get their hair to grow the longest,” he informed his love. Jake laughed.
“Who’s winning?” he asked.
“They’re pretty much tied, I made sure of that, they fight enough those two, I’m not having them fighting over hair,” Harry told him and Jake smiled.
“You’re very clever, babe,” he said and rolled over to face him, “Eighteen years huh?” Jake asked and Harry nodded, his hand came up to touch that face he loved.
“Doesn’t seem that long to me, does it to you, honey?” he whispered. Jake shook his head and his fingers came up to trace that perfect cupid bow mouth. Harry kissed his fingers. Jake smiled tenderly.
“I remember the day I first kissed you,” he said and took them back. “We had just done our laundry for the first time and you were giving me all of those boxers and we were standing by your personal bin and you were so adorable and I wanted so badly to kiss you so I just told myself, what’s the worst he could do, slap you, so I went for it,” Harry laughed.
“I wanted you to kiss me so very badly, you were so handsome and so strong,” he whispered. He leaned forward and they kissed again, slowly and then with more passion. “I could kiss you, Jake, for the next thirty thousand years and not get enough of your kisses,” Harry told him and Jake smiled. Then Harry gave him that sexy slantly look and scratched the inside of his thigh with his fingernails and Jake felt himself harden almost instantly. He rolled over on top of his love and lifted his legs onto his shoulders.
“Oh, now you’re done it, babe, you’ve waken the sleeping giant,” he declared and Harry looked at him with half-closed eyes and reached up to pinch and scratch his nipped, then he licked and sucked on them and Jake went wild. When they came they yelled but luckily their kids were up at the playground playing Galatica catching people for their zoos and didn’t hear them. Fran did and she laughed.
“They never change, thank God,” she told Martha who opened her mouth and yawned. All six dogs were out with the boys racing around having a good time and the house was quiet for a change. She checked on the two big pork roasts Harry had put in the ovens and they were doing fine so she went to watch view-screen and relax.
The Sunday after the kids moved out into their own farm which was Farm Five Harry announced at the town meeting that he had a Nabisco Factory over in Sherwood if anyone was interested in helping him build it. Everyone looked bored.
“You know Nabisco makes cookies and crackers such as Oreos and Keeblers and saltines so we can have a never ending supply of that stuff as long as we have sugar and flour to put into it and it comes with about five thousand pounds of flour and sugar and chocolate and stuff so we won’t have to plant any extra for a while,” he explained and everyone got excited. Carl stood up.
“Hell, Harry, for Oreos I’ll help you build that factory,” he gushed. Kate stood up.
“Henry, why didn’t you build that factory the first year, that’s what I want to know,” she demanded and everyone laughed. Harry grinned.
“Frankly, Mother, I really didn’t pay much attention to the factories I brought down, now I really think we should build this one, who wants to help?” he asked and almost everyone stood up and raised their hands. Jake laughed.
The factory was up and running in a month and everyone took home a case of every single kind of cookie and cracker that Nabisco made. It was like Christmas and their birthday all rolled up into one and once again Harry was their hero.
“I swear that little bastard times this stuff so we like him after he does something we hate him for,” Max said and Linda sighed as she stacked boxes of cookies in the pantry.
“Well, the kids were moving out no matter what we did so we should be grateful we have crackers again, I missed my cheese and crackers late at night,” she told him and he hugged her.
“I wonder what factory he’ll bring out when the next set of kids move out?” he teased and she giggled.
“Oh, I hope it’s another golf course or something fun, I’m getting tired of that same old course,” she said and he agreed; another golf course would be fun.
“What other stores do you have, babe; that we can build?” Jake asked as they were getting ready for bed. Harry shrugged.
“We’ve got seventeen more factories but I don’t see where we need the stuff yet, we could start building furniture, that would be fun and the car parts factory could come in handy, so could the cloth factory if women wanted to do a lot more sewing, but I don’t think they do,” he explained and Jake nodded.
“That toy factory would be fun,” he remarked and Harry nodded.
“I guess we can build the pasta factory, people like pasta and noodles,” he remarked and Jake nodded.
“We’ll build that when the next batch of kids move out,” he said and Harry giggled.
“We should build that next year,” he told him and Jake shrugged.
“We should save something for people to look forward to,” he suggested and Harry nodded.
“Okay, honey, we’ll build that next time people hate me,” he decided and they both laughed.
That winter they took the kids to see the furry-purry spiders of Savannah for the first time and took with them plastic containers of raw meat. All the kids were excited and a little scared. After all, it wasn’t every day that you got to see spiders the size of dogs. All the dogs had to stay home except for Bo and Gertie who had seen the spiders before and knew how to behave.
“Oh, man, giant spiders, this is going to be so neat,” Sean exclaimed and his brother Ryan agreed. All the boys looked more excited than the girls who looked more scared. Steve and Kathleen rode up in the cockpit with Harry and Jake and they laughed over the reactions of the kids.
“I didn’t think Megan would come, she’s scared to death of spiders and that’s the little one,” Kathleen remarked. Steve laughed.
“She doesn’t want to be left out on any of the fun, honey,” he told her and she nodded.
“I think it’s easier to be scared of the little ones than the big ones,” Harry declared and Jake nodded.
“Once they start purring like cats, I’m sure she’ll be alright,” he said and all the parents hoped so.
Harry landed the Elizabeth and they all walked out. He and Jake headed the group and they walked towards the caves where they had found the spiders years ago. They had only been there a short time when the first spider peeked out and all the kids saw it.
“There’s one, I can see it!” Jackson exclaimed and they all shouted. Harry grinned at Jake who grinned back. Hesitantly the spider approached and all the kids were startled to see that the spider appeared to be scared of them.
“Aw, look its scared of us,” Emma said and she walked forward to pet it. Immediately the spider began to purr and all the kids were in love and rushed forward to pet it. Then more spiders came out and soon they were surrounded by dozens of them. DJ, Steve and Charlie kept a careful eye on the kids to make sure that none were carried away by the spiders who were obviously meat-eaters. Harry figured they were safe as long as they stayed together. Alone the spiders would probably attack and devoured them.
“Let’s feed them, can we feed them, Dad?” Cassie asked and he nodded. All the kids opened their containers of meat and soon the children were feeding the spiders raw meat which they gobbled up. Sean climbed up on a spider and got a ride which he loved but when the spider headed for the caves Harry lifted him off. Jake sighed with relief and his love grinned at him.
On the way home all the kids gushed about the spiders, even Megan had loved them.
“Oh, man, that was so cool, our parents are so cool,” Colleen gushed and everyone agreed, petting the furry-purry spiders had been the best thing every. Joon promised them they would come back and do it again.
The next weekend they went to Mykonos and the kids all got to see the waterfall and swim in the lake. There were purple goats to pet and lemons and limes to pick and small mountains to climb and they had a picnic by the shore and Ryan was informed he was conceived on a blanket right over there.
“I could have lived for a thousand years without knowing that, Dad,” he told him and everyone laughed.
Then in January they all went to Hawaii and had fun. Harry let all the boys surf until one o’clock and then when the sharks came batting at the nets all the kids came out of the water and had to swim in the lake by the waterfall. They all protested by secretly they were glad; those big black sharks gave everyone the willies.
At night Jake and Harry would take moonlight walks, holding hands and stopping to kiss. All the kids made fun of them but secretly they were glad to see this kind of behavior, it made them all feel secure. They all knew from talking to their friends that all of their friend’s parents had open marriages and slept around. This was so common that no one minded. Everyone did it, even the old married people like Jenna and Carl and Frank and Fiona had decided that if they were going to live for thirty thousand years, their marriages weren’t going to stand up for that many years. So swapping husbands and wives had become the hip thing and parties had become popular. Gloria and David had the reputation of throwing the best ones.
But all the kids knew that Harry and Jake’s marriage wasn’t like that. There were no overnight adult guests at the Talbert home and there were no plans to have any. They were more in love today than they had been when they had first met and everyone loved that about them. They were never just Harry or just Jake, they were always Jake and Harry or Harry and Jake.
The next year the next set of kids turned fifteen and their parents took them down to the Jeep dealership and they picked out cars and Jeeps and, of course, Harry gave them to them for free and all the kids thought that was the coolest thing. Now they were free to hang out in the clubhouse and they could go shopping in any of Harry’s stores for free. He was their favorite person in town, especially since all the girls had been to him for birth control shots when they were fourteen and fifteen already. None of the adults knew about that until Linda went snooping in her fifteen year-old daughter Maribeth’s computer and read her email intercepting an email from Harry reminding the girl that it was time for her ‘health shot.’ This made her curious and she confronted her daughter and they had a big fight and the girl sneered and told her mother what kind of shot it really was. Linda hit the roof and while her husband didn’t agree with her, Linda got all the other mothers worked up and they called an emergency town meeting.
“Harry, is it true that you’ve been giving the teenage girls birth control shots without their parents permission?” Linda stood up and asked him. Harry shook his head.
“I’m sorry, Linda, but that’s none of your business,” he told her calmly. Jenna stood up.
“Excuse me, did I hear you correctly, did you just say that our teenage daughters were none of our business. Who the hell do you think you are?” she shouted and all the women began shouting at him. Dr. George sighed and stood up.
“Ladies, ladies, please calm down, listen to me,” he shouted and they all calmed down. “Now Harry hasn’t done anything that I wouldn’t have done if they asked me,” he told them. Fiona stood up.
“Birth control for children, are you insane, Dr. George?” she snapped. Dr. George sighed.
“Well, what would you prefer, that I perform an abortion on your fifteen year-old daughter or give her a birth control shot, because I’ve already performed six abortions and I really don’t like to do them,” he snapped and they all looked shocked. Kate stood up.
“Dr. George is correct, as much as we hate to admit it, our children will experiment with sex and there is nothing we can do to prevent that. We cannot lock them up or put chastity belts on them, therefore we can only take precautions and the only precautions we have are condoms and birth control shots and the shot is one hundred percent effective,” she told them. Jenna stood up.
“Fifteen year-old children should not be having sex,” she said and a lot of women nodded. Harry stood up.
“That’s a nice thing to say, Jenna, but how do suggest we stop them?” he asked calmly. “I was having sex at fifteen and there was no way my mothers could have stopped me and there is no way you can stop your children. If they want to experiment they will find a way, you can’t stop them, all you can do is make them as safe as you can and teach them all that you can and make sure that they know as much as you can so that they can make the right decisions and pray that they don’t get hurt. I don’t like giving the shots, really I don’t, but when the girls come to me, I give them because I know with or without the shots, they’re going to have sex and I don’t want to see them coming to Dr. George pregnant and asking him for an abortion. That would be devastating for these girls and would hurt them far more than a simple shot.”
“We should preach abstinence,” Reverend Milo suggested. Reverend Phillip stood up.
“Milo, abstinence has never worked and you know it, I don’t like this anymore than anyone else does but fifteen year-old children have been having sex since the human race has existed and we can’t change hormones. All we can do is teach them to be safe. After all, they see us exchanging partners on a regular basis and having overnight guests and know about our sex parties. What do we expect? Our children will copy our behavior and do the same thing we are doing,” he preached and a lot of people began to fill uncomfortable. Max laughed.
“Well, if that’s the case, Harry, all of your sons are going to be gay,” he teased and he and Charles laughed. Harry rolled his eyes.
“That would be fine with me, Max, I happen to love gay men,” he told him and everyone laughed. Carl stood up.
“Maybe one of my sons will marry one of your sons, Harry, that would be terrific,” he declared and Jenna nodded. Kate beamed.
“Thank you, Carl, I’d like that too,” Harry told him and Carl looked pleased.
“So this is the solution, we do nothing,” Linda snapped. Max sighed.
“I suggest we start a sex education program in school and teach these kids some responsibility about sex and since Harry’s so gung ho about it, let’s make him the damned teacher,” he suggested and everyone agreed. Harry shrugged; he had no problem talking about sex. Jake grinned; these people didn’t know what they were getting into.
Harry started Sex Ed the next day and all the kids were blown away with all the facts he told them and awed about the casual way he talked about it. They told their brothers and sisters about it and the sixteen year-olds who had moved out and graduated came back to school just to take that class. He even gave the older kids free shopping at Adam and Eve and they loved that and all got movie cards and their sex lives became even better, especially when he demonstrated the proper way to perform a great blow job, everyone loved that class. And he brought in DJ to show how to perform cunnilingus and the girls loved that class.
“You know, babe, I don’t think this is what the parents had in mind when they thought of Sex Ed,” Jake teased when Harry told him about DJ’s class. Harry giggled.
“Well, someone’s got to teach these kids how to do it right, God knows their parents aren’t going to do it,” he said. Jake laughed and rubbed lotion on his babe’s back.
“You didn’t show our kids how to do blow jobs did you?” he asked and Harry giggled. Jake rolled his eyes. “Oh, man, I don’t even want to know,” he muttered and his hands moved down to that spectacular ass. Harry turned around and shoved Jake down on his back and climbed on top of him. Jake grinned.
“Oh, you’re feeling frisky tonight,” he said and reached up to pinch Harry’s nipples. Harry moaned and pinched Jake’s which made him moan. He reached for the lube.
“You know sex class always makes me wild,” he told him, his eyes all slanty and sexy. Jake grinned, he liked Harry all wild. Harry lowered himself and reached up for the straps. Jake groaned and they began to move frantically. Harry put on foot on the edge of the bed slat which gave him better traction and shoved himself down hard which caused Jake to go in deeper and both men gasped with pleasure.
“Oh, babe, I love you,” Jake muttered as Harry scratched the inside of his thigh, his legs straining as he pumped harder and faster. They both yelled as they exploded and Danny rolled over and grinned. Bo whined and he petted him.
“Those two are horny bastards aren’t they, Bo?” he teased him and the dog wagged his tail. They rolled over and went to sleep.
The following year the next batch of sixteen year-olds moved out to Farm Five and all the parents sighed and let them without a fuss, what else could they do? Harry and Jake built the pasta factory and everyone was happy, they didn’t have to make homemade noodles again. And it came with two thousand pounds of flour which made everyone whine that they didn’t have to eat those damned bread mixes because they could have taken the flour from the factories. Harry shrugged.
“Well, I didn’t know there was flour in the factories,” he told them and they all sighed.
“I don’t know why everyone so excited about noodles, now this is just another reason we have to plant more damned wheat,” Max grumbled. Charles agreed but all the women loved making spaghetti and lasagna and loved the factory so they just shrugged.
“What other kinds of factories do you have, Harry?” Jenna asked at the next town meeting. Harry shrugged.
“I’ve got one that makes parts for the cars and one that makes cloth,” he told them and they all made faces. “There’s one that makes blankets and quilts and a furniture factory and a china factory that makes dishes and one that makes pots and pans,” he added.
“All those sound boring, don’t you have anything fun?” Shelley asked. Harry grinned.
“I’ve got a toy factory that makes toys,” he told them and they all rolled their eyes. “There’s a factory that makes view-screens and one that makes CD’s and of course the shoe factory.”
“All those sound like things we’re going to need eventually, but don’t you have anything more interesting or fun or more food or alcohol?” Myra asked. Harry grinned.
“Well, I do have the Hershey Chocolate Factory and the Gallo Wine Factory if you think those two might be a little more fun than the shoe factory,” he teased and they all laughed.
“Oh, my God, a wine factory, why don’t we build that one next,” Edna stood up and gushed. Harry shrugged.
“I don’t see why we can’t build those two next but the wine after the samples is going to be for sale in the Liquor Mart. That’s not getting divided up like the sodas,” he informed them and they all frowned.
“Why not, that’s not fair,” Linda complained. Harry shrugged.
“Because its alcohol, you don’t expect David to give out his booze for free, why should you expect me to give out mine for free?” he asked. Kate stood up and he shook his head. “And no, Mother, those factories don’t belong to the community. I brought them down and they belong to me, no one else thought to bring down a factory. All of you are lucky that I give out the toothpaste, shampoo and other stuff for free and don’t charge you for that. You people really have a lot of nerve, you expect me to give you everything that I have, just like I owe it to you and I don’t owe you anything. You’re the ones who insisted on money. I said let’s share everything, but Max and Charles insisted that was communism and you all said that sounded like a hippie commune and you didn’t want to live on a hippie commune so don’t come whining to me when I don’t give you my crap for free. So put your money where you mouth is and pay up.” Jake and the other kids laughed and the adults all made faces.
“Well, it’s not fair, you brought down so much more than we did,” Linda stated. Harry shrugged.
“Hindsight’s a bitch ain’t it,” he remarked and a lot of people laughed. “I told all of you when we were on the Roosevelt that we were coming down to an uninhabited planet where there was nothing and we needed to bring down as much as we could and that’s what I did. It’s not my fault that all of you only picked out three stores. I told you to pick out as many stores as you wanted, in fact, I said pick out fifty stores or a hundred but you all thought that you couldn’t build that many stores so you only picked out three. Even then you were all lazy bastards and now you’re all paying the price.” David stood up.
“I wanted more bins but you wouldn’t bring them down for me,” he snapped. Everyone laughed.
“Mr. Marshall, how many times do we have to hear that tired old complaint; now the reason you didn’t get anymore bins is because you waited until the damned ship was breaking up before you asked for more bins and I couldn’t carry bins and the passenger carriers at the same time,” Harry told him. David sniffed.
“Why not?” he whined.
“Because you have to lock the carriers into position and when you use the magnetic beam to hook onto the bins it could cause the carrier to unlock and they tend to fall down and you lose your passengers that way. I’m pretty sure the passengers didn’t want to burn up in the atmosphere so you could have more bins,” he said calmly and everyone shuddered.
Since everyone wanted the wine factory more than the chocolate factory they built that first and Harry gave everyone a case of every variety and that made them all happy. Then he stocked the shelves of his Liquor Mart and that made Adam happy as he was considering it his store which amused his fathers.
Next they built the chocolate factory and everyone got a case of each kind of candy and that made all the kids happy and Dr. Dennis said he was going to be cleaning teeth all year long now and everyone laughed. Both of his sons Patrick and Craig announced that they were going to be dentists which made him happy especially since DJ was running the TV station and didn’t show any interest in teeth. Anna Wong was a dental hygienist and she helped him so he was really happy with the candy factory.
“When are you going to tell everyone about the thousand stores, babe?” Jake asked one day while they were picking apples. Harry shrugged.
“I don’t know, I think I’ll just build them a few at a time when we start needing them instead of dividing them and just let people take what they need. By that time this whole money craze would have worn off hopefully and people will realize how foolish it is and we’ll just keep all the stores open for everyone to use,” he said and Jake nodded.
“That would depend on how many of us there are I think. If the kids all grow up and have kids then there would be too many to do that. But if we stay small for a long time then that way will work out just fine,” he said and Harry nodded.
“As long as those idiots on Farm One continue to insist on using money everyone else will,” he said with a big sigh. Jake laughed and kissed him.
“They just keep exchanging the same thousand dollars over and over again and we get most of their money, don’t they realize that, they’re so stupid,” he agreed and they both laughed.
The spring after Emma and Jackson turned fifteen, Harry and Jake took them to the Jeep Dealership and showed them hundreds of Jeeps and other cars and let them pick out the one they wanted. They also took Stevie, Stephanie, May and Martin, all the kids had turned fifteen in December but the weather had been too bad for driving lessons and getting cars so they had to wait until the spring. Now they were all excited.
“If I get the Miata convertible can I still have the red Jeep for winter driving?” Emma asked and her dads grinned. Harry nodded.
“Of course, you can, Emma, your fathers own the dealership, you can have two cars,” he informed her and she jumped up and hugged him. Stephanie frowned. He nodded to her and she jumped up and hugged him too. Kathleen giggled.
“Harry, you spoil them,” she said and he laughed.
“If you can’t spoil children, who can you spoil?” he teased and they all laughed. All the boys picked macho Jeeps so they only got one car, but he let them have a shopping spree so that satisfied them and made everyone happy.
They had to build an extra garage on the house for all the extra cars they were soon going to be having, seven kids meant at least nine or ten extra cars. Jake laughed.
“We should have just built a damned castle, babe,” he remarked and Harry giggled.
“Isn’t that what we’re living in?” he teased and it was almost true, it was the biggest house on the planet but it was home and they loved it. Jan and Joy’s house was big but their house was bigger and grander. They dreaded next year though when Emma and Jackson turned sixteen and moved out, but all the kids were moving out when they turned sixteen so they expected theirs to. All the other parents in town were waiting for that day so they could all laugh at the high and mighty Harry Talbert.
Now their kids were the fifteen year-olds who hung out at the clubhouse and Harry and Jake were fine with that. They knew all the kids were doing was sitting around complaining about their parents, having a little sex, eating, drinking sodas and playing video games and maybe watching a dirty movie they scored from an older sibling, what else was there for them to do on this boring planet. But they also went skating and bowling and played putt-putt and played softball and basketball and did a lot more other things so it was okay for them to take off in their cars and take their younger siblings with them. They gave them a generous curfew and let them have some freedom and the kids appreciated it and didn’t give them any trouble and never came home drunk or late too often.
“Emma, you come home late one more time this week and you’re losing your car for a week,” Harry told her one night in July as they were eating dinner. Emma looked scared and nodded. Jackson grinned; he had been on time the night before. Emma made a face at him.
“Okay, Dad, it’s just that,” she began and Harry shook his head.
“No excuse, baby girl, you’re old enough to drive and you know your curfew, so next time make sure you have enough time to drop everyone off and get home in time,” he said sternly and she nodded.
“Okay,” she said and looked down at her plate. They finished dinner and thankfully it was Cassie and Adam’s turn to clean up and she escaped to her bedroom to phone her friends.
“Oh, man, my dad laid down the law, if I’m late one more night I lose my car for a week,” she whined to May who giggled.
“I’ve already lost mine for two weeks. My dad blew a casket when I got home last night and he took away my keys and I’m grounded for a week so I have to sneak out tonight. Can you pick me up by the butcher shop?” she asked.
“Sure, I’ll wait for you,” Emma said and they agreed to meet in ten minutes. Emma called everyone and found everyone had lost their car except for her so maybe her dad wasn’t that bad after all. And she made sure she was on time that night so she didn’t miss curfew.
“Did you girls have fun tonight, darling?” Harry asked when she walked in the door. Emma grinned, flopped on the couch next to him and grabbed one of his cookies.
“It was okay, stupid Ronald and Donald were there and acting like fools but it was fun,” she said. He grinned.
“May is in big trouble. I wouldn’t expect her to join you any time soon. April found out she sneaked out tonight and they’re waiting for her to sneak back in her bedroom,” he told her and Emma groaned.
“Oh, man, I told her not to do it on the first night, I said to wait until the second or third night,” she said. Harry giggled.
“That’s what I would have done, you know your parents are going to check the first night, she deserves to be caught for being so foolish,” he said and she grinned.
“You never caught me when I sneaked out,” she bragged. He shrugged.
“You never knew I caught you, Emma, but I always knew. I just didn’t make a big stink about it. You’ve got to pick your battles and you sneaking out to the woods with May and Stephie to be witches wasn’t a big deal,” he told her and she gasped.
“You knew about that,” Emma asked with disbelief and he hugged her.
“Of course I did, darling, I know almost everything that happens in this house, I’m the dad,” he teased and she giggled.
“Well, the hex didn’t work, old Max and Charles didn’t grow warts on their noses,” she said and made a face. Harry laughed.
“Why did you want to grow warts on their noses?” he asked. She shrugged.
“Because they call all the boys fagolas,” Emma said as if he should have known that. Harry nodded.
“Yeah, I’d love to put a wart on their ass for that,” he admitted and she giggled.
“Goodnight, Dad,” she said and kissed him. He hugged her and said goodnight. He went laughing to his room; all of his children were safe in the house now.
Two days after Christmas they had seven birthday cakes and all of his kids turned a year older. Emma and Jackson were now sixteen and remarkably adult looking. Jackson was tall like Jake and stood an amazing five foot ten inches and a hundred and sixty pounds of lean muscle. Emma was tall also and stood five feet seven inches and looked very beautiful with her long blonde hair and clear blue eyes. Harry hated looking at them because he knew both of them enjoyed a very active sex life. He laughed at the thought.
Cassie and Adam were both fifteen and couldn’t wait until the spring when they got their cars and Adam had already picked out his black Jeep, he was just like Jake and taller than his brother. Ryan was fourteen and Sean was thirteen and his precious baby Danny was twelve. Harry felt old just looking at his stunning family.
Of course, all of the grandparents came to the party and for once David and Gloria came and Emma was nice to them, she, like all of Harry’s kids had delightful manners and gushed over the diamond earrings that Gloria gave her. She didn’t know of course that Emma already had a whole collection of precious gemstone earrings in her jewelry box but she was nice to the woman who had given birth to her.
“Can you believe she gave me quarter caret earrings, how cheap can you get,” Emma giggled to her sister later and Cassie laughed. Emma put them in her drawer and forgot about them. All of her earrings in her box were half caret or higher, she would never wear quarter caret; that was for a baby for Christ’s sake. Emma looked at the deed for the Jewelry Mart and the key-card that her fathers had given her for her birthday.
“Wow, I can’t believe the dads gave you the jewelry store for your birthday,” Cassie gushed and Emma sighed.
“I know, all of those diamonds are mine, I can wear anything I want, tomorrow, let’s go out and I’ll let you have anything you want,” she told her and Cassie grinned.
“Okay; that sounds great to me, can I have an emerald ring?” she asked and Emma nodded.
“Sure, you can have anything, let’s take all the girls and I’ll let everyone have something they want, just one thing but whatever they want,” she said as generous as her father. Cassie grinned.
“They’ll love that,” she predicted. Emma giggled.
“Oh, yeah, I’m pretty sure they will,” she declared and they laughed.
The next day the nine girls drove out to the Jewelry Mart and Emma used the key-card to let them in and turned on the lights and off the alarm with the code her dad had given her and all the girls were impressed.
“Oh, my God, Emma, I can’t believe you own this store, look at all the diamonds,” May gushed. She hugged her friend and they all giggled. Emma twirled around.
“My dads are so wonderful, they said when I was younger that I could have this store but I really didn’t believe it,” she said. Cassie grinned.
“Our dads would never lie, silly goose,” she told her and everyone nodded. They spent four hours looking over everything and finally everyone decided on rings. Emma wouldn’t let them get engagement rings though, she insisted that they had to wait until they got engaged for those but they all picked out nice and very expensive precious stones and were very happy and drove home. Harry grinned at them at dinner.
“Did you two have fun shopping today?” he teased and they both giggled and showed their rings. Jake smiled.
“You didn’t let anyone get an engagement ring did you, baby girl?” he asked and Emma shook her head.
“No, Dad said those were special rings like wedding bands and only for getting married,” she told him and Jake smiled at his husband and waved his fork.
“I should have known you’d tell her that,” he said and everyone laughed.
“I set Emma up with a computer program so she could become an expert gemologist, and she’s going to learn how to cut gemstones,” Harry said proudly and Emma beamed. Jake nodded.
“That’s wonderful, Emma, I’m very proud of you, that’s more than Gloria knows how to do and get your dad to teach you how to pierce ears so you can do that, people will come to your store instead of hers if you know how to do that,” he told her and she nodded.
“I still want the toy store,” Danny informed them and Harry nodded.
“That’s fine, you can have the toy store and the toy factory,” he said and Danny grinned.
“Well, we still want the Coke plant,” Sean said and Ryan nodded. Jake grinned.
“That’s great, you boys will always have a job, everyone loves Coke and you can start charging for it when you take it over,” he said and they grinned. Harry giggled.
“Oh, people are going to love that,” he declared and they all laughed. Cassie sighed.
“Well, I know Adam wants the Liquor Mart and he’ll take the wine factory but I have no idea what I want,” she complained. Harry shrugged.
“We have a lot of stores and factories, why not take a couple and see what you like best,” he suggested and she grinned.
“Can I have Macys?” she teased and he made a face.
“Yeah, right,” he teased and everyone laughed.
“Okay, I’ll take Nabisco and Bed, Bath and Beyond and the Crystal store,” she said and everyone laughed. She giggled.
“Well, Nabisco I won’t have to operate but once a year so the other two will keep me busy,” she said and Harry nodded.
“Okay, we’ll give you those,” he said and Jake nodded. She grinned. Jackson laughed.
“Okay, then I’ll take the candy factory, Ethan Allen and Borders,” he said and Emma frowned.
“Then I want two stores, can I have the gay bookstore?” she asked. Harry giggled.
“You’re not gay,” he said. She shrugged.
“It should stay in the family,” she said. All the kids looked confused.
“Why wouldn’t it stay in the family?” Cassie asked. She looked at Harry.
“Well, aren’t you going to give some of the stores to your other kids, the ones you made with all the women?” Emma asked and he grinned and looked at Jake who grinned. Adam laughed.
“How in the world did you know that, Emma?” Jake asked. She shrugged.
“Because I know how generous Dad is, he wouldn’t give us stores and not give his brothers and sisters, dad’s brothers and sisters and his biological children stores,” she said wisely and Harry giggled.
“You’re right, darling, as soon as you children pick out the stores that you want, Jake and I are giving out the rest of the stores, except for Macys, Sports World and the Jeep Dealership to the rest of the kids that you’ve named,” he told them. They all laughed. Fran giggled.
“You’ve always been generous, Harry, I guess you can’t help it,” she stated and he shrugged.
The kids picked their stores and Cassie decided she only wanted Bed, Bath and Beyond and Jackson decided he only wanted Ethan Allen and the gay bookstore along with their factories. Harry sent out an email to all of the kids with a list of stores that were available and arranged a meeting at his house and divided them up. Everyone was surprised and extremely happy and assured him and Jake that they had free shopping for the rest of their lives in their stores. When the town found out what they had done they were astonished. Carl, whose son Victor had gotten the Home Depot was very happy.
“Harry, I can’t tell you how happy Victor is and how touched I am by your generosity, you didn’t have to do this,” he gushed and Harry shrugged.
“Jake and I had a lot of stores and they’re my kids too, biologically and it’s a small town, Carl, we all live together and we’re so close, it’s the least I could do, anyway I’ve got plenty of stores,” he confessed and Carl nodded.
“Well, now all you’ve got left is Macys and that’s a great store and Jake has his Sports World and you can have free shopping at all of our stores, mine and Jenna’s, anything you need, buddy,” he offered and they shook hands. Harry laughed as he walked away. Carl had finally gotten his Home Depot in the family, he was glad he had made the man happy, that’s why he had selected Victor for that store, he knew it would make Carl happy.


The following year was forty-two sixty-eight and they had their twenty year anniversary of their wake-up and arrival on the planet and they planned a big celebration and party. Harry brought out some of the whiskey and other alcohol that he had made in the barrels and everyone gasped at how delicious it was and how wonderful they would never run out. David Marshall, whose liquor store was empty complained and suggested that Harry should share it with him but no one listened to him.
“You own a liquor store, David, and I know you have the recipes for most of the liquor you sell, why don’t you make your own liquor?” Harry suggested at the town meeting. David snorted.
“I don’t know how to make whiskey and even if I could figure it out, you have to age it in an oak barrel and I don’t know how to make barrels,” he snapped. Harry shrugged.
“You can find out how to make barrels on the computer, that’s where I looked up how to make my barrels,” he told him. Gloria stood up.
“I don’t see why you just can’t share some of your liquor with us, you have a lot of it,” she said. Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. Kate stood up.
“Gloria, you and you husband are idiots, now sit down and stop whining. If you want some liquor to sell in your liquor store, you’re going to have to learn how to make it yourself, for God’s sake, no one is going to give you some,” she told her. Gloria made a face and sat down. David glared at Kate. Everyone grinned.
All of the kids stared at the pictures of their parents and grandparents with awe and wonder, they had really slept for a hundred years and traveled millions of miles away from other humans and Harry found them this wonderful planet to live on. It was a miracle!
Then Harry took the stage looking very handsome in his black tux and all of his kids looked so proud of him and he began his tale.
“I was having the most wonderful dream,” he began and all of the original sixty-seven survivors stood up and clapped. All the kids were astonished. Then Harry bowed and continued. “I was running through a field of high yellow-green grass and I came to the shore of a beautiful lake of sparking blue crystal water and before me were six high cliffs with six cascading waterfalls.”
He told the whole story and the kids were all entranced and they laughed at some parts and they cried at others and the girls all felt it was so romantic him and Jake falling in love at first sight. Everyone got up and told their story about first waking up and realizing they had been asleep for a hundred and three years and the accident and children realized that maybe their parents were cooler than they had thought. To go through something like that and survive was pretty damned cool. And to come to a new planet where they had nothing and build this whole town and houses and survive that first winter; that was pretty cool.
Everyone stood and cheered and clapped when the story was over and a few people cried and everyone hugged one another and then dinner was served. When Harry got back to his table Jake grabbed him for a big kiss.
“That was great, babe, you did a great job,” he said and kissed him. All of his kids beamed at him. Kate came over to hug him.
“You did a terrific job, Henry,” she gushed and they hugged.
“Thanks, Mom,” he said and kissed her. Everyone was hugging and kissing everyone that night. It was a wonderful celebration.
At the next town meeting Harry announced something that had been bugging him for years.
“And what would that be, Harry?” Max asked him dourly.
“We have this nice town, but hasn’t anyone realized that we have no sidewalks, no traffic lights and so road signs of any kind?” he said and they all looked at one another and laughed.
“We didn’t realize that, Harry, we should fix that right away,” Carl stood up and declared. Everyone agreed.
So the first thing they did after spring planting was get together and build sidewalks and put up traffic lights, benches along the sidewalks for shoppers and road signs. It made the town look so much prettier and Harry had this unique device that painted on the sidewalk neat designs like flowers and rainbows and everyone had to have one by their stores.
Then Harry emailed them one morning and told them all to meet him at Toys R Us for a little surprise and when they got there they were astonished to find he had put up a large mural on the side of the building of the Roosevelt flying in space on one side. On the back side was a list of every crew member and on the other side was the planet Eden with the continent Eden in view, they were fantastic.
“My God, Henry, these are incredible, it must have taken you days to put these up,” his mother Kate gushed. All of his kids nodded.
“It took him two weeks but we helped,” Emma told them. Everyone was impressed.
This was the year Emma and Jackson had to make their decision about moving out. Their sixteen year-old cousins Stevie, Stephanie, May and Martin all wanted to share houses with them.
“I’ll share with Stephanie and May and you’ll share with the two boys,” Emma said and Jackson nodded so they made a pro and con list. Emma wrote them down.
“Okay, pro, we’ll be able to come and go as we please, no more curfew,” she wrote down and they both shrugged. They had a pretty reasonable curfew now and after dinner they didn’t like to go out much anyway.
“Okay, con, we’d have to do our own laundry,” she wrote it down and they both frowned. No more Dad or Fran to drop off clean little piles of freshly folded clothes on their beds; that would suck.
“Okay, another con, we’d have to do all the cooking, cleaning and housework and you know the twins, they’re both pigs, Martin and May are neat, but Stevie and Stephanie are totally gross and disgusting and we’d be picking up after them constantly,” she said and wrote it down. Jackson made a face.
“That wouldn’t be bad if they kept it in their own room but I’ve seen their crap all over Aunt Kathleen’s living room, their house is nowhere as clean as our house,” he said and they both frowned. They liked their clean, neat house, even if all the kids made fun of it. It was nice to come home to a tidy place where you knew where everything was and you didn’t have to play search for the view-screen remote like you did at Aunt Kathleen’s where it was always getting lost.
“We’d also have to make our own yogurt, butter, cheese, ice cream and do all of our own food prep. I know we help Dad and Fran now and we know how to do it, but if we move out, we’d have to do it all and I don’t think the twins know how to do it. Martin does but they don’t,” Emma informed him. Jackson frowned.
“They’re really not ready to move out,” he said and she nodded. Then she gasped.
“Oh, my God, Jackson, green milk, you’re going to have to drink green milk until your name comes up on the lottery for a white cow,” she informed him and he shook his head.
“Well, that settles it, I’m not moving out until I get a white cow, there’s no way I’m drinking green milk or green cheese or green anything, I’m a white milk man,” he declared and she giggled.
“If you want to be a healer you have to drink green milk,” Emma reminded him. He sighed.
“There are plenty of healers in this town, they don’t need me,” he said firmly and it was decided, they would wait until they were eighteen to move out or until he got a white cow. They told the other kids who were slightly relieved and then they went into the study to tell their fathers.
“Dads, can we talk to you for a minute?” Jackson asked solemnly and Harry felt his heart drop, this was it, they were going to tell them that they wanted a house. He nodded and Emma and Jackson sat in the chairs facing the desk. Harry sat on the edge of the desk while Jake sat in the chair. Jackson cleared his throat.
“Well, we were talking to Stevie and Stephie and them about moving out and we thought you should know our decision,” he began and both men nodded.
“We know that we’re old enough and that most kids move out at sixteen,” Emma told them. “But we listed the pros and cons and frankly we feel that we’re not ready yet to move out. I mean, Jackson’s name hasn’t come up on the white milk lottery and you know he doesn’t drink green milk and until next year or the year after when his name comes up, we won’t be ready,” she said. Harry nodded.
“We know how much Jackson loves his white milk, he’s just like his father,” he said and Jake beamed at his son who smiled at him.
“And Stevie and Stephie are pigs, Dad,” Jackson told them. “They’re slobs and they’re always throwing their clothes around the house and leaving a big mess for Aunt Kathleen to clean up and I can’t live like that. Now Martin and May are neat and they’ll make good roommates but Stevie, no way, he’ll drive me crazy so maybe in a couple of years when he’s more mature he’ll be ready to move out.” Harry nodded.
“Some boys take longer than others to mature,” he said and they both nodded.
“I can take George and Martha with me when I go can’t I?” Emma asked; her face worried. Harry nodded.
“Of course, you can, darling, they’re your cats, I gave them to you,” he told her and she smiled.
“Great, so it’s alright with you if we stay here for a couple more years?” she asked and they both nodded.
“Of course, Emma, this is your home for as long as you want to stay here,” Harry said firmly and they both looked relieved. He walked around the desk and hugged them. “Maybe you two should start helping with the cooking and food prep work more so that when you’re ready to move out you’ll know more,” he suggested and they grinned.
“Yeah and I want to bake bread with Fran and you more, I haven’t done a lot of that,” Jackson said and Harry nodded.
“That’s a great idea, Jackson, I know she’s going to bake bread tomorrow, why don’t you help her,” he said and his son grinned.
“Great, Dad, oh, well, we’re meeting the guys at the roller rink, see you later,” he said and they both left. Harry waited until they were out of sight and then he jumped up and spun around. Jake laughed and caught him. They kissed long and hard. Harry laid his head on Jake’s chest and sighed.
“Our babies are staying home for a couple more years, oh, honey, I’m so happy,” he gushed and Jake laughed.
“You do know the real reason is because of the white milk don’t you, babe?” he teased and Harry giggled.
“Yep, and the clean laundry, the cooking, food prep and the freshly baked bread,” he said smugly and Jake laughed again and kissed him.
“You do take good care of us, babe,” he told him and Harry got that look in his eyes and looked around the room. Jake shivered and cleared the desk off. Harry giggled and reached for Jakes zipper.
The whole town waited and waited but summer came and went and the kids still didn’t move out and Kate accused him of being a hypocrite and forcing his children to remain at home.
“For your information Mom, Emma and Jackson informed us that they didn’t want to move out until they were eighteen,” he informed her smugly and she was surprised.
“Eighteen, why on earth would they decide that?” she asked. He laughed.
“I’m not sure but I’m fairly certain it has something to do with the fact that Jackson only drinks white milk and his name hasn’t come up on the lottery yet,” he told her and she laughed.
“That boy takes after his father,” she said. “Oh, well, I’d give him my white cow, but then Barb would kill me. So, you get to keep your children longer than me but that doesn’t mean you’re a better parent, Henry, so don’t be acting all smug,” Harry sighed. It was just like her to read that into it, he was a better parent and that was just a fact.
“Have fun with your sheep, Mother,” he said and hung up. Lately she and Barb had taken to raising sheep with Jan and Joy whose herd had grown too large for them to handle so the two older women had taken half to help them. Now all the lesbians were known around town as the ‘sheep ladies’, Harry loved it.
“Why do our kids move out at sixteen and their kids stay home until they’re eighteen,” Linda snapped at one of the ladies weekly coffees. Myra shrugged.
“Charlie told me May wanted to move out but Emma didn’t want to, she said she wasn’t ready to move out and give up her laundry service and maid service and Harry does everything for those kids and treat them like royalty and his kids don’t want to give that up,” she informed them. Meri nodded.
“Stevie told me Jackson won’t move out until he gets a white cow, he refuses to drink green milk and since Jake refused to drink green milk he won’t let his son have his while milk cow,” she told them. Gloria laughed.
“Well, you can’t blame him for that, David and I wouldn’t give up our white milk cow for anyone,” she said and they all rolled their eyes. In the fifteen years of the lottery the selfish couple hadn’t let their precious cow get pregnant once and everyone thought that was so selfish. Linda sighed.
“Well, its not right, my Diana moved out this year and I was looking forward to Emma and Jackson moving out and now I don’t get to gloat,” she spat and everyone laughed. Shelley giggled.
“Well, I’m glad Doris moved out, that girl did nothing but talk on the damned phone to Diana and eat all the cookies and make a mess everywhere and didn’t do any housework, I hate to think of what their house is going to look like,” she stated and they all laughed again. Linda giggled.
“Well, if Diana has to do the housework then they’ll never see their floors, I don’t think I ever saw her bedroom carpet since she was ten,” she teased. Shelley grinned.
“Georgie was like that but now that he’s out on his own, I was over there the other day and it was neat and very clean, I guess since it’s his own place he wants it kept clean,” she rolled her eyes. Linda nodded.
“Paul and Victor’s place is neat like that too. Paul was such a little piggy when he was at home but when I peeked in their living room it was very neat, I was so surprised I could have died,” she said and they all shook their heads.
“Well, we have two more years to enjoy the last ones and then they’ll be gone,” Myra said with a sigh. Josie grinned.
“We could always have more, we’re going to be thirty-seven for another six hundred years,” she teased and they all rolled their eyes.
“Bite your tongue, I’m going to relax and drink martinis every day for the next fifty years before I think of kids again,” June declared and they all agreed, no more kids for at least a hundred years.
Now that all of the kids were in High School most of the adults didn’t have anything to do with their days so Harry suggested that they take up a hobby.
“What kind of a hobby?” Linda asked. He shrugged.
“We have a quilting store, you can make quilts, there’s knitting, crocheting, arts and crafts, wood working, painting, sculptures, ceramics, there is a loom store, you can learn to weave, buy a camera and take pictures, find something you like to do and do it,” he told them. They all nodded and went shopping. And some took up knitting and some arts and crafts and some everything he mentioned and the craft houses he had built soon became occupied by the adults instead of the kids and they all had fun.
The men on Farm One continued with their pastime of playing golf, tennis and hanging out at the club drinking beer and mixed drinks and making fun of the rest of the men. And of course hating Harry and making fun of him and his sons, that was their favorite pastime. Dr. George listened by never made any comments and they knew he didn’t agree with them and that pissed Max and Charles off but he was one of them so they put up with him.
“We should ask that little fagola if he brought down another golf course, I’m tired of playing this one,” Max said one day in August. Charles nodded.
“We should, hey, George why don’t you ask him, he likes you,” he suggested. George nodded.
“Sure, I’ll ask him after the next town meeting,” he told them and they all laughed.
“Yeah, I knew old George wouldn’t mind talking to that little freak,” Max muttered and Charles snickered. Bernie rolled his eyes.
“George is fine, don’t make fun of George, you might need him one day, hell, the way you drink, Max, you might need Harry one of these days,” he told him. Max glared at him.
“I’d rather die than have that little freak touch me,” he declared and everyone rolled their eyes because they knew he was talking out of his ass.
A week later, Linda was going down on him and noticed a lump on his left testicle. She gasped.
“Max, you have a bump on your nut here,” she said and he frowned.
“What, what are you talking about?” he asked and she showed him where it was and he felt it and felt his heart stop.
“It’s probably an infected gland or something, my Uncle Stan had one of those once and they had to cut it out, he was fine,” he told her and she nodded. It did kill the mood though and they went to bed without making love, they just held each other and worried.
The next day he called Dr. George and they went to the hospital for a scan and George sighed and patted his shoulder. Linda took one look at his sad face and burst into tears. Max was shocked, he was a young man and young men didn’t get sick.
“I’m sorry, Max, its testicular cancer and its spread pretty good, unless Harry can heal it, you’re going to die,” Dr. George told him. Max gasped.
“Can’t you do anything, George, this is a hospital,” he stammered. George shook his head.
“This is just a clinic really and it’s not set up for cancer or leukemia, it’s mostly for surgery and child birth; things like cancers go to the larger hospitals and we don’t have one. But don’t worry, I’m sure that Harry will be able to heal you, he brought DJ back from the dead didn’t he?” he said and they both nodded. Dr. George left them to go call Harry and the couple hugged each other and prayed.
Harry arrived twenty minutes later carrying a pitcher of green milk and smiled at them.
“Don’t worry, Max, I’ll have you fixed up and back on the golf course before you know it,” he declared and the older man attempted a smile. Dr. George grinned.
“I’m pretty sure you can fix this, Harry,” he told him. “Max, I think you’re going to have to take off your pants for this,” he said and Max frowned.
“He can’t do it over my pants?” he asked. Harry shook his head.
“Sorry Max, I know you’re going to be uncomfortable with this but I have to touch what I heal and that means I have to touch your, you know what,” he teased and Max rolled his eyes. Linda giggled. Max stood up and pulled his pants off.
“Fine, but if you tell anyone you held my balls and I’m going to run your sorry ass over,” he swore and everyone laughed. Max laid on the table and Harry stood over him and rubbed his hands together and held his testes in one hand and placed his other over his privates. Max gasped.
“Your hands are hot,” he protested. Harry nodded and closed his eyes. He saw the cancer immediately and saw where it had spread through out the man’s body.
“It’s in the liver too,” he whispered and Dr. George looked startled and looked at the scan.
“Christ, it’s spread faster than I expected,” he muttered and both Tyler’s looked scared. Then Harry pictured the cancer disappearing and Dr. George grinned as the scan showed the red dots fading away. Linda saw his smile and smiled at her husband. After about ten minutes all the red on the scanner had disappeared and all the organs looked healthy and brand new. Harry removed his hands and smiled down at Max.
“That should do it, Max, you’re all brand new,” he declared and Dr. George clapped his hands. Linda hugged Harry who grinned and reached for his green milk. Max sat up and reached for his pants and everyone laughed.
“Are you sure you got it all?” he asked and Dr. George nodded.
“Oh, yeah, he got it all and your liver’s in great shape now, you pickled it, Max, you’re going to have to cut back on the scotch,” he told him. Max nodded. He held out his hand and he and Harry shook hands.
“Thanks, Harry, I appreciate it,” he said seriously. Harry nodded.
“No problem, Max, any time, that’s what I’m here for,” he said and he carried his milk and went home. Max and Linda hugged each other and kissed. Dr. George stayed behind to do his paperwork and giggled.
“Yeah right, you’d die before you’d let him touch you, I always knew you were full of shit, Max,” George muttered and whistled as he worked. When he told Shelley that night, they both had a big laugh. Jake laughed too when Harry told him about it.
“Oh, man, you held old Max’s balls in your hand, you need to bronze that hand, babe,” he declared and Harry giggled.
“He’ll probably go home and spray Lysol on his balls,” he said and they both laughed. “What’s really funny is that for about a week, maybe eight days he’ll be thankful but then he’ll forget how I saved his miserable life and he’ll be back to calling me a fishy freak fagola again.” Jake nodded.
“Oh, well, you couldn’t let him die, that’s not you,” he stated and Harry nodded.
“Nope, he can call me anything he wants and I’ll even bring his miserable ass back from the dead, he’s a lucky bastard,” he said and they kissed.
And of course Max and Linda didn’t tell anyone about his cancer and Dr. George and Harry couldn’t so no one knew Harry had healed him so the following week when Max was back to his old tricks and making fun of that fagola only George knew he was full of shit.
After the harvest Harry sent an email to everyone telling them that they had that nice stage at the Center, why didn’t they start a theatre company and put on a play or something, maybe a musical or a band could play and entertain them, something creative that would be fun. But no one wanted to do that so the idea fizzled and he was disappointed. All the kids wanted to do was plan wild sex parties and drink and he could understand how that would be fun but that had to get boring after a while.
He tried to interest some of the younger kids in it but all they wanted to do was get older so they could have their own cars to get to the hangout so they could get away from their parents, have sex and get away. His kids thought it might be cool but there weren’t enough to put on anything and they didn’t want to be the only ones doing it so he dropped it.
“Face it, babe, all these boring people want to do is drink and fuck,” Jake told him and Harry grinned and hopped up on his lap.
“Well, I like to drink and fuck too but in between that we could put on a play or do a musical or something,” he said and Jake nuzzled his neck. Ryan walked into the kitchen for a soda and saw them. He rolled his eyes and sat down to watch.
“You know I’m gay right?” he asked and they nodded. He grinned. “But really, Dads, you’ve got to give it a rest, you hang on each other all the time, don’t you ever get bored?” he asked. Harry shook his head.
“Nope, your dad is never boring, I could kiss him a hundred times a day and I’d still want that hundredth and one kiss,” he said and Ryan laughed.
“I’ve got a boyfriend,” he bragged and Jake high-fived him. Ryan blushed.
“Do we get to know the young man’s name or is it a secret?” Harry teased and Ryan shook his head.
“It’s Georgie Peters, Dr. George’s son, he’s hot don’t you think?” he asked and both fathers nodded. “I did like Paul Tyler but he’s hung up on Victor cuz they’re living together now and that’s cool, old Max would have a fit if he knew his son was gay huh?” Harry laughed.
“Oh, I’m sure he’d be delighted,” he teased and they all laughed. Emma came in the door.
“Hey, do you have any cake, I’m dying for some cake,” she yelled. Harry laughed.
“Nice to see you, darling, look in the cake tray, I think there’s some there,” he told her and she joined them at the table.
“What are you talking about?” she asked as she ate cake and milk. Ryan grinned.
“My boyfriend,” he confessed. She grinned.
“You still going out with Paul Tyler?” she asked and Harry grinned. Sean walked in the room and saw cake and helped himself.
“Nah, he’s living with Victor and they’re doing it,” he told her. Jake laughed.
“Doing it, so romantic,” he teased and they all laughed.
“He’s going out with Georgie Peters, I’m dating James Campbell,” Sean informed everyone. Harry nodded.
“All of our sons are gay, honey, isn’t that wonderful,” he gushed and they all laughed.
“And your daughters are straight,” Emma told him and he shook his head.
“I know, well, we did the best we could,” he said sadly and she rolled her eyes.
“Old Max is going to have a fit when he finds out his daughter Maribeth and Charles’s daughter Hilary are both lesbians,” Emma informed them and Jake and Harry were surprised.
“Really, oh, my goodness, oh, I wish I could be the one to tell them that,” Harry giggled. Jake slapped his ass.
“Come on, babe, be nice,” he admonished him. All the kids laughed.
“They’re biological daughters too,” Harry remarked and Jake lifted an eyebrow.
“Oh, yeah, so they can’t blame it on someone else’s genes, these are their own kids, oh, my, I wish I could be there when they find that out,” he said and everyone grinned.
Spring came and Jackson’s name came up on the lottery and he got a nice little white milk cow and named her Sissy after his grandmother. Sissy didn’t like it one little bit.
“Jackson, angel, how could you name that cow after me,” she protested. He grinned and kissed her hand.
“I named her after my favorite gal,” he said with much charm and she giggled. The little calf got a stall in the barn and he took good care of her and now that he had a while cow the six teenagers began to plan their houses in earnest. Harry let them pick two from the houses that still had food and they decided to build on Farm Six because Farm Five was getting crowded. They had to wait for the cow to grow up though and spent the next year learning everything they needed to know to live independently. Stevie and Stephie promised to clean up their acts and start living like adults and the others promised not to be such nags.
The following year they moved out when the last of the kids moved out. Some of them were on Farm Five which was Farm Road Five and Harry was glad to see them spacing them out. Stevie, Martin and Jackson moved into one house and the three girls Stephanie, May and Emma moved into another. All the parents and kids helped them build them and the barns and everyone contributed chickens and other animals they wanted.
The house was strangely empty without them and Harry wandered around for days staring around looking for them, much to the amusement of the other kids.
“Oh, you think that’s funny do you?” Jake snapped at Ryan and Sean who smirked at their dad who looked in the living room and then wandered out. They both looked sheepish.
“Sorry, Dad,” Ryan muttered and his brother nodded. Jake got up and found Harry staring out the kitchen window wiping tears from his eyes. He wrapped his strong arms around him and nuzzled his neck. Harry sighed and laid his head on his shoulder.
“I know they’re old enough to take care of themselves, honey, but I just miss them so much,” he whispered. Jake grinned.
“I miss them too, babe, but they’re only a few miles away and they will visit,” he told him softly. Harry giggled.
“I feel like the mother in one of those old sappy songs,” he said and they both laughed. Then Jake’s hand moved lower and Harry sighed. “Well, that will take my mind off of it for a while,” he teased. Jake grinned.
“I try to do my part,” he teased and Harry turned around in his arms and wrapped his arms around his neck.
“Oh, would this be considered a pity fuck then, Mr. Talbert?” he teased him. Jake laughed.
“Only if you took pity on me, babe, I’m so horny its going to break off if you don’t help me out,” he declared and they both laughed. Cassie made a rude noise from the hallway.
“You two have a bedroom for this sort of thing, take it in there,” she retorted and they grinned at her.
“That’s an excellent idea, Cassie, thank you, darling,” Harry told her and Jake picked him up in his strong arms and carried him past her and she giggled.
“Jesus; you two never give it a rest do you?” she teased and the boys looked up and laughed.
“Oh, man, its not even bedtime,” Sean protested and they all laughed. Harry giggled and they shut the door.
“What about dinner?” Adam shouted. They didn’t hear anything. Danny laughed.
“Fran, what’s for dinner?” he shouted and Fran came to the foyer.
“I thought your dad was cooking tonight?” she asked. All the kids pointed to the hallway and laughed. She laughed. “I guess I’ll make some chicken, how does that grab you,” she asked. Sean got up and hugged her.
“That grabs me so good, I’ll help,” he declared and she laughed.
“I’ll accept that offer, come with me, Master Sean,” Fran said and they all laughed again. They ate and saved some in the oven for their dads who they knew would be hungry later.
They saw them a few days later at Church and they looked so happy Harry almost cried but then he remembered what his mothers had gone through with him and felt almost guilty. He turned to Jake and hugged him.
“Why do I want to ask my mother to forgive me?” he whispered and Jake laughed.
“I feel the same way babe, it must be guilt,” he reasoned and they both laughed. Everyone who was expecting to see them miserable and sad was disappointed, especially Max and Charles and they walked into the town meeting in a huff.
They were in the middle of the meeting and listening to Max and Charles complain about weeding and the inconvenience of the force fields when they heard a sharp whistling sound followed by a thump. Startled, Max shut up.
“What the hell was that?” he asked. Everyone stood up and rushed to the door and down the hallway. Kids who had been playing outside came rushing in.
“Things are falling from the sky,” Yvette Jackson shouted. They all rushed outside to see it was true; things were falling out of the sky.
“Holy crap, what is that?” Max shouted.
“Meteors,” Harry shouted. “We need to get away from here as fast as we can,” he shouted and everyone rushed to their cars. All of his kids got into his SUV and Jake drove.
“Where should we head, babe?” he asked. Harry looked up at the sky.
“They’re falling at a northeast trajectory so we should head south,” he told him, and then he pointed south. “That way, honey,” he said. “As fast as you can go.” He used his cell phone and called everyone to tell them to head south. And everyone listened and followed them. When they had gone fifty miles Harry decided that was safe enough and they pulled over and stopped. Everyone pulled over and got out of their cars to watch the sky show and worry about their houses.
“Bo and Gertie must be going insane,” Harry whispered to Jake who nodded. But as much as they loved their dogs, getting their kids out of danger was more important. All the kids began to cry thinking about their animals at home. Harry and Jake hugged them.
“Don’t worry, George and Martha will have sense enough to hide and get out of the way, in fact, I bet our houses are going to be just fine,” Harry told them. Emma nodded.
“I hope so, poor Jackson just got that white cow,” she sniffed. Cassie nodded and Jake hugged her. They waited until the storm ended and then drove home slowly; it was like everyone was scared to see the damage caused. They drove by the Community Center, Hospital and Vet Clinic first and a big meteor was sitting in the middle of the Vet Clinic and another in the middle of the parking lot of the Center and another in the field. Harry sighed.
“You know if we take that big one out of the field and line it with cement-steel, that would be perfect for our fish when we go fishing,” he said and everyone laughed.
“Good idea, Harry,” Brian said. They drove across the street where luckily all three buildings were undamaged.
“Oh, thank God,” Reverend Milo said and everyone nodded.
“Let’s check out Farm Two since it’s the first farm on the right,” Harry suggested and everyone agreed. They drove out of town and headed for Farm Two.
“Holy crap, look at my house,” Reverend Phillip said and everyone agreed that a big meteor in the middle on you house did not improve on it.
“Don’t worry, if we can’t fix it, I’ll give you another house,” Harry told him.
“Thanks, Harry,” Stuart said.
“I think we’ll need a new house too, Harry,” Doug remarked and everyone laughed. Lily sighed.
“I hope our cats got out,” she said and everyone got out of their cars and called for her cats. They found them hiding in the barn.
“All that whistling noise and crashing probably scared them,” Harry said and they all felt relief.
The group moved to Farm Four which was next directly across the road where a barn had been hit and logs were spewed all around. Dr. Jackson sighed.
“Shit, there went our white cow,” he snapped. Sissy sighed.
“Oh, well, we didn’t need a big house anymore with all the kids moved out,” Jan said when they saw the big meteor crashed in the middle of their house. Harry nodded. All of his kids were happy because all of their dogs barked and greeted them at the door and were very happy to see them. Cassie found both of her cats hiding in the closet and Harry left them all home with Jake as he continued surveying the damage.
Farm One was the most hit with three barns gone and four houses hit and they were pissed. Max and Charles lost both their houses and their barns and were very angry men because now they had to drink green milk again. Harry thought it was justice and there was no way they could blame this on him and laughed all the way home to tell Jake. Luckily for everyone none of the stores got hit because the storm didn’t go that far south.
Crops were destroyed of course but not all the fields were hit and it was summer time so they had plenty of time to plant enough to last for the winter. They spent the next month replacing houses and barns and with all the kids helping, it was a community affair and Harry had plenty of houses for people to choose from. He made sure none of the adults got houses with packaged food though; he didn’t like them that much. For the two farms that lost their wheat crops he took flour from the Nabisco factory and said everyone would have to plant an extra wheat field the following year to replace it or they wouldn’t have any cookies or crackers the next year. No one was happy with that but they did love their cookies and crackers so they all agreed to the deal. He stated quite firmly that any farm who didn’t contribute flour would not receive any products from the factory and they all knew he meant it.
Cassie and Adam moved out the next year and they didn’t have to wait for a white cow, both were just fine with green ones. Most of the kids were happy with green cows and green milk; it was their parents with the white milk hang-ups. And so far none of the kids had shown any healing or telekinesis abilities but Dr. George said it was early in their development considering that they were born on the planet and their bodies were in turned to its cycle. But both he and Harry expected them to develop both abilities as they got older.
Cassie moved out with her best friend Megan and the twins Shannon and Sharon got their own house. Adam moved out with CJ and Isaac and the three boys were reportedly swingers and their house filled with one party after another.
Losing two more children was just as hard for Harry and he wandered the house like he had before only this time no one snickered, he was much too sad. Fran was sad too and could be found weeping that she had lost her babies. The two of them helped each other through the crisis and prepared for the day when they lost two more. Jake felt the pain too and he and Harry clung to each other at night and felt sorry for their parents, now they knew what they had put them through.
Harry took his mothers some wild flowers he went all the way to Mykonos to pick for them. Jake took some to his mother. They both gushed over them. Kate eyed him suspiciously.
“Why did you bring us flowers, Henry, what’s wrong?” she asked and he laughed.
“Nothing’s wrong, Mom, I just wanted to bring you some flowers for your greenhouse. These are special, and we went all the way to Mykonos to get them for you two and Sissy,” he told her and Barb smiled.
“That’s awfully nice of you, Mouse, to go all the way to Mykonos to get us flowers,” she gushed. Kate still looked suspicious.
“Why would you and Jake go all the way to Mykonos just to get us flowers?” she wondered. Harry giggled.
“If you must know, they’re a peace offering,” he said and she gave him a triumphant smile. Barb shook her head.
“We haven’t had a fight, why would you give us a peace offering?” she asked. Harry kissed them both on the cheek.
“Jake and I feel terrible for all the pain we caused you years ago when we moved out and we wanted to ask your forgiveness,” he confessed and they both laughed.
“Oh, you’re feeling that pain now, we understand,” Kate said laughing. Harry laughed too.
“I know they’re eighteen and we were much younger, but its really hard letting them go,” he admitted and they both hugged him.
“Oh, Mouse, we understand,” Barb said and wiped her eyes.
“This house is so empty without our brats running around, now you know why we were so angry about you giving them those damned houses, but you were right, we couldn’t keep them at home if they were determined to move out,” she confessed. Kate nodded and sighed. She looked around the kitchen.
“This house is neater though,” she said and they all laughed.
They kept Ryan at home an extra year because he wanted to wait and share a house with his brother Sean so the two of them moved out together and that left only Danny at home. Harry was much better at losing his children and didn’t wander at all, but with nothing left to do, he began to look around for a hobby. All the people began to look around for hobbies.
“What are you looking at, babe?” Jake asked one April day in forty-two seventy-four, they had been on the planet now for twenty-six years and Harry was forty years old but really a hundred and forty-three. He looked up from his computer and grinned.
“Something interesting to build or do, now that all the kids are grown up and leaving us, we’ve got to find something interesting to do,” he told him. Jake nodded and sat next to him.
“You find anything?” he asked. Harry shrugged.
“I found a ski resort, but I don’t want to build it here, we get such awful blizzards, I was thinking maybe we could build it over in Sherwood and go skiing there,” he said. Jake grinned.
“That might be fun, they have terrific mountains over there, but the only way to get there would be your ship, do you want to spend your time taking people back and forth during the winter to go skiing?” he asked. Harry shrugged.
“What else do I have to do and I could do it like every other weekend, take one group over and bring one group back,” he reasoned and Jake nodded.
“That sounds good, hell, why not, we love to ski and the kids do, let’s build the Talbert Lodge and we won’t charge anyone to stay there, they just have to wash their own damned sheets,” he said and Harry giggled.
“Yeah, and only family gets to stay in the grand room,” he told him and Jake kissed him.
Harry sent out an email the next day telling everyone about the Ski Lodge and asking for volunteers to fly with him to Sherwood to build it and he got a lot of volunteers, especially among the kids who always loved to build something. So they flew off to Sherwood and picked the closest mountain range that Harry had named the Jackson Range after his son and they built the Lodge. It was two stories with a dining hall, kitchen and bar and very nice. They also built a log barn so people could bring their cows if they wanted fresh milk in the winter and Harry promised to build the ski lift when the snow fell and they saw how the slopes went. Everyone thought it was the best idea he had had in a long time and they had the best time building it.


Now that everyone was out of school and had a lot of free time people began to go exploring Eden And Eden was a very large continent; it took them several years to see all of it and to map all of it. They went camping and hiking, fishing on lakes and rivers. They found out that it didn’t snow at all in the winter on the East Coast and that there was a big swamp in the Northeast filled with all kinds of giant lizards that didn’t bite. They found coffee in the south and tea on a little island off the southern coast so they could get them without going all the way to Savannah. They found some really great, long rivers that ran the whole distance of the continent and went rafting and high mountain peaks to climb.
Danny finally moved out when he was twenty but only because the other kids put the pressure on him too but he didn’t go far. He asked Harry if he could move into the house next door and, of course, his dad said yes, so, Danny, to no surprise of his siblings who always knew he was stuck up Harry’s ass, moved into Jewel’s old house and even shared the barn with his dads. They saw him every morning when they milked their cows and it was a very pleasant way for them to start the day.
When the exploring was over Jake decided he was bored and he didn’t know what to do with himself so Harry sat him down for a talk.
“So, honey, what did you want to be when you grew up?” he asked him solemnly. Jake laughed.
“Oh, Harry, let’s be serious,” he said and started to get up from the chair. Harry grinned and grabbed his hand and brought him back to the chair.
“I am being serious, honey, sometimes what you really wanted to do as a small boy is what you need to be doing as a man,” he informed him. “I seem to remember someone saying they wanted to become a Vet and go to work with their dad, why don’t you do that?” he asked him. Jake looked surprised.
“Because there’s no Veterinarian College on Eden would be a good reason, babe,” he answered. Harry grinned.
“Yes, but there is a really good computer generated program with three-d teaching screens that I can set up for you in the study and it will be just like you’re at Veterinarian College,” he told him. Jake looked impressed.
“But I never finished High School, how am I going to learn all that without a normal education?” he asked. Harry grinned.
“I finished High School and College with six degrees I can help, plus Jake, you’ve got thirty thousand years to do it in, I bet it won’t take you that long,” he teased and Jake laughed.
“I bet it won’t take me more than a hundred,” he boasted and they kissed.
So Harry set up the program and turned the study into a Vet’s office complete with all the diagnostic equipment and tools. He put the program on the computer and they even scanned a green cow and bull so Jake could learn about them and Harry made up a program to study them. Then Jake began to study and it was hard at first but he found it fascinating to learn all about the different parts of the animals and how they worked. Then he learned about all the diseases they could get and how to treat and diagnose them and about vaccines and tests and soon he was studying like mad and Harry was helping all the way.
Everyone leaned not to bother them between certain hours because Jake was going to school and everyone prayed he would become a Vet real soon because they were tired of taking their dogs to Dr. Jackson who hated them. He was proud of his son and encouraged him every time he came over and they talked about everything and it soon became apparent to Jake that he was beginning to know more than his dad and that tickled him. Especially about green cows, his dad hated the green cows because they drooled so much and he hated treating them. So when they got sick they usually died because he hadn’t a clue as to what was wrong with them. So when Jake became a green cow expert and people started to realize that, they began calling him whenever their green cows got sick and he would rush over and try to figure out what was wrong. Occasionally he was wrong and the cow died anyway, but more often he was right and the animal got better. Everyone began calling him Dr. Talbert even before he took the test.
Jake took the Veterinarian’s License’s Examination in forty-two eighty-six, he was a hundred and fifty-six, which meant he was really fifty-three and he had been studying for nine years. He scored a ninety-eight on the same exam his father had scored a barely passing seventy-seven. Everyone in town came to the celebration party Harry threw for him and looked over his award winning test paper with all of its correct answers, he had only missed two questions and they were both on elephants and they didn’t have any elephants on Eden so who cared that he had missed them.
“I’m so proud of you, honey,” Harry gushed and kissed him. His dad shook his hand.
“Dr. Talbert, it should be Dr. Jackson like me, but I’ll take Dr. Talbert,” he said and everyone laughed.
“Thank God, it’s Dr. Talbert,” Jackson exclaimed and they all laughed again. His granddad glared at him.
“Jackson Jackson is a fine name,” he declared and Ryan and Sean giggled.
“Oh, man, the things we could have done with that name,” they both said at once and Harry laughed.
“They would have made their brother’s life a living hell, Jackson, thank God, Jake took my name,” he told him and Dr. Jackson grinned.
“I suppose living with those two ornery rascals was enough punishment for anyone,” he retorted and they picked him up and hugged him while he protested and laughed. All of his grandsons except for Danny were taller than he was and he loved it. Adam was the tallest being an amazing six feet four inches tall and the tallest man on the planet.
Violet watched the happy family and made her usual face. All seven men were a wonder to see, all tall and handsome. And the girls were both tall and beautiful, Harry and Jake had the most attractive children on the planet and together they were stunning and a little bit over-whelming. They all dressed well and looked good and knew it, having the confidence of growing up knowing that they were loved and they were all well-adjusted and happy adults. They had done a fine job at raising them. Why did she want to go over and smack all of them in their fantastic looking faces?
“You look like you’re swallowed a dead fish, what’s wrong with you?” Susie asked as she stood beside her used to be best friend. Susie was living with Pearl Jackson these days, the two were thick as thieves and more than a few people suspected they were lesbians. Violet glared at her, she’d never forgiven her for moving out and leaving her in that big house all alone.
“Why are you speaking to me, I thought you said you were never going to?” she sneered. Susie sighed.
“Violet, this planet is too small to hold a grudge, can’t we at least be social?” she said sweetly. Violet shook her head.
“Why don’t you go back to Pearl where you belong, you traitor,” she snapped. Susie sighed.
“Fine, we were going to invite you to a party we’re having but I guess you wouldn’t want to come to one of our parties,” she snapped back. Violet laughed.
“I don’t come to dyke parties,” she declared in a loud voice and a few people looked over at them. Susie glared at her.
“That’s funny, I could have sworn that was you I saw eating Maggie Patterson’s pussy late week at Gloria’s sex party,” she said just as loud and Violet gasped and went to slap her but Pearl was there and grabbed her arm.
“No one slaps my gal,” she whispered into Violet’s ear and squeezed hard on her wrist. Violet gasped again in pain and Pearl laughed and let go of her wrist. Then she and Susie walked away. “I don’t know why you bother with that twisted bitch, Susie,” Pearl said loudly and a few people snickered. Violet’s sharp tongue had won her more than a few enemies. She rubbed her wrist and glared at the two girls.
The following Monday Jake put on a suit and tie and drove to the Vet Clinic to work in the office next to his dad’s office. They had no receptionist but didn’t need one as the people called before they came and set up their appointments a day or two before. Jake took over all the dogs and Dr. Jackson took the cats and of course Jake handled most of the life stock since Dr. Jackson wasn’t interesting in treating cows, sheep or lambs. Harry put their names on the outside wall in big black letters and Dr. Jackson came first because he was the oldest but Jake’s name was a tenth bigger which no one but they knew.
“Harry, shame on you and you call me a rascal,” Jake teased when he found out. Harry giggled.
“You’re my honey and you scored higher on the test so your name should be bigger,” he reasoned. Then he looked around the office. “Ever do it in a Vet’s office?” he asked suggestively, his purple eyes half-closed and slanty. Jake grinned and locked the door.
“No, but I think the examination table’s the perfect height,” he whispered harshly, sweat breaking out all over him. Harry loosened Jake’s tied which he knotted perfectly that morning and pulled him into the exam room.
“I can see that, honey, and it has straps too, I love straps,” he said huskily and Jake ripped his clothes off, he loved straps too. Harry got up on the table on his hands and knees and put his hands in the straps and tried to get out.
“I’ve been a bad little puppy,” he cooed. Jake looked at that perfect ass, at the perfect height and buried his face in it and began licking. Harry groaned and began wiggling around, trying to get loose. The more he wiggled, the more Jake got aroused, but the time Harry was ready; Jake was in a frenzy. And he didn’t need any lube, Harry was more than ready. He positioned himself and drove right in, they both squealed with pleasure and Harry rocked back and forth to get them started.
“Oh, God, Jake, that feels so good,” he moaned. Jake grinned and held on to Harry’s hips and patted his ass cheeks nice and hard.
“Oh babe, you’re so tight, oh Harry, I love you, babe,” he groaned. When they both found release they shouted a bit and Dr. Jackson came to the office door to see what the noise was about. When he found it locked he knocked.
“Jake, you alright in there, Son?” he called out. Jake laughed.
“Yeah Dad, we’re fine, Harry just tripped, but he’s fine, we’ll be out in a minute,” he called out and they both laughed and rushed for their clothes.
“Your dad would shit if he knew what we were doing in here,” Harry giggled. Jake slapped his ass causing another giggle.
“Well, we just won’t tell him will we, babe?” he teased and pulled him in close for a long deep kiss. “Have I told you today how much I love you?” he asked softly and Harry wrapped his arms around Jake’s neck and sighed.
“I love you so much, Jake,” he whispered and they kissed again. They stayed like that for a while and then went home, saying goodnight to Dr. Jackson in the parking lot.
The next years passed by quickly. Jake was busy with the animals and the clinic and Harry was busy with the house and the kids and the stores.
Everyone showed up in the fields though for the planting of crops and the harvests. No one could pass those up. Fran moved out of the big house and into her own house way out in the woods. From the woman who was too scared to live by herself, she had grown up also during the years. She and Edna had a thing over the years and sometimes they living together and sometimes they lived along. Some of the married couples did the same, they never got a divorce but sometimes they separated for a few years. Joon and Kathleen shared a house for twenty years leaving their two husbands to share one and the two men had girls in and out like crazy while the two women only had each other.
Then Danny fell of a mountain when they were climbing and Harry had to rush in with the Elizabeth and heal his youngest son.
“I’m sorry, Dad, guess I forgot to buckle my harness,” Danny rasped and blood came out of his mouth. Harry smiled and drank a lot of green milk. Jake held his son’s hand.
“That’s okay, Son, Dad’s here and we’ll get you fixed right up,” he said softly. Harry rubbed his hands together and put one on Danny’s chest and the other on his belly where he thought the bleeding might be coming from. He closed his eyes and went inside and the bleeding was all over but mainly in his belly like he thought. He healed everything one by one and slowly Danny closed his eyes and smiled as the pain went away. Then Harry drank some more milk and healed the two broken legs and one broken arm and Danny was just fine. Everyone cheered and hugged and Danny insisted on climbing the stupid mountain again with his Dads at his side. When they reached the top everyone cheered and hugged. Danny turned to Harry.
“If I hadn’t gotten up here, I would have never climbed again,” he told him. Harry nodded and hugged him.
“I know, Son, I’m proud of you,” he whispered.
After than though Harry was scared to go too far from the Elizabeth and kept his cell phone with him always in case on of the kids needed him to heal them, he lived in constant fear that one of them would die and he couldn’t bring them back. He kept this fear to himself though and didn’t share it with anyone, he didn’t want to worry Jake and he certainly didn’t want to confine in Reverend Milo and Reverend Phillip was a bit of a gossip and he didn’t trust him.
Before anyone knew it fifty years had passed and they were all older and slightly bored when another spring came around and it was planting season again. The thirty-two people of Farm Four gathered in the first field to plant once again and looked at one another and laughed.
“Haven’t we done this before?” Kate remarked and Barb grinned and held her hand.
“Just once or twice, dear,” she said. Harry smiled at his mothers.
“Well, I’ll take the wheat field with Jake and everyone else pick a field and the sooner we start the sooner we get done,” he told them in his usual cheerful tone and everyone groaned.
“Do you have to be so cheerful?” Violet snapped. He rolled his eyes.
“No, we can all be as miserable as you, Miss Violet, that will make the day go a whole lot faster,” he declared and Roger laughed.
“No one can be as miserable as Violet,” he said and they all laughed. She glared at him and climbed on her tractor.
“I’ll start in the corn field,” she said and drove away. Mike rolled his eyes.
“Right next to the wheat, how did I know she’d start there?” he whispered to Davy who grinned.
“I’ll help her and count how many times she stops and stares at Jake and Harry,” he snickered and they high-fived.
After the official planting, some of them got together and planted barley and hops for the beer and Harry and Jake planted extra corn and potatoes so they could make a batch of whiskey and vodka to replace some that had been used. They also trimmed their juniper berry bushes. Then they flew over to Savannah to check on their cactus and gathered up a bunch of kids to help them pick nuts, coffee and tea and divided them up. Everyone was happy about that and everyone was used to purple peanut butter by now
The following Sunday everyone was in church, it was basically the only time the whole community got together barring the holidays before the split up again to go off exploring on their own or do their own thing. Weeding and daily stuff was done on a schedule and the kids were pretty relaxed about it. So were the adults, everyone took turns and no one complained about some one missing a turn, they just took their place and the person who missed their turn took that person’s turn. They all had it down to a fine art after seventy-eight years on the planet.
Everyone was enjoying Reverend Milo’s official ‘Welcome to Spring,’ sermon when they heard a strange humming sound outside. Harry instantly thought of the Galactican’s and rushed outside prepared to do battle. Everyone rushed outside to find a spacecraft landing in the field beyond the parking lot. Max gasped.
“Do you think its Jewel and she’s come back to visit her daughter?” he asked and Cassie’s face lit up. Harry shook his head and put his arm around his daughter.
“It’s the wrong kind of craft, darling,” he told her gently and her face fell. Jake put his arm around her and Adam came to her side and hugged her.
Everyone watched as a ramp came down and three people walked down, two men and a women, all dressed in suits and ties, the men in black and gray and the woman in dark blue. Max and Charles stepped forward to greet them and everyone listened to first contact.
“Welcome to Edenville, I’m Mayor Max Tyler and this is assistant mayor Charles Baxter Senior, what can we do for you?” Max inquired politely. The man in gray stepped forward, held out his hand and smiled.
“Good morning, Max, I’m Mayor Jim Daniels and this is Dr. James Bentley and Secretary Mona Harrison. We’re Alterians from the planet Alteria and we need your help desperately,” he said. “May we come into your Community Center and talk with all of you?” Max looked at Charles who nodded and everyone went back into the Center and took their usual seats in the meeting room. Harry didn’t like the looks of these people at all but he kept his opinion to himself. The three people sat in the front with Max, Charles and Dr. George. Mayor Daniels stood up and faced them.
“I represent about eighty-five thousand Alterians who are on a colony ship now in orbit above your fine planet and we need a home,” he informed them. Everyone looked at one another and some of them smiled. More people after all of these years was exciting news. The Mayor turned to the view-screen and showed them the ship in orbit and they all gasped when they saw it had been severely damaged.
“As you can see our ship has been severely damaged by an asteroid storm as we passed through this system and we fear we cannot continue to our regular destination which was a small moon on the planet Xeus,” he told them. “We were low on supplies which is why we were forced to take the short cut through this system. We prayed to our God Bali to deliver us safely but our prayers went unanswered and you are our only hope.” Mona stood up.
“There is another continent if you do not want us on this one and we would be happy to live on that one,” she offered. “We have a religious taboo against flying and we would stay on that continent out of your way and you would never have to see us again.” Harry nudged Jake and grinned.
“A religious taboo against flying but they flew to get here, that makes sense,” he whispered and Jake rolled his eyes.
“Behave, babe,” he whispered back. Harry put his hand to his face to hide his grin. Carl stood up.
“Don’t be silly, we’d love to have you on this continent, wouldn’t we folks?” he said and turned to the crowd who all smiled and nodded. The three Alterians smiled. Dr. Bentley stood up.
“Well, some of us might like the other continents, especially some of the small islands, we have fishermen with us who would like to fish there,” he informed them. Harry stood up.
“Excuse me for interrupting but if any Alterians move to Eden then the continent of Eden is the only continent they will be permitted on, the rest of the continents belong to me and I don’t want anyone living on them,” he said firmly. A few people grumbled.
“I can see why people wouldn’t like living on Savannah or I can see why you don’t want to share the Greek Islands, Henry, but are you telling us that you won’t permit people to live on Sherwood?” his mother Kate stood up and asked. Harry nodded.
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you, Mother, Sherwood is my continent and I might want to live there someday. We all might want to live there someday, we’re going to have a very long time to decide where we want to live and I like Sherwood and I don’t want a lot of people crowding it,” he stated and stressed the words ‘long time.’ A few people got it and laughed. She didn’t and frowned at him.
“For heaven’s sake, Henry, Sherwood is a very large continent, millions of people could live there comfortably, I don’t see how a few thousand Alterians could get in your way,” she insisted. He shrugged.
“It’s not up for debate, I said no and it’s final,” he said firmly and with a sigh, she sat down. Mayor Daniels looked at him and frowned.
“Who are you, what’s your name?” he asked. Harry smiled.
“My name is Harry Talbert and I see that you do indeed have a serious problem and nowhere else to go, so, yes of course you must bring your people down to Eden and make your home here, but you must do it on the continent of Eden,” he told him firmly. “But as you can see; it is a very large continent and there is plenty of room for growth, the weather on the west coast is very harsh in the winter and there is no snow on the east coast but they do get horrible bugs in the summer.”
“We don’t have to worry about weather, we have weather shields that can block out the snow easily and we really wish to build out town next to yours so that we can enjoy the company of you humans and live together in peace and harmony,” the Mayor said smoothly. Harry thought him the typical politician.
“If you need help bringing your people and their belongings down, I have a ship capable of bringing down two thousand bins at one time and we have several pilots who can help,” he offered and the three people beamed.
“That would be splendid,” the Mayor said. “We have a shortage of pilots and only three ships and they are small ones, our religion forbids flight and we had to pray very hard to permit our people to learn to fly these small ships. Once we are down, they will be destroyed.” Harry thought that a terrible waste, but it was their wacky religion and who was he to argue with that.
The three Alterians walked back to their ship to fly back to their ship in orbit and tell their people they had a new home and everyone began to talk excitingly about the new arrivals. Harry let them talk for a few minutes before he walked to the front of the room.
“Listen, everyone,” he shouted and they all turned to look at him. Max sighed.
“Now what?” he snapped. Harry smiled at him.
“Just a few words of caution before we welcome these new people to our planet,” Harry informed them. Sarek nodded. “Now, we don’t know who these Alterians are and what effect the atmosphere will have on them, if they will age the same way we are, so I think we shouldn’t mention anything about our long lives to them until we can determine that they have been affected the same way,” he suggested and his mother Kate stood up.
“I agree with you, Henry, if these Alterians aren’t affected by the atmosphere the same way we are and they age differently it could cause a serious conflict,” she told everyone. Dr. George stood up.
“I agree, we say nothing to the Alterians about our aging process until we determine what their aging process is,” he agreed. Max sighed.
“But what will we tell them?” he asked. Harry shrugged.
“There is no need to tell them anything about us and our medical history, it’s none of their business and the less they know about humans the better it will be. They’re going to outnumber us four hundred and eighty-seven to one and that number will only increase so the less they know about us the less power they’ll have over us,” he explained. Sarek nodded.
“I agree with, Harry, there is no need for the Alterians to know anything about humans or minosians, our physiology is none of their business, they are not our doctors and we won’t be going to them for medical help or services so they don’t need to know anything,” he said firmly. His wife stood up.
“I agree one hundred percent, we would be foolish to tell them anything about ourselves, even if they appear to be friendly, they are strangers and we don’t know them, you do not tell strangers things that could be used against you, that is foolish,” she stated. Everyone nodded.
“Fine, fine, we won’t tell them anything, I think you’re all being silly, but if that’s what you want to do, I’ll go along with it,” Max said and everyone nodded. Harry and Sarek went to the scuba shop and pulled all the oxygen tanks and loaded up the Elizabeth and flew up to the ship in orbit. They greeted them warmly and gave them more oxygen which they needed and Harry showed them city layouts on his engineering computer which they didn’t have and they found one they loved and when he told them he could build the roads in about three weeks they hugged him. Their ships couldn’t do that. They decided to stay in orbit while he built the roads and he and Sarek flew back down and started to dig roads and make the city.
While Harry and Sarek build roads and house plots, Mayor Daniels and Mona met with Max and Charles and the other people and formed a government and arranged a treaty and signed it. Other Alterians came down and everyone became very friendly and it looked like the three species were off to a great start. The humans were very happy to see more people after all this time alone and the Alterians were very friendly people.
Once all the roads were built Harry and Sarek began bringing down people and bins filled with houses and supplies. The Alterians were very organized so everything was brought down in the proper order and put exactly where it needed to go and Harry appreciated that. It made things a lot easier for him to drop off bins exactly where they went and he told Jake every night he loved an organized people which made his husband laugh.
Within a month the ship was empty and they just left it up there to burn up in the atmosphere and what they did with their three ships Harry never knew, according to Bali, their four-headed God they weren’t allowed to fly anymore once they got on the planet so they destroyed the ships. Max wanted him to ask for the ships but Harry didn’t think that was such a good idea because they weren’t their ships and after their religion thing, he didn’t want to mess with that.
“Harry, the mayor wants to talk with you about getting some money, the Alterians want to use the same money that we use,” Charles informed him the next day. Harry nodded, that seemed like a good idea to him too. So the next day he drove over to their temporary City Hall and met with Mayor Daniels.
“You own the bank, how interesting that such a young man would own the bank,” the mayor said and Mona Patterson nodded. Harry shrugged.
“I’m the one who put up the twenty million to fund the economy so it’s my bank,” he told them and they looked surprised.
“You funded the human economy, very clever, we would want twice that of course, since there are so many of us, we would deposit forty million in gold in your depository, do you insure its safety?” he asked. Harry nodded.
“Oh, yes, my depository is very secure, no one’s going to get into that building, I have the best security system on the planet, in fact, I’m the only one who could hack into it,” he bragged and they both laughed. They followed him over to Edenville in an armored car with armed guards and he showed them the security and they were very impressed. They put their forty million in with his twenty million and he told them he would deliver forty million in cash and coins as soon as possible. He gave them a receipt for the gold and they drove back to Medford which was the name of their city. He thought that an odd name for an alien city, it sounded very human, but then so did all of their Alterian names.
For the next week Harry and Jake worked at the depository printing lots of currency and coins for the Alterians and then loaded it up in their Jeeps and drove it over to Medford to deliver it. The mayor was astonished that they had just put it into their Jeeps without armed guards and not called for their armored car.
“You could have been robbed, are you two insane?” he asked. Harry grinned.
“Don’t worry, Mayor, no one knew we were coming today so they couldn’t rob us and besides, we know everyone in town so if they robbed us we would know them,” he reasoned and the man sighed. They loaded the money into the armored car for safety and Harry got his receipt back and ripped it up. He and Jake drove home laughing at the silliness of the whole thing.
“Well, now that there are eighty-five thousand, eight hundred and ninety-seven of us on the planet and of course more to follow, I guess we’ll be needing that bank and money now, honey,” Harry told Jake who nodded.
“I guess but it kind of gives me the creeps to be so out numbered like this,” he admitted and Harry nodded.
“Yeah, me too, that Dr. Bentley, there’s something about him that I find creepy, I don’t like him at all,” he confessed and Jake sighed and hugged him.
“Oh, well, they give us too much trouble, we can just move to Sherwood to get away from them,” he told him and Harry agreed.
“Yeah, that’s why I wouldn’t let any of them move there, I wanted to keep Sherwood as a back up continent,” he said and Jake nodded.
“I thought as much, boy your mom is a dumb as a light-bulb, everyone in the town meeting got that except for her,” he said and they both laughed.
“She just likes to impress people with how much influence she has, look at me see what I can do,” Harry told him. Jake nodded.
“Oh, well, at least we’ve got something to do for the next couple of years, its going to take some time for them to build their city,” he said and Harry grinned.
And it did, it took the Alterians ten years of hard work with the help of the humans and the minosians to build their big city with its huge shopping malls, playhouses and opera house, movie theatres, restaurants, bars, clubs, hospital, schools, houses and everything else they needed. Harry and his children worked together on a building crew and they had the best time helping the Alterians build their houses. They put up one a week because they weren’t made of easy interlocking materials like the human houses, these were made of lumber and old fashion pipes and electricity and the Alterians had to build a plant to furnish the electricity and because Harry and Sarek were engineers they were both a part of that project and it took six months to build and the Alterians greatly appreciated their help.
And the Alterians brought down lots of factories and soon had all of them running and Harry loved that they had a strict recycling policy and he told everyone at town meetings that they had to be careful not to mix their plastic goods up with the Alterian because they used a different type of plastic and it wouldn’t be wise to mix them, it would only degrade theirs because the Alterian brand wasn’t as good. He made Max and Charles go over to Medford and insist that the Alterians put up several recycling bins for human cans and plastic wrap and make it the law to keep human plastic separate and even though they didn’t want to, Lily and the others made them.
“So their plastic is different, it’s still plastic, what’s the big deal,” Max snorted. Lily stood up.
“The difference you idiot is ours is better and they want ours to make theirs better and we don’t theirs to make our worst, that would be foolish and stupid, so we want them to give us ours back, now if you don’t go over there, then I’ll go over there and make you look like the idiot you are,” she snapped. He sighed.
“Fine, fine, I’ll make it the law,” he said. She glared at him.
“I’m going with you because this is too important for you to fuck it up,” she snapped. Everyone laughed.
“Yeah, Max, you’ll fuck it up,” Roger exclaimed and everyone laughed again. Max glared at him.
“Oh, shut up,” he yelled. Harry giggled and held hands with Jake. Violet watched them and sighed.
The next day Jake came home from the office with exciting news, the Alterian Medical Society had given their clinic approval to see their animals.
“That’s wonderful, honey, I know you’ve been dying to get your hands on some of those yum-yum dogs,” Harry said and Jake grinned. The Alterians had a very beautiful species of cats called Zenians that were long-haired and came in pastel colors. They were extremely nice and very friendly. Their dogs were medium sized and called yum-yum dogs and extremely friendly also.
“Yeah, the only problem is that they have a lot of paperwork and you know my dad hates paperwork and they also do surprise inspections and he hates those too but he promises to keep his area clean and he wants to see those cats so bad that I think he’ll keep his treatment room clean and tidy,” Jake said. Harry nodded, he didn’t believe that for a second but if Jake wanted to believe it he would let him.
All three doctors, Dr. George, Dr. Blake and Dr. Dennis finally had plenty of work to do as the Alterian medical science was about three hundred years behind theirs and since they didn’t need all that medicine and equipment they used it to help the Alterians who were sick. Harry was informed not to heal anyone until they learned how the new people would understand this and he was glad he didn’t. He found them a backward people and their God Bali a scary creature with four faces, three of them horrible and made to punish the wicked. They probably would have either worshiped him as a God or burned him at the stake as a demon so he left his aid to flying the ship and helping them build their city.
Things went well for the first weeks in the Clinic, being extremely neat and tidy, Jake had no problems with inspections and he saw no reason why his father simply couldn’t just pick up after every patient like he did. It was easy, you just put the needles where they belonged and put the towels and bandages and any creams or lotions that you used on the animal back where it belonged. It was easy for him and not easy for his dad who was used to leaving things out where they were handy and leaving them there for days or weeks at a time. His patient’s people were used to seeing a mess when they came into his exam room but the Alterian inspectors frowned and fined him and said if improvements weren’t seen, they would close the clinic.
“You’re paying this fine, you know,” Jake waved the paper in his dad’s face and frowned. Dr. Jackson’s face got red.
“We’re partners, we should split the cost, just like we split everything else,” he insisted. Jake laughed.
“This is your fine, old man; my exam room was in perfect condition, every violation on this ticket is from your exam room, I can’t believe you left needles out where a little girl could reach them,” he snapped and Dr. Jackson shrugged.
“Her mother was watching her,” he declared. Jake sighed.
“I’m going to have to hire someone to clean up after you, that’s the only way we’re going to stay open,” Jake informed him and Dr. Jackson grinned.
“We’re splitting that cost, Son and we need a receptionist too,” he added and Jake agreed they needed that. So he took money from the drawer and opened a separate account at the bank just for the Clinic and hired a receptionist and someone to help his dad with keeping his office clean. Harry kept the grin off his face and Jake rolled his eyes.
“I see you smiling over there, you knew he’d fail his inspections didn’t you?” he teased and Harry giggled.
“I’m sorry, honey, but I’ve seen your dad’s office when I’ve taken the cats in and there’s no way in hell that man’s passing any inspections,” he said and Jake growled and grabbed him. He nuzzled his neck and Harry felt his knees go weak and moaned. Jake grinned.
“Babe, you are so easy, I love that in my man,” he whispered and Harry smiled and kissed him.
“Take me to bed, Jake, I need a nice hard fuck and you’re the perfect man for the job,” he said; his eyes all nice and slanty and Jake felt his heart stop. He picked him up and carried him to bed.
“You know it turns me on when you talk dirty,” he said harshly and they began ripping their clothes off. Harry trembled.
“Oh, Jake, I need you so badly, hurry up honey,” he said and Jake attacked him and took him hard and fast the way he liked it. They ate dinner much later, watching Alterian TV and laughing over some stupid sit-com that didn’t make any sense and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
The next day Violet visited an Alterian doctor she found in the phone book and after he examined her he told her that it would be no problem to help her with her problem and they scheduled the procedure for the following week. She left with a big smile on her face and decided that the Alterians landing on the planet had been the best thing that could have happened to her.
At the next town meeting Dr. George informed everyone that it was clear to him and to all of the doctors that the Alterians were aging normally.
“I have some bad news to report, the average Alterian lifespan is roughly the same as the normal human one, about eighty years for the male and eighty-five for the female and they are aging normally. Their aging process hasn’t slowed down like ours has,” he informed them solemnly. Everyone looked sad. Carl stood up.
“That’s too bad, I know a lot of Alterians and they’re nice people,” he declared. Harry stood up.
“Its extremely important now that we tell them nothing about the average human lifespan, let them think it’s the same as theirs,” he said. “Then when the time comes, some of us; like Dr. George and them can disappear over to Sherwood where we can build another little town for a few years and then come back to Edenville as Dr. George Junior and none of the Alterians who knew the old Dr. George will be alive will be able to know the difference. We can all do that at one time or the other. The Alterians will never know it’s the same people over and over.” Lily stood up.
“That’s a very clever idea, Harry, you’re very clever,” she said and everyone clapped. Dr. George cleared his throat and he and the other men of Farm One looked nervous. Harry sighed.
“What did you already tell them, Dr. George?” he asked. Max glared at him.
“Well, you could have told us your great plan before,” he snapped. Harry sighed again.
“Didn’t we already agree not to tell them anything about us?” he said and everyone nodded. Dr. George sighed.
“I know, but that Dr. Bentley caught us off-guard and before I knew what I was saying I told him that the average human lifespan was five hundred years, I thought that sounded like a good number,” he said and the other men looked pleased. Harry didn’t.
“And don’t you think that a man who only lives eighty years might not appreciate living and working day-by-day with men who live five hundred years and wouldn’t start to feel, say, jealous and want some of those years for himself?” he asked and they looked confused.
“How on earth can he do that?” Max snapped. Harry shrugged.
“He’s a doctor, maybe he’ll try to figure out a way, but you’ve opened the door to a whole can of worms here, medical experiments, DNA testing, he’s going to be asking for blood samples that’s for sure and maybe tissue samples or bone marrow and God knows what else,” he told them. “Eventually he might want a guinea pig to play with and remember we’re already out-numbered four hundred and eighty-seven to one and they’re only going to be having more babies and we’ll never catch up. And they know we’re not from this galaxy so more humans won’t be arriving to rescue us so if we disappear no one’s going to miss us. Telling them five hundred years was a very costly mistake.”
“You’re out of your mind, these are very nice people,” Dr. George insisted and most of the people agreed. Sarek and a few others agreed with Harry though and they formed a group of concerned people.
Violet waited until the swelling went down and the stitches came out and she was all healed before she took her beauties over to David and Gloria’s to show them off and when David opened the door he didn’t even notice, he just waved her in and disappointed she walked in. Gloria; however, noticed right away and looked at her funny.
“What on Earth are you wearing, fake boobs?” she asked and then David looked.
“Oh, yeah, they look very real,” he told her and Violet smiled and unbutton her blouse to show them.
“They’re not fake, well, they are. I got a boob job from an Alterian doctor, take a look at these beauties,” she bragged and took her bra off to show them. They both gasped and walked in for a closer look. David’s hands came out.
“Can I touch them?” he asked and Violet nodded.
“Go ahead, they’re very soft and natural feeling,” she bragged and he felt them.
“Oh, they are, feel, honey, see how soft they are,” he gushed and of course Gloria had to feel them and the three played with Violet’s new breasts for the longest time. Violet giggled and put her top back on.
“Wait till everyone sees these, they’re not going to call me Itty Bitty anymore,” she snapped and the other two giggled. “And wait until Jake Jackson sees these, I bet he notices me then,” she said. Gloria nodded.
“How are you going to get him to notice you though, Harry’s always around,” she told her. Violet grinned.
“I’ve got a plan, don’t you worry, I’m going to steal Jake away from that little fag if it takes me fifty years,” she bragged some more and the three laughed.
The next day Violet went to see Dr. Jackson and he loved her new breasts and spent an hour playing with them before he would calm down long enough for her to tell him the reason she had come to see him in the first place. Then he laughed.
“You want a job as my receptionist, are you crazy, Violet, why would you want to do a foolish thing like that?” he asked. She sighed.
“Jackson, Sissy has always told me that Jake got together with Harry when he was too young, before his sexually was set, Harry confused him and we both know that Harry with his genius I.Q. took advantage of Jake and tied him down with those children and that Jake is really straight and he just needs the right woman to show him and Sissy has always told me that I’m that woman,” she explained. He looked surprised.
“Sissy said that?” he asked and she nodded.
“Now Jake would have never paid attention to me before because my breasts weren’t big enough, you know how men love large breasts and I think that if I play my cards right and if you and Sissy and my parents work on him nice and slow. Nothing too obvious, that we can turn Jake away from Harry and homosexuality and to me. Now don’t you think Jake and I will give you beautiful grandchildren?” she asked slyly and he grinned.
“Better than those fishy freaks Harry gave him, those poor children should never have been born. Dolphins, who ever heard of such a thing, my grandson should have been named Jackson Henry Jackson and if you and Jake have a son you can name him that and he’d been a real grandson,” he said. She grinned.
“So you’ll hire me?” she asked and he nodded.
“Give me a couple of days to get rid of this one, I’ll just yell at her a few times and she’ll cry and quit and then I’ll call you, once I get you in here, the rest is up to you,” he told her. She nodded.
“This is going to take a long time, Jackson, I have to work nice and slow, Jake isn’t going to trust me for a long, long time but I don’t care if it takes twenty years, I’m going to get my man,” she declared and he grinned. They shook hands and she left smiling.


Chapter Seven

Now that the Alterians were finally settled and their city was built the people of Edenville didn’t have anything to do but they did have stores to run and more than enough customers to go around so they opened up their stores and the Alterians flocked to them. And they flocked to Medford and started dining out, going to clubs and bars and plays and having a good time. The Alterians had football, baseball and basketball teams and played games in their new stadium and arena and everyone enjoyed another’s company. And of course all these new people meant new people to have sex with.
New sexual partners also brought something that the humans and minosians had never had to deal with and that was sexual diseases. All of the colonists had to pass a medical examination before they boarded the Roosevelt so they had been clean and Sarek and his family had been clean so for decades they had been playing with no problems. The Alterians gave them venereal diseases like VD and gonorrhea and everyone’s favorite, syphilis and they didn’t appreciate that one little bit.
Harry decided that he only wanted to keep Macys open. Jake worked at the Clinic so there was no need for him to run back and forth between two stores; that would be silly. Really he didn’t want to keep either store open, he didn’t want to sell his precious Macy’s merchandise to the Alterians but he didn’t have anything else to do and he couldn’t think of anything else to do. He might as well open a store for a little while until he figured out what he wanted to do with himself. Jake thought that was a good idea but he was hurt that Harry wasn’t keeping his store open too. Harry shrugged.
“I guess I could keep your store open instead of Macys, I really don’t want to sell my stuff to the Alterians anyway,” he said one night at dinner and Jake grinned.
“Oh, I guess your stuff is more important than mine,” he teased. Harry flushed.
“That’s not what I said, honey, and you know it,” he said. Jake laughed.
“I’m just teasing you, babe, just keep my store open, I don’t mind, you can’t work both stores; that would run you ragged, how could you do that,” he said and Harry nodded.
“If I hired a manager for each store I could do it, but it would still mean a lot of work and there’s still the house and you to take care of, honey, and you take a lot of work,” he teased and Jake grinned and kissed him.
“Oh, talking about hiring people, maybe you could help out at the clinic a couple of time a week, that man I hired for dad wants to quit, Dad keeps yelling at him and I had to give him more money again, this is the fourth time I had to give him a raise,” he told him. Harry grinned and passed the salad.
“And you think your dad won’t yell at me?” he teased and Jake laughed.
“You’d just yell back, babe,” he said, then he laughed. “You’d never believe who dad got to replace Merta,” he said and Harry grinned.
“Who?” he asked, he loved listening to Jake tell about his day. Jake laughed again.
“Our old friend Violet that’s who,” he said and Harry frowned.
“What the hell does she want to work as a receptionist at a Veterinary clinic?” he asked in disbelief. Jake shrugged.
“She says she wants to be a Veterinarian like my dad whose going to teach her everything he knows and she has the program at home to study, she seems really serious about it, Harry,” he told him. Harry frowned.
“This is just another one of her attempts to flirt and get close to you, Jake, I can’t believe you’d hire her,” he snapped. Jake shrugged.
“I didn’t hire her, babe, my dad did and it’s his clinic too so I can’t fire her, oh yes, this is funny, you’re going to love this,” he laughed. Harry sighed.
“What’s that, honey?” he asked.
“She went to one of those Alterian Plastic Surgeons and got herself a boob job, old Violet’s got herself a big old pair of boobs,” Jake said and Harry giggled.
“Oh, heavens, this I’ve got to see for myself, I’ll bring you lunch tomorrow and get a peek,” he said and Jake kissed him.
“Bring me smoked turkey, you know how much I love your smoked turkey,” he said and Harry nodded. Maybe having Violet at the clinic wouldn’t be so bad, especially if she had big boobs. Jake was definitely not a boob man.
The next day Harry walked into the clinic and almost broke out into laughter. Seated at the front desk in a low cut blouse was Violet Emery in full makeup with French nails and her hair all puffed up and styled with the tips dyed blue like all the kids were wearing lately. She looked so out of place in the clinic it was pitiful. She smiled nicely at Harry and he smiled back and informed her he was here to see Jake.
“He’s with a patient right now, Harry, but you can go in and wait in his office if you like,” she gushed and he thanked her and went in.
“Of course I can wait in his office, you bitch, he’s my husband and don’t you forget that for a moment,” he whispered to the door and sat down behind the desk to wait. Jake came in a few minutes later and grinned when he saw him sitting there. Harry got up and they kissed.
“Did you see her, aren’t they humongous?” Jake laughed. Harry giggled.
“Why’d she get them so big, if she had just gone up a size or two they would have looked so natural,” he said and Jake shrugged. They sat down to eat and had a great time. Then Harry giggled and blew him before his next patient which put Jake in a great mood for the rest of the day.
“Harry should bring you your lunch all the time, you’ve been singing all day,” Violet teased him later. Jake laughed.
“Harry knows how to put me in a good mood,” he teased back and they both laughed. Violet watched him go back into his office and then the smile came off her face. I bet he does the little slut, she thought. I bet that little pervert gave her Jake a blow job during lunch and that’s what’s been putting that grin on his face all day. It would just be like nasty Harry to do something like that. Oh, well, this was just her first week and she was a very patient lady, one day she was going to take old Jake away from Harry and she didn’t care if it took her five, ten, or fifteen years, she was bound and determined to get her revenge.
Even though Jake had said he’d been teasing Harry felt guilty selling his sporting goods and not selling his Macy stuff, so he hired two Alterian managers and opened both stores and every day had to rush over and open both and stay late to close both and of course that made him late to fix Jake’s dinner. Jake understood and started staying late at the Clinic and that gave him time to catch up on the paperwork that there never seemed to be enough time for during the day so the two men quickly got into a new routine.
Harry got up early to milk the cows and let Jake sleep in and he fixed breakfast for him and then Jake got up and took the dogs for a run on the beach which they all enjoyed. Bo and Gertie loved to run and this kept Jake in top physical form. Then the Jake would leave for work and Harry would do some housework and fix dinner. He would leave for the stores and opened them and spend the day doing paperwork and helping the managers stay on top of everything. He barely had time for his own lunch and ate at his desk at whatever store he happened to be at. He took the dogs with him during the day and they followed him everywhere.
After Harry closed the stores he would hurry home and heat up dinner and Jake would come home and they would talk and laugh and then sit on the couch and have a quiet evening or sometimes a friend would come over. This went on for five years but Harry grew increasingly unhappy with running two stores and wanted to try something different, the only problem was, he didn’t know what.
Then the kids all came to Harry complaining about their empty stores and he felt sorry for them so he decided to fill them by using some of the extra stores he had over in Sherwood. In fact, he decided to fill everyone’s stores and sent them all an email telling them that he had extra stores and would fill theirs, maybe not with the exact stuff their stores had, but with as close a match as he could get.
Emma and Cassie helped him pick out the stores and they flew with him to Sherwood to get them.
“This is really nice of you, Dad, what put you in such a good mood?” Cassie teased him. Harry shrugged.
“Its not that I’m in a good mood because I’m not really; I hate managing two stores. I want to close your dad’s store and just keep Macy’s open, actually I don’t even want to reopen it,” he admitted. “I want to try something new but I don’t know what, I’m bored to tears selling crap to Alterians.” Emma patted his shoulder.
“Well, try something new until you fine something you like,” she suggested. Harry shrugged.
“That’s the thing; I don’t know what I want to try. I want to travel and go exploring, maybe over to Savannah to look for crystals or mountain climbing in Sherwood but your dad is so busy at the clinic and I really don’t want to go alone. I guess I could take some day trips and walk along the coast of Savannah, that might be fun,” he said, more to himself than to them. They both exchanged a worried look.
Harry filled everyone’s stores and informed them to try to make it last because he wasn’t doing it again. Since he didn’t know what to do with himself and day trips to Savannah by himself sounded lonely, he filled Macy’s and began work again. When Jake found out he didn’t fill the Sporting goods store he got a little pissed so Harry filled that and once again found himself bouncing from store to store trying to juggle both.
Dr. Jackson yelled at Morris one too many times and they lost him, he just walked out one day and refused to come back no matter how much money Jake promised him. They hired four more people who didn’t last and failed another inspection before they hired a woman who was deaf and for an incredible amount of money put up with Dr. Jackson yelling and giving her the finger. Luckily she didn’t understand what that meant, a fact Jake was extremely happy for and things settled down for a while.
Harry became increasingly unhappy with running both stores and started to snap at Jake who didn’t understand why he didn’t like running the stores and if he didn’t why didn’t he just close them and find something else to do. It didn’t occur to him to sit Harry down like Harry did with him and ask him what he really wanted to do.
Another reason for Harry’s increasing unhappiness was the sick and accident reports in the Alterian newspaper they got. All of those sick and dying children and he couldn’t do a single thing to help. Dr. George, Dr. Blake and Dr. Dennis all insisted that his healing powers wouldn’t be understood or wanted by the Alterians and the humans would be ostracized or worse if Harry began healing people. While the intellectual part of him understood, the emotional part died every time he read that a sick child did. And he didn’t want to share this with Jake because he didn’t want him to worry about him, so he kept his pain a secret.
Jake looked at his ‘in’ box and frowned, this couldn’t be right; this couldn’t possibly be the paperwork for a new patient from his father. He had told his father just last week that they couldn’t afford for him to take on anymore cats; they didn’t have the time or the energy to do the paperwork. This meaning of course that he didn’t have the time, his father barely kept the files up-to-date. He got up and took the file into his dad’s office. Dr. Jackson was getting ready to leave.
“Dad, what’s this, I thought I told you we can’t take on any new cats, I’m not doing this paperwork,” he told him. Dr. Jackson grunted.
“That’s not a new patient,” he informed him rather smugly. “One of my old patients had kittens and the owner kept two, that’s their paperwork and it has to be in tomorrow and I can’t do it. Your mother is taking me to dinner tonight to celebrate her birthday, I can’t miss that, you know that, Son.” Jake sighed.
“No, you’re right, why didn’t you do the damned paperwork yesterday when you saw the kittens?” he demanded. Dr. Jackson’s face got flushed.
“Don’t you tell me when I have to do things, you’re not the boss of me, you stupid idiot boy, you’re not even a real Vet like I am. Now do the stupid paperwork and get out of my face,” he yelled and stomped out of the office. Jake stood there and rushed back to his office and sat in his chair, this was too much. He didn’t have to take this. He called Harry but didn’t get an answer as usual, just the message machine. He slammed the phone down and stared out the window. Violet smiled and walked into the office.
“Jake I’ve brought some pasta salad from home and there’s enough for two if you’d like some,” she offered in a pleasant tone and smiled. He turned around and it was just the thing he needed, a smile and some pleasant conversation.
“Well, thank you, Violet, that would be lovely,” Jake declared and she brought it in with two Dr. Peppers, his favorite of course and they sat down and had a really fun time, laughing and talking and after, she helped him with the paperwork and they left together.
“Goodnight, Violet, thanks for listening to me whine about my dad,” he said and she laughed.
“Oh, Jake, you didn’t whine silly,” she teased and they both drove home. He smiled all the way but lost it when Harry was in another crappy mood.
“Dinner’s late and I’m really sorry, that stupid manager I hired locked me out of the store and couldn’t get himself out and we had to break the glass door and then I had to wait for the man to come and replace it,” Harry complained when Jake walked in the door. Jake smiled and kissed him.
“I’m sorry, babe, I had a shitty day too, maybe we need a vacation,” he teased and Harry laughed.
“Let’s take a decade off Jake, I’m serious, let’s take ten years off and go to Savannah and explore the Dark Continent and don’t come back until we find some crystals,” he said solemnly. Jake smiled and shook his head.
“You know I can’t leave my practice for ten years, Harry, be serious,” he told him. Harry sighed and he put dinner on the table.
“I am being serious, those animals will be fine without you, there are more Vets, you’re not the only one on the planet and if your dad fails inspection and has to quit work, he still has three stores to fall back on,” he said. Jake shook his head.
“But I like being a Vet, babe; it’s what I do,” he said and Harry sighed and kissed him.
“You’re right, honey, I’m sorry, I was just thinking of myself and that’s selfish,” he apologized and they ate dinner and cleaned up and snuggled on the couch. Then they made love and went to bed.
The next morning Jake got up early and took the dogs for a run on the beach. When he returned Harry had already left for the stores but he had left a nice breakfast on the stove, a packed lunch and a note that said, I love you. Jake smiled and started his day.
That was the way a typical day in the life of Harry and Jake went for the next years. Harry would leave before he came back from his run with the dogs or Jake would leave before Harry got back from his run. Jake would work late and grab a bite to eat with Violet who always brought food from home and was nice enough to share it and Harry thought it funny that Jake didn’t eat as much as he used to but put it down to stress at work. Harry continued to snap at Jake because he hated the stores and Jake began to work later because Harry was never home. Some nights they even went to bed without making love, something they had never done before.
Then Jake began defending Violet, something that confused Harry. He would laugh and ask him what did that big tittie gal do today and Jake would frown and say that Violet was really a changed person and Harry really should get to know her better and he’d like the new and improved Violet. She was really a nice, sweet person. Harry confined in Kathleen that Violet was really started to get on his nerves.
“I don’t know, Kathleen, but whenever I mention Violet to Jake, he gets all defensive like she’s his new best friend when before he used to make fun of her. I just don’t understand; why doesn’t he see she’s just playing some kind of game down at the clinic, trying to be all nice and friendly to fool him?” Harry said wearing a big frown. Kathleen sighed and wondered if she should tell Harry she saw Jake and Violet having lunch at that little Chinese restaurant in Medford last Saturday when Harry said he was having lunch with his mother. She decided to mind her own business like Steve suggested.
“I don’t know, Harry, men can be so blind when it comes to women and Jake is a gay man, he has no experience when dealing with women, but the more you complain about Violet, the more you’re going to drive him to her side,” she said wisely and Harry decided to keep his mouth shut and stop making fun of the stupid Violet and try to pay more attention to his husband.
Eight years after she started working for the two veterinarians Violet finally succeeding in one of her goals. She got Jake Talbert to sleep with her.
It started innocently enough, they were enjoying another shared dinner, this one a Chinese chicken salad and Jake had brought a bottle of wine from home to share with her for being so nice to share her food with him. They had developed quite a friendship over the years, one he was careful to hide from Harry who still despised her. Jake didn’t understand that, he found Violet to be a changed person and quite a lovely girl.
While they ate and drank the wine, he couldn’t help but stare at her cleavage, she was wearing a very low cut red blouse that looked very attractive on her and a black leather mini shirt that showed some very attractive legs. She kept crossing them and noticed that his eyes followed them which pleased her.
“Are you staring at my bosoms, Jake Talbert?” she teased and he blushed when he realized he was.
“Oh, dear, I’m sorry, Violet, forgive me, but I can’t help myself, it must be the wine,” he apologized and laughed. She giggled and jutted them forward a bit.
“Oh, that’s alright, Jake, I’m just teasing, I’m rather proud of them, that’s why I wear low cut blouses to show them off, they’re very soft, would you like to touch them and see for yourself?” she offered and opened her blouse to show him a very sexy lacey black brassiere. He seemed shocked but couldn’t help himself, maybe it was the wine or maybe it was just plain curiosity but Jake reached out with both hands and touched her breasts lightly and gasped with surprise.
“They are soft,” he said and she smiled. Then she reached in front and undid the clasp and they popped free and he gasped at the perfectly round dark, brown nipples. He put his hands under them to feel their weight and she groaned a little and moved forward so they were almost touching. He leaned forward and kissed her. She opened her mouth and returned the kiss and soon they were on the floor ripping at each other’s clothes and he was inside her hot, moist body. And it was so different from Harry but nice and she wrapped her legs around his waist and her soft breasts were against his chest and they continued to kiss and she yelled when she came and he did too and it was marvelous.
“Oh, God what have I done?” Jake moaned and shot to his feet. Violet shot to her feet and began to rush into her clothes.
“Oh, God Jake I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for this to happen, I feel terrible,” she began to cry. He reached out and hugged her.
“Oh, Violet, please don’t cry sugar, this wasn’t your fault, this was all my fault, but don’t worry, it won’t happen again, I promise,” he swore. She nodded and they promised they wouldn’t do it again. He drove home feeling really guilty but Harry wasn’t even home yet and then he started to rationalize his behavior.
“All the other people have open marriages, we’ll just have one too, Harry always said that if I want an open marriage, he would give me one,” Jake whispered as he stood at the patio door and looked out the window.
“Hi, honey, I’m home, sorry I’m late, have you had dinner yet?” Harry called out as he walked in the door. Jake turned around and smiled at him. Harry smiled and rushed into his arms.
“Hi, babe, did you have a great day?” he asked and kissed him. Harry frowned.
“You smell like stinky Violet’s perfume, did she hug you today, Christ you need a shower,” he said, wrinkling his nose and smelling something else, a smell he’d never smelled on Jake before. Jake panicked.
“You know, she did hug me and one of those yum-yum dogs peed on me, I guess I should take a shower, I’m sorry, babe,” he apologized and Harry laughed.
“I guess you should put those clothes right in the washer if a dog peed on them,” he advised and Jake laughed.
“I will, babe, I promise, I’ll be right back,” he said and rushed to do that. Holy crap he thought to himself, he should have thought to take a shower before Harry came home. He smelled like a cheating husband and that’s what he was. Jake stripped his clothes and started the wash and then headed for the shower. He soaped up and had cleaned everything twice when a naked Harry joined him with that gleam in his eyes.
“You don’t mind if I join you, honey?” he said in that husky voice and Jake grinned and he got hard. Harry laughed and dropped to his knees. Jake groaned as that beautiful mouth went to work and then he took Harry fast and hard the way he liked it. Then they both were tired so they lied in bed talking like the old days and cuddling and it was so nice and Jake forgot all about Violet and cheating until the next day when he walked into the clinic and there she was and the guilt all came back. And with the guilt came a wave of desire he couldn’t control and she saw it in his eyes and kept hers down so he wouldn’t see the triumph in hers.
That day Dr. Jackson started being really nice to his son and began talking about how proud he was of his black heritage and he started bringing out pictures of famous black people and putting them around the office. Reverend Milo started coming around to visit with him and they started their assault of Jake and his sexuality. It was subtle at first, about how he and Harry had been much too young when they first got together to really know if they were truly gay or not. And how now that he was older and more mature maybe he was really straight or bi-sexual like all of the children were. A wife would be able to give him more children, something Harry couldn’t do now that his eggs were all used up.
And his dad really wanted some real black grandchildren. And Reverend Milo wanted Violet to give him some grandchildren but she was waiting for the right man and he hadn’t come along yet. Sissy invited him to dinner and reinforced the black family idea and Sarah did too and Jake became constantly surrounded by his black family. And they always made sure to invite Harry too and usually he was the only white person and that stood out. He never paid any attention to it, he was color blind but Jake noticed it and was embarrassed for him.
And he tried to stay away from Violet. After that first time, he didn’t touch her for a week, but then the yearnings got too much to bear and he practically attacked her one night after his father had left and she turned to him and bit his lower lip and that made him an animal. He lifted her skirt and she opened her blouse and wrapped her legs around his waist and they did it standing up at the front desk and it was wonderful. They laughed and laughed and yelled when they came.
“Oh, Jake, you’re the best lover I’ve ever had,” she exclaimed and he flushed with pride.
“We can’t tell Harry about this, it’s our secret,” he said and she promised.
But she rushed over to David and Gloria’s and told them. They were ecstatic.
“You finally did it, oh Violet, I can’t wait until Harry finds out; can I be the one who tells him?” Gloria gushed. Violet shook her head.
“No one is telling him anything, I want more than just to sleep with Harry’s husband. I want Jake to leave Harry and marry me and that’s going to take months, maybe even years to get Jake to do, I don’t care how long it takes, that’s what I’m going to do,” she said with determination. David giggled.
“Well, if anyone can, you can and you’ll own Macy’s after all,” he declared and they all toasted to her success.
Once the affair started it was easy to conceal. Harry was always busy at the stores and didn’t suspect a thing. Sissy and Dr. Jackson covered for Jake and lied whenever Harry called and he and Violet were able to go out to dinner and to clubs where they knew Harry would never go. Their favorite was a sex club called the Bird Cage where they had go-go boys who wore almost nothing and were available for rent for parties. And if some Edenville people saw Jake there with Violet, David and Gloria they didn’t think anything of it. And of course none of Harry’s kids would be caught in a place like that.
Harry came home and of course Jake wasn’t home. He sighed and looked at the clock. Ten o’clock, that was late for dinner at his parent’s house. He punched in the number and it rang on the other end. Sissy picked up on the third ring.
“Oh, hi, Harry, Jake is in the bathroom, I’ll have him call you when he gets out sweetie,” she said and he hung up. He smiled and fixed a bowl of cottage cheese and mangoes and ate it at the sink and then the phone rang so he grinned and picked it up.
“Hi, babe, I’m on my way home, do we need anything at the store?” Jake asked.
“Not that I know of, honey, I’m taking a shower and headed for bed, it’s been a long day, see you when you get here, love you,” Harry told the smiling man.
“Love you too, babe,” Jake said and hung up. He glanced at Violet and sighed. “This has got to end, we have to tell him sugar, this isn’t fair to Harry and it’s not fair to us, lots of people have open marriages, why not me and Harry?” he asked her.
“Its not that easy and you know it,” she pouted. “Harry hates me and its all because I used to be mean and he won’t give me the chance to make it up to him and that’s not fair, Jake, darling.” He sighed and held her hand. He pulled up in front of her house.
“I know, sugar, but if we tell him, he’ll understand, you don’t know Harry like I do, he’s really fair to people,” Jake promised. She smiled sweetly and kissed him.
“What about when we have children, Jake, will he understand that?” Violet asked softly and he grinned, thinking about the beautiful children they would make together and how wonderful it would be to have children again. He kissed her.
“He’ll understand, Harry loves children Violet and I’m sure he’ll understand that I’m only divorcing him so that the children can have my name,” he assured her and she smiled. Then she got out of the car and waved goodbye and went into the house and danced around the room. She had finally gotten him to say the ‘D’ word. Score one victory for Violet and one more nail in the coffin for Harry the fool.
The following week all the kids threw a surprise wedding anniversary party for all of their parents and Harry and Jake danced together on the dance floor and Harry beamed with happiness.
“We’ve been married ninety-three years, honey, I can’t believe it, in seven more years it’ll be a hundred,” he gushed and Jake smiled down at him and felt a twinge of guilt.
“I know, babe, time sure flies doesn’t it,” he said. Harry giggled.
“Is that the best you can do, Jake Talbert?” he teased and Jake flushed.
“I do love you, Harry,” he said and Harry smiled.
“That’s better,” he told him and they kissed.
“He doesn’t suspect a thing does he?” Gloria said to Violet who shook her head.
“He’s a clueless fool, Jake’s been cheating on him for two years now and old Harry still thinks he’s having dinner with his folks and playing golf with his dad,” she sneered and David giggled.
“And he has an I.Q. of 217, my ass,” he sneered and they laughed.
“Do you think we should tell him about seeing Jake and Violet at the Bird Cage?” Kathleen asked her husband. Steve shook his head.
“I don’t think we should be the ones who tell Harry, Jake’s been cheating on him,” he said and she sighed.
“Poor Harry, he looks so happy, man, this really sucks,” she snapped and he shrugged.
“Maybe he knows and he approves,” he suggested but she shook her head.
“If it were anyone else maybe but Harry would never approve of Violet, he hates her, I knew this would happen, I always warned him about her,” she said and Steve sighed.
“Well, then, he only has himself to blame then hasn’t he?” he said and they kept on dancing.
Winter came and the Alterian weather shield kept off most of the snow from the city of Medford and town of Edenville. It was cold though and colder in Harry and Jake’s house. Harry couldn’t explain why Jake was spending so much time with his parents until Jake told him that they were having some marital troubles and he was trying to mediate and that made some sense to him.
“Jake, honey, you can’t get in the middle of their marriage like this, they’re going to blame you if it falls apart,” he warned him. Jake shrugged.
“I’m just spending some extra time with them, babe, that’s not getting in the middle,” he declared and Harry kissed him.
“You have a kind heart and I love you and I promise not to say I told you so,” he said and Jake laughed and kissed him.
“I’ll remember that,” he told him.
New Year’s Eve came and the Center threw their big party and Harry and Jake went and of course the Liquor Mart supplied the champagne as they always did and Harry and Jake danced with all of their kids and Emma noticed that Harry looked tired.
“You look tired, Harry, why don’t you close the stores and take some time off,” she suggested and he sighed.
“I would if I knew what I wanted to do but I’m clueless and bored with myself, Jake is happy at the Clinic despite being stuck with your granddad’s paperwork, you know how he complains about that, but I don’t know what to do, sometimes I just want to hop in the ship and go some place and I can’t, I’m stuck here and its so frustrating,” he said and she smiled.
“Well, all of the stores are almost empty again, so as soon as you sell everything, tell Jake you need some time off and make him take a vacation, God knows the two of you haven’t had one in years, even he knows that,” she suggested and he grinned.
“That sounds like a plan, Stan,” he said and they laughed. Jake saw them laughing together and felt a twinge of guilt for what he was doing, he shouldn’t be forced to cheat on Harry like this, everyone else had an open marriage and Harry always said they could too, why did it have to be so hard? He saw Violet winking at him from the doorway and followed her into one of the small rooms where they made love with him sitting on a chair and her in his lap and it was so hot, her soft breasts in his face. It took him back to the days when he and Harry used to sneak away at parties to do the same thing.
“Oh, Jake, your mighty sword is so powerful, it fills me up,” Violet gasped and moaned loudly when she came. Jake grinned, he liked her calling his dick a mighty sword, he liked that a lot. They sneaked back to the party and he stopped off at the bathroom to wipe some of her scent off of him.
On the way home Harry made a face.
“God, honey, you stink like perfume who was hugging you?” he asked wrinkling his nose. Jake laughed.
“All my sisters hugged me and they were all wearing a different perfume too so it’s a wonder I don’t stink worse than I do,” he teased and Harry giggled.
“When we get home I’m putting that tux right in the dry cleaners,” he said and Jake nodded.
“Okay, babe,” he agreed. When they got home they both stripped in the laundry room and Jake rushed in to the shower to wash Violet off of him and left Harry to do the laundry. Harry smelled the jacket and it did indeed smell like six or seven different perfumes and that was bad. Then he smelled the pants and they smelled like something he had never smelled before and curious he smelled them again. It was a musky odor that was definitely sexual but not a smell that he was familiar with. Puzzled he put the pants in the machine and put the dry cleaning cloth in with them and turned it on. He walked into the bathroom.
“Honey, did you lend your tux to one of the boys?” he asked and Jake thought quickly.
“Yeah, I loaned it to Adam, why?” he told him and Harry smiled and jumped in the shower with him. Jake smiled at him and started to wash his back and Harry sighed with pleasure. Jake always knew what he liked.
“Nothing,” he murmured. “Oh, that feels nice,” he said and Jake nuzzled his neck and Harry forgot all about the strange smell.
The rest of the winter passed and soon it was time for spring planting once again and the farm was back in the fields and Violet planted in the Lindsey oil plant field for a change and surprised everyone. Harry was surprised and thought, thank God, maybe she’s over her crush on Jake and moved on with her life and actually smiled at her and she smiled back. Jake took this as a good sign and hoped that maybe he could have an open marriage after all and the three of them could be friends.
“Thank God that little bitch is way over there, I thought she’d never give up on staring at you, maybe she’d leave us the hell alone now, honey,” Harry said and Jake smiled and nodded and felt his hopes die. He climbed on his tractor and gazed at Violet with longing.
After spring planting all the stores celebrated with a St. Patrick Day’s sale. All of them were almost empty once again and Harry was glad. He was sick and tired of running back and forth and this time he was going to take some time off and get Jake to take some time off and take a long vacation. They were drifting apart, he could feel it and they needed the time to regroup and discover the joy that had brought them together in the first place. He talked to Dr. Jackson about running the clinic without Jake and the man agreed he could do without him for a couple of weeks. Then he called Violet and told her to reschedule all of Jake’s appointments to clear his schedule for after the sale. When Jake heard about this he got angry, how dare Harry interfere with his professional career. Violet smiled as he ranted.
For the holiday Reverend Milo had a picnic and invited the Jacksons and several Alterians he knew who had small children. He wanted Jake to see his daughter with small children and see what a wonderful mother she would be and these Alterians were dark skinned people and so they appeared to be black like them. And Violet played her role convincingly. She smiled and read to the little ones and laughed and Jake was entranced with the picture of young motherhood. And Dr. Jackson didn’t once refer to his and Harry’s children as those ‘fishy freaks’ and spoil the day.
“Violet, I have something I want to ask you,” Jake said as they sat in the car in front of her house. She smiled and held her breath. “Would you do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife and having my children?” he asked and she beamed.
“Oh, yes, Jake, I love you so much,” she gushed and threw herself into his arms. “Let’s go pick out a ring right now,” she insisted and laughing he agreed. He drove to his house and ran in to grab a stack of money from the drawer where they kept in and they drove to Gloria’s jewelry store and he bought her the biggest ring she had, a three caret round diamond in platinum. She made him get a matching one and he swore he loved it and he did, it was nice and shiny.
“Here’s to the happy couple,” David said and they sipped from crystal glasses that Gloria had brought from the back room. Jake sipped the Alterian wine and smiled. This was a happy day. He only regretted that he had to go home and tell Harry, this was going to hurt him he knew, but he had to live his life now like Reverend Milo had just told him this afternoon and not cling to the past. He drove Violet home and said he’d probably be seeing her soon because as soon as he told Harry about them, he’d probably throw him out.
“That’s your house too, Jake Jackson, maybe Harry should be the one to leave,” Violet said firmly but he shook his head.
“Harry picked out that house, I could never take it from him,” he said just as firm and she smiled and hugged him.
“That’s what I love about you, darling, you have the kindest heart,” she said and he kissed her. When she was in the house she threw a big hissy fit and kicked a pillow across the room until it was in shreds and then she cleaned up the mess so he wouldn’t see it.
Harry was in the kitchen washing the little bit he had used when Jake walked in the room. He didn’t turn around but smiled.
“Hi, honey, how was the picnic, did Reverend Milo bore you with one of his sermons?” he teased and when Jake didn’t answer, he turned around and the smile left his face at the expression on his husband’s face.
“Jake, honey what’s wrong?” Harry asked. Jake shook his head.
“Please remember, Harry, that I love you, I truly do and I always will, I just can’t live with you anymore, I’m leaving you, Harry,” he said and Harry gasped with shock and his hands came up to clutch his stomach.
“What’s wrong Jake, what did I do? Is this about clearing your schedule so we can take a vacation?” he asked and Jake shook his head.
“No it isn’t, though I’m angry with you for doing that, but this isn’t about that,” he said. Harry shook his head.
“Jake, everyone deserves a vacation, we’ve been working nonstop for years now and your father agreed that you’ve been under a lot of stress and a couple of weeks off will do you a lot of good,” he told him. Jake sighed.
“My father lied to you, babe, and my mother too and I’ve been lying to you for the past two years. I wanted to tell you. I wanted us to have an open marriage like you said we could have if I ever wanted to,” he explained and Harry nodded. “But I knew that once you found out about her that you wouldn’t understand and you would be hurt and I couldn’t stand to do that to you so I’ve been cheating on you for two years now, Harry, and I’m very sorry.” Harry gasped.
“You’ve been cheating on me with a woman, but Jake you’re gay,” he said. Jake shook his head.
“No, I’m not, I’m not like you, Harry,” he said. “Babe, we got together when we were too young, our sexuality wasn’t set yet, we didn’t know for sure what we wanted and we just fell into being gay because we fell in love. But I’m bi like all of the kids are and I fell in love with a women.” Harry shook his head.
“Just because you’ve made love to a woman successfully, Jake, doesn’t mean you’re bi-sexual, all that stuff about being too young, that sounds like Reverend Milo’s been talking to you. You’re as gay as I am and don’t fool yourself,” he declared. Jake sighed.
“That doesn’t change the way I feel, Harry, I’ve been making love to a woman and it’s wonderful,” he said and Harry sighed.
“Well, that’s okay; we can have an open marriage honey, that’s no reason to leave me. We always said if one of us wanted to invite someone into the bedroom we could,” he said reasonably. “I have no problem with us being open.” Jake smiled.
“That’s what I tried to tell Violet,” he began and Harry gasped with shock once again.
“You’ve been cheating on me with Violet, oh, God, Jake, don’t you understand what you’re doing?” he said. Jake shook his head.
“Now see, Harry, this is the reason why I didn’t tell you, you’re wrong, Violet’s changed. She’s not the same person she used to be,” he told him. “She’s sweet and kind and gentle. You should have seen her with these children today, they loved her. You need to give her a chance and you’ll see how much she’s changed.” Harry shook his head.
“Jake, she’s fooling you, women like Violet don’t change, she’s only using you to get back at me for refusing her those many years ago,” he said. “That’s why she took the job at the clinic, to be close to you, to fool you into believing she’s changed and to trick you into falling in love with her. She’s using you to get back at me, please don’t leave me for her, for anyone else, but never for Violet, Jake.” Jake shook his head.
“You’re wrong, Harry, she said you’d say this and she was right, you’re never going to let her live down her past and that’s just plain wrong,” he said sadly. Harry sighed.
“Fine, I’ll give her a chance, invite her for dinner and we can talk but that’s still no reason to leave me, Jake, not after ninety-three years or is she making you leave me?” he asked softly. Jake shook his head.
“No, leaving you is my idea, you see we could have an open marriage Harry, but Violet wants children and we want the children to have my name,” he said as gently as he could and Harry flinched as if he had hit him. He nodded.
“Well, I can’t argue with that and I can’t make you stay if you don’t want to, you can come back for your things tomorrow. I’ll make sure to be out of the house,” Harry said and Jake nodded. He started to say something but realized there wasn’t anything more to say and turned around to leave. Then Harry spoke again.
“You can leave your wedding ring on the table, Jake; you won’t be needing that,” he told him. Jake nodded, took it off and put it on the table. Then he looked down at the floor.
“Harry, I’d like to take Gertie if I could,” he said. Harry shook his head.
“You know we can’t separate the dogs, they’ve been together too long,” he said. Jake nodded and turned to go. Before he reached the door, Harry called out.
“Jake, you can have the dogs.” Jake nodded and walked out the door, closing it behind him. When Harry heard the click, he dropped to his knees and began to sob, great big sobs that racked his slender frame. Both dogs came into the kitchen and he hugged them. He was losing the man he loved and his precious dogs, life was too cruel.
Harry stayed on the kitchen floor crying for the longest time then he picked himself up and walked into the living room. He stopped at the table and picked up Jake’s ring and held it tight in his hand. The living room looked the same; somehow he expected it to be all tore up like his heart. Then he wandered into the dining room feeling like a ghost who had somehow wandered into someone else’s house.
In the bedroom everything reminded him that Jake would never come into this room again and that was too much to bear and he couldn’t stand to look at it. And the thought of Jake coming in here tomorrow and getting all of his clothes and things was too much for Harry to bear. So he rushed to the basement and brought up several vegetable bins and began taking clothes out of Jake’s drawers and neatly putting them into the bins. He took all of his clothes out of the closets and shoes and every single item of Jakes out of the bedroom and they filled four bins. Harry rolled them out to the porch and left them.
Next he went to the study which still looked like a Vet’s office and filled three more bins with all of Jake’s files and his computer and everything. Then he went to the living room and put in all of the movies and music CD that he loved and into the bins they went. And all of these went out to the porch.
Then Harry went down to the basement where they kept their gold and money and divided it equally in half, giving him twenty million more because of the twenty million he had put in the depository because of the economy. It was sixty-four million and he covered it with a tarp and put it out on the porch. Then it was four in the morning so he dozed on the couch after his sixth crying fit of the night.
A knock on the front door woke Harry up in the morning and he opened it a crack to see Jake standing there.
“What do you want?” he asked softly, tears filling his eyes. Jake wore a worried look.
“Are you alright, babe?” he asked. Harry shook his head.
“You’ve lost the right to call me that,” he told him and Jake nodded.
“Is this all my stuff?” he asked and Harry nodded. Jake nodded.
“Can you meet me at David Marshall’s office at ten to sign the divorce papers, here’s the address,” he said and handed Harry a white card. Harry took it and closed the door. Jake sighed and looked at all the bins. Harry had looked like hell, like he’d been crying all night and he felt so guilty he wanted to cry himself. Then he looked at all the bins and felt frustrated. He hadn’t planned on taking all of this, he was just going to grab some clothes and some money and replace everything else. How in hell was he going to take all of this crap to Violet’s? He looked in the bins and found the money and his clothes and decided to take that and leave the rest, let Harry throw it out for all he cared.
Harry shut the door and read the address on the card, David Marshall Street. Figures that idiot would name the street after himself and not just Marshall Street, what an ego. Then he realized that his cows were probably in distress so he hurried to the back door and opened it to find two pails of milk sitting there. He smiled when he realized that Danny had milked Bessie and Daisy for him. Harry ran the milk through the pasteurizers and put the white in a pitcher and wondered what the hell was he going to do with that? So he dumped it. He drank some green and went in and took a nice hot shower which smelled like Jake, the whole house smelled like Jake. He was going to have to do something about that if he was going to live here anymore.
Harry stood at the sink and looked at his face in the mirror and his eyes were all red and puffy so he rubbed his hands together and put them over his eyes and healed himself. This helped the red and puffy but didn’t change the pain he saw in them. He guessed only time would take that and he had thirty thousand years to go without Jake so maybe he would get over him, maybe.
On the way to Marshall’s office Harry realized that he couldn’t go down there wearing his wedding ring and he couldn’t stop at the Jewelry Exchange which now belonged to Emma and get a different ring without her asking a lot of questions so he decided to stop at an Alterian store and pick something up. Since he didn’t have any money on him, he stopped at the bank to take some out of his account.
“I’m sorry, Harry, but Jake closed your account yesterday,” Brian told him when he tried to write a check. Harry was shocked.
“Jake closed our joint account, he took all the money out, not just half?” he asked and Brian nodded. Harry nodded.
“Brian do me a favor, clear out Marshall’s desk, he’s fired and I don’t want him in my bank anymore,” he told him and Brian grinned.
“That’ll be a real pleasure, I hate that little prick,” he said. Harry grinned.
“Hire one of the kids to replace him,” he said and Brian nodded.
Harry drove home and got some money that was still in the drawer. That was dirty pool stealing two million from the bank and a petty thing to do, probably David’s idea. So now he’s lost his precious bank job. That’ll teach him to fuck with Harry Talbert.
Harry stopped at an Alterian jewelry store and bought a silver ring with a dark, round, purple stone, the complete opposite of his ring and put his wedding ring in his pocket with Jake’s. Then he drove to Marshall’s office and walked in. He came to a complete halt at the sight of the crowd gathered to greet him. David was there as well as his lovely wife Gloria. Jake was present along with his lovely fiancée and both of his parents as well as hers. It was a party and obviously he was the guest of honor.
“I didn’t know we were having a party or I would have invited a few friends of my own,” Harry remarked casually and took the one empty seat in the room across from the crowd. Jake smiled as the rest frowned. Reverend Milo cleared his throat.
“We’re not here to gang up on you, Harry, we’re just here to see that Jake gets his fair share,” he said. Harry shrugged.
“He’s already gotten two million more than his fair share of the money by closing the checking account yesterday,” he informed them and Jake looked uncomfortable.
“I did that before I saw all the money in the bin, Harry, I wasn’t sure about how much money we had or how you’d divide it,” he tried to reason his actions. Harry shook his head.
“After ninety-eight years you have the nerve to say that to me, Jake Talbert, I don’t know you anymore,” he said sadly and Jake looked just as sad. David cleared his throat.
“Well, then, shall we begin,” he said too cheerfully. “Since you’ve brought up the subject, let’s talk about the money. Harry you say that you divided it equally, how much did you give Jake and how much do you have left?” he asked. Harry sighed.
“I gave Jake sixty-four million, he took two million, I have forty-four million left, plus the twenty million in the depository,” he replied and everyone gasped. Violet gave a little squeal.
“Jake, we have sixty-four million dollars, we’re so rich,” she said and they kissed.
“Plus two million,” Harry reminded them and Jake flushed red. Dr. Jackson grinned.
“My son is a rich man, he can afford a new house,” he declared and Sissy hushed him. David cleared his throat.
“Let’s talk about houses, you two have two houses don’t you?” he asked and they nodded. “Well that’s easy to divide; you’ll each take a house.” He grinned.
“We want the log cabin,” Violet said quickly. Harry stared at her.
“That’s my house, you can’t have my house,” he told her. She glared at him. Jake patted her knee.
“I told you, sugar, that’s Harry’s house, we’ll take the beach house, it’s near all of our friends and you like it,” he said and Harry realized he was going to lose his wonderful beach house where they had spent all of those wonderful years with the kids and his heart felt like it was breaking. Some of this must have shown in his eyes because Violet and Gloria both smiled.
“Fine, we’ll take the beach house,” Violet said with satisfaction. Jake smiled at her. Reverend Milo shook his head, she was too happy with Harry’s obvious pain. He wanted his daughter to be happy but at the same time, he hated to see a good marriage end in pain.
“Now we come to the stores,” David said with glee. Harry sighed.
“What about the stores, he owns the Sporting World, I own Macy’s,” he said. Violet smiled.
“What about the Jeep Dealership?” she asked sweetly and Harry gasped, he had forgotten about that one. Gloria smiled also.
“And the Bank and the Depository, lets not forget them,” she added just as sweet. David giggled. Harry smiled; an actual smile.
“You can forget about the Bank and the Depository, Jake has nothing to do with those, I own those,” he informed them with a trace of smugness and they all frowned except for Jake who had known that.
“What do you mean; aren’t you and Jake are business partners?” Violet asked Jake who looked at her and shook his head.
“Not in the Bank or the Depository, sugar, those are Harry’s businesses, he brought those down on his own and used his own money to put in them, that’s why I have twenty million more than he does,” he told her. They all looked confused.
“But you’re married; don’t married couples have joint property?” Sissy asked. Harry shook his head.
“You’re thinking about straight married couples, they have joint property, but gay and lesbian married couples don’t, they have what is referred to as, what is yours before we got married stays yours and what is mine before we got married stays mine and what we build together is ours,” he informed them. “Whatever was mine before Jake and I got married like all those extra houses and stores and bins are still mine, he has no claim on them so now that we’re divorced, they’re still mine and he can’t touch them.” Violet gasped.
“That’s not fair,” she exclaimed. Harry shrugged.
“That’s because gay people want it that way, they did it that way because they have the highest divorce rate and they wanted to protect their assets so Jake doesn’t get any of the Bank or the Depository,” he told them. Jake shrugged.
“That was always your business, Harry, I never had anything to do with that,” he said. David frowned.
“But think of all the money you’re giving up,” he said. Then Harry grinned.
“But the law is very clear, David, and you can’t argue with the law,” he stated and David sighed.
“You’re right, I can’t argue with that,” he said. Gloria smiled.
“But there’s still the Jeep Dealership, Macy’s and the Sporting World we can deal with,” she said and Violet nodded.
“We’ll take Macy’s and the Jeep Dealership,” Violet said firmly and Jake laughed.
“We can’t take Macy’s, that’s Harry’s store,” he told her. She shrugged.
“Fine, we’ll take the Sporting World and the Jeep Dealership,” she said. Harry hated her guts.
“You can have Macy’s and the Sporting World,” he told her and she beamed.
“Fine, we’ll take that,” she said and she and Gloria exchanged a pleased glance. Then Sarah spoke for the first time.
“Wait a minute, sweetie, those stores are practically empty now, just like all of our stores, they’re worthless, the Jeep Dealership would be worth more,” she advised and Harry wanted to kill her. He sighed.
“Fine, I’ll fill the stores for you,” he told them and they smiled. Sarah smiled. Sissy spoke up.
“You know, Harry, all of my stores are empty too,” she said. Harry shrugged.
“Everyone’s stores are empty, Sissy, but I don’t have enough to fill everyone’s stores over and over again, you’re all going to have to find something else to do with your time and money except sell everything you have to the Alterians,” he said firmly. Violet glared at him.
“That’s not a very generous attitude,” she snapped. Jake looked at her with surprise. She smiled at him.
“He was being mean to your mother and treating her with disrespect,” she said and Jake glared at Harry.
“You have a lot of stores, Harry, you could fill my mother’s stores if you wanted to, you’re just mad at me and taking it out on her,” he snapped and Harry wanted to cry.
“Fine, I’ll fill her stores too,” he said through clenched teeth. Violet smiled.
“Sweetie, ask him about the new house now,” she said to Jake who nodded.
“If it’s possible, Harry, we’d like to pick out a new house, Violet and I want to move to Farm One to be near our friends David and Gloria,” he told him. Harry nodded.
“I’ve never denied anyone a house, you know that,” he said. Dr. Jackson cleared his throat.
“We’d like a new house too, Harry, we’d like to move to Farm One too to be near our new grandchildren,” he said proudly and Harry felt his heart break a little more.
“Of course,” he said. Reverend Milo cleared his throat.
“Of course, Reverend,” Harry said before the man could speak. He took his computer out of his bag and opened up the file for the houses he knew didn’t have any food in them, he might have to give them a house, but he didn’t have to give them any goodies. They all picked houses and he said he would have them delivered by tomorrow.
Then David printed the official documents and he and Jake signed them and the two older men witnesses them and he was handed his copy and Harry’s marriage of ninety-three years was over. Harry looked at the beige document and then folded it and put it in his bag. Then he turned to Jake.
“You can come by for the dogs any time,” he told him and Jake nodded. Violet frowned.
“What does he mean, come by for the dogs?” she asked. Jake smiled at her.
“Harry’s letting me have Bo and Gertie, sugar, isn’t that wonderful,” he gushed. She shook her head.
“Oh, no, Jake Jackson, we can’t have those two dogs in the house, I’m allergic to dogs, isn’t that right, Daddy?” she said and turned to her father who nodded.
“I’m afraid so Jake, both Amy and Violet are allergic to dog dander and those golden retrievers have very long hair and she would be deathly sick all the time,” he informed him. Jake looked confused.
“But you never said anything and you worked at the clinic all those years and you wanted to be a Vet,” he said. Violet smiled and patted his arm.
“I had to take a shot to work at the clinic and I was going to work with cats like your father; I’m not allergic to cats, sweetie,” she said with a little laugh and everyone laughed. Jake laughed.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to get a couple cats then,” he declared and Harry wanted to kiss her for the first time in his life. He turned and began to walk away and remembered he was now divorced from the only man he had ever loved. He felt like crying but that would only make them all very happy so he held it together and just stood up to leave. At the door he paused and looked at David who looked entirely too happy. Well, Harry thought to himself; that was something he could fix.
“David,” he said and everyone looked up. “As of today you’re fired from your position at the Bank. I find that your advice in helping Jake clear out our checking account totally inappropriate for a bank employee. Brian is clearing out your desk and your stuff will be delivered to your house so there’s no need for you to show up there unless you have personal bank business.” He turned to leave.
“You can’t do that, you’re not my manager,” David yelled at him. Harry grinned.
“No, but I’m the owner of the bank, you idiot, didn’t you stop to think about that?” he asked him. Jake shook his head.
“This is completely unfair of you, Harry,” he said. Harry shrugged.
“So was cheating on me for two years and stealing a million dollars from me, Jake, but who’s counting?” he taunted him. Jake flushed with embarrassment and Harry walked out the door. He held it together until he was in his garage and then he laid his head on the steering wheel and cried like his heart was broken because it was.


Chapter Eight

Harry sat in his Jeep for the longest time crying over the lost of his husband until the crying of his dogs finally reached his consciousness and he opened the door. Gertie and Bo jumped up on his lap and whined and he petted them.
“Jake’s gone, Gertie, Bo, he’s not coming home again, he’s left you and he’s left me and now we’re all alone,” he told them and burst into tears again. They both whined and licked his tears and he hugged them. Then with a sad sigh, Harry closed the car door softly and went into the kitchen and stared around. The house looked the same as if Jake were coming home any minute now and smile and kiss him. But he was never coming home again. His new home was with that fake tittie little bitch. Harry felt like screaming but that would have taken energy that he just didn’t have.
“Ninety-three happy years down the toilet,” he whispered and wondered how on earth he was going to live for another five minutes in this house that smelled like Jake. He took a deep breath and the God-damned house smelled like Jake. Harry decided that that simply wouldn’t do. He sat down at the table and pulled out his laptop and opened the file for houses. It took him an hour to find the right house, one owned by Phillip and Claire Montgomery and they looked snotty and pretentious, the total opposite of himself.
“Looks like its time to do a little redecorating,” Harry told the dogs, Gertie barked and Bo smiled and wagged his tail. But first Harry had to get the houses he promised and fill some stores. He decided to go ahead and fill all the damned stores; that way everyone would leave him the hell alone and he wouldn’t have to talk to anyone or listen to their shit. They’d be so busy working at their stupid stores; they wouldn’t have time to stick their noses in his business. He wondered how many of his so-called good friends had known about Jake’s affair and not told him. They all let him embarrass himself at that stupid anniversary party last year and no one told him a thing. He hated all of them.
“As for you Violet, my dear, you want Macy’s filled, I’ll fill it for you,” Harry remarked as he searched the store file and giggled. He took the dogs with him to Sherwood, making them ride in the back so they wouldn’t accidentally push the emergency eject.
Everyone was so happy when Harry delivered the stores to them that they didn’t even wonder why, they just all gushed and rushed out to stock their shelves. And the gossip mill was screaming with the news of his and Jake’s divorce and Jake and Violet’s upcoming wedding. Everyone who knew about the affair was laughing at old Harry being duped and the people of Farm One were hysterical, Harry Talbert had finally gotten his just desserts. Gloria and David threw the happy couple a big engagement party and the happy couple beamed with joy.
“Jake, Violet, I’m so happy for you, I wish you many years together and many children,” Reverend Milo gushed as he toasted the happy couple and everyone lifted their glasses of Alterian champagne and drank. Jake beamed and kissed his fiancée and Gloria giggled and hugged her best friend. It had taken Violet ten long years but she had finally done what she had set out to do, get her revenge on Harry, Mr. Smart-ass Talbert. All of Farm One was so happy they could barely contain themselves. Except for Dr. George, of course, who thought it was a damned shame that the happiest and longest marriage on the planet had come to an end and by this way. He had always known Violet needed psychiatric care and this proved it, the woman had a twisted fixation on Harry and this need to take Jake away from him was part of her dementia. He intended to stay as far away from Violet as he could.
Sissy and Dr. Jackson were the happiest people at the party, their son was finally with a woman and now all their children were straight and they could hold their heads up high with all the other parents. Of course Dwight and Pearl let them have their delusions and left the happy party as soon as they could and returned to their partners and laughed. Dwight went home to Calvin and Pearl went home to Susie and they all felt sorry for Harry and wondered how long Jake was going to fool himself into believing he wasn’t gay.
Once Harry delivered all the store bins he picked up some empty bins and parked them close to his house and flew to the Paper Product Plant and opened it up with his old key card which still worked. They must have just finished a batch of boxes because there were lots stacked neatly in the warehouse.
“This looks like exactly what I need, guys,” Harry said to the dogs that both grinned and wagged their tails. Harry was doing a lot of talking to the dogs these days since they were the only ones around. He talked to Bessie and Daisy the cows too. He loaded up a hundred each of small, medium and large boxes and put the money on the counter with a note saying what he had taken and flew home.
Then he began the hard job of packing everything up. He noticed that Jake had left eight bins of his stuff on the porch, obviously he hadn’t wanted everything, so Harry packed all of that first and marked it as Jake’s stuff and it went on the empty bin first so he wouldn’t have to see it. And, of course, he cried as he was packing it away just as he had cried when he had put it in the bins. He could have killed Jake for putting him through that for the second time, once had been hard enough.
“That selfish bastard, Gertie, Bo, he didn’t deserve you, I’m glad that bitch Violet lied about being allergic to you,” he spat and hugged them. He knew she wasn’t allergic to dogs, that was a big load of crap and Jake was really an idiot man to fall for it. But that was his problem, Harry was happy that he at least got to keep his friends and Jake didn’t get them along with his heart.
It took Harry a week to pack everything up. He put all of the pictures of Jake in a separate box; he didn’t want to look at them for a long time, maybe never. All of the pictures of the happy family portraits he put in another, he would maybe be able to look at them in a hundred years or so. All of the ones with just Jake with the kids he put in separated boxes for the kids to have, they could split them up as they liked; he never wanted to see them again. He kept all the ones with just him and his kids and kept them separate to put out in his new house. He loved his kids and wanted reminders of all of them and the happy times they had shared. The ones with Fran and the kids he put in a box to send to her. Then he moved on to the game room.
Everything got packed and put away; he didn’t keep anything of his old life except for five pairs of shorts, socks, boxers and one pair of sneakers to wear. He took all of his clothes, winter, fall, summer and spring, put them in garbage bags and took them down to the swap meet and gave them to this old Alterian lady. She tried to give him money for the stuff but he just emptied the bags, shook his head and walked away. She and her daughter seemed thrilled by the expensive well taken cared of clothing. Harry cried on the way home while his canine friends whined in the back seat.
Danny came home one day from unloading his store and saw Harry working and wandered over to see what was going on. He had been at his store for two days straight and hadn’t seen his dads; DJ had been milking his cow for him. Harry saw him and waved, he was lifting boxes to the bin and stacking them neatly on top of each other.
“Harry, what’s going on?” Danny called out as he approached. Harry grinned as best he could; he knew his youngest would be the hardest to fool.
“Just doing a little redecorating, getting tired of the old stuff, thought I needed a new look,” he told him. Danny grinned.
“I guess every hundred years or so you have to change things around or it gets boring,” he joked. He peered at his dad and frowned. “You okay, you don’t look like you’ve been sleeping?” he asked. Harry shrugged.
“I’m fine, just working too hard, you know how I get once I get started on a project, I get carried a way,” he joked. Danny grinned and patted his shoulder.
“Well, you tell Jake I said for him to slow you down some and drink some green milk, that’ll pick you up some,” he said. Harry nodded. Then he hugged his son a little too tight because Danny gave him a funny look.
“Well, you look tired yourself, kid, so why don’t you head in and let me get back to work,” Harry said and Danny nodded.
“Don’t work too late, Harry, goodnight,” he said and walked back to his house, stopping once to look back at his dad, his handsome face a little worried. Then his dogs rushed out of the house to greet him and he forgot about Harry and went inside. Harry sighed and went back to work, at least his first encounter with one of his kids was over and he didn’t break down and weep on their shoulder. He didn’t want them taking sides between him and Jake, that wouldn’t be fair to them and it wouldn’t be fair to Jake, this breakup was between the two of them and didn’t have anything to do with their children.
Violet hired an Alterian crew to unload her bins and walked around the store she had been banned from for ninety-three years and felt like doing cartwheels. Instead she twirled around the top floor over-looking the bottom and grinned.
“Its all mine, Macys is all mine and that fucking bastard Harry Talbert can’t ban me from any of his stupid stores again because he doesn’t have any left,” she exclaimed and Gloria who was with her laughed. They hugged each other and walked back to the offices.
“You should redecorate,” Gloria advised and Violet looked around the office and nodded. She noticed some dog hairs on her chair and made a face.
“He brought those dogs to the store, can you believe that?” she asked and they both laughed. Then the men started to bring things in so they decided to go to the salon and get facials and manicures for their dinner tonight to celebrate. Violet left the man in charge with the chart showing where everything went and left her precious store.
Three days later she was informed that all of the bins were emptied and the store was ready for her inspection. Excited, Violet, Gloria and David rushed to Macy’s and opened the front door. The head man, an alterian named Frank Douglas met them and frowned.
“Miss Emery, some of the stuff in the bins, we couldn’t find on this chart you left with us, so we just found a place for it,” he informed her. She frowned. Gloria smiled.
“That’s fine, Violet, Harry probably didn’t have all of the stores of stuff that Macy usually carries so he gave you other stuff, I’m sure it’s stuff that fits in with the décor of the store,” she told her. Violet smiled.
“Of course, Harry owned Macys for a hundred years, he would know what kind of merchandise belongs here,” she gushed and the three followed Frank into the store. They all looked puzzled when the first thing they saw was the greeting card section. And where the fine perfumes and makeup usually were, were helium balloons, big, colorful, helium balloons. They all gasped.
“Greeting cards and balloons in Macys, none of this stuff belongs in Macys, Harry must have brought the wrong bins by accident,” Violet exclaimed. Then they looked at the rest of the store and what they saw was no accident.
In the shoe department were shoes. But not the Italian leather ones like Gucci and Prada. These shoes were colorful plastic and rubber shoes of all kinds and styles and colors, like a big giant rainbow and there were thousands of them. They filled a third of the bottom floor. Violet looked at them and felt her face get red with angry.
“That fucking bastard, he did this on purpose!” she spat. They looked at the rest of the store. The rest of the first floor was filled with aquariums. Lots of aquariums, of all sizes and shapes, big ones, small ones, round ones, square ones, it was a big joke. Her precious first floor was a joke, aquariums, helium balloons, greeting cards and plastic shoes. Then they took the escalator to the bottom floor.
There they found lamps, floor lamps, desk lamps, ceiling lamps, all kinds of lamps, any kind of lamp you wanted, Violet had it.
“I didn’t know Macys sold lamps,” David said and the two women glared at him.
“They don’t, you moron,” Gloria snapped at him and he giggled. Then they saw the refrigerators and these took up the rest of the bottom floor. Refrigerators and barbecue grills, Harry had made a joke of her fine furniture department. Where were all the fine china and the crystal, the expensive view-screens and the stereos? All she had were lamps, refrigerators and God-damned barbecue grills, Violet would have killed Harry Talbert if he had been standing in front of her.
“I can hardly wait to see women’s dresses,” Gloria remarked and Violet glared at her. They took the elevator up to the third floor. They all gasped when it opened and saw what was there.
“I’m going to kill that little faggot,” Violet yelled as she saw all the t-shirts. And there had to have been ten thousand of them. Everywhere she looked there were t-shirts. He must have unloaded some kind of t-shirt warehouse store into her Macys, there were so many of them, they took up the entire third floor. David giggled and Gloria held her hand up to her mouth. Violet felt tears come to her eyes.
“He’s ruined my store, that little bastard has ruined my store, I can’t open Macys like this, everyone will laugh at me,” she said and the other two nodded. Gloria put her arms around her friend.
“You can sell all of this stuff and Jake has millions, you can buy new stuff and make Macys what it should be,” she consoled her. Violet shook her head.
“Every time I come in here, all I’m going to see it this,” she said. “But I’m going to get even with that little bastard if it’s the last thing I do, he’ll regret fucking with me,” she spat. Then she paid off the alterians and went to cry on Jake’s shoulders.
“Harry did what?” Jake exclaimed when she cried and told him what his ex had done to her. He wanted to laugh but he just patted her on her back and held her. He also wanted to tell her what did she really expect? That Harry would have filled her store with great merchandise so she could turn his precious Macys into her precious Macys. Violet needed a dose of reality. After all, she had just stolen his husband of ninety-three years, did she really think Harry was going to just lie down and take it without trying to get back at her somehow? He pictured Macys with all that crap in it and wanted to giggle, but sighed instead. He had wanted to stay friends with Harry because they did have seven children together but now Jake realized that it would many years before Harry forgave him and they could try for friendship.
Once all of the belongings were out of his house, Harry decided that it was much too big for only one person; he didn’t need eight bedrooms reminding him that he was never going to have anymore children. And when he got married or lived with someone again, they certainly weren’t going to have children, so four bedrooms were plenty. Harry decided to put the house back to its original design, so he went out and got some Sassafuric acid and went to work.
His kids and most of the inhabitants of the section of Edenville known as Kid’s Town were watching a bunch of alterians wrap metal chains and straps around Macys in preparation of lifting it from its foundation and removing it from its site and taking it to its new site in Medford where it would be turned into a mattress factory. They were all wondering why Harry would sell his favorite store to an alterian. Adam wandered down to ask questions of the job foreman.
“Moving a store, that’s got to be a lot of work,” he remarked casually. The man grinned.
“Yeah, you got to get it rigged up just right or the damned thing will slip right out of the harness and collapse on you,” he told him. Adam grinned.
“People are wondering why Harry Talbert sold his store,” he commented. The man frowned and looked at his clipboard.
“I don’t know no Harry Talbert, it says here the owner is a Jake Jackson,” he informed him. Adam frowned.
“Jake Jackson, are you sure?” he asked and the man showed him the paperwork and the signature was indeed Jake Jackson. He thanked him and went back to report to his siblings.
“Jake Jackson, why the hell is Jake using his old name, his last name is Talbert,” Jackson said and they all nodded.
“Something is going on, Harry would never sell Macys, he loves this store,” Emma told them and they all nodded again.
“Let’s go see Harry and ask what’s going on, there’s got to be a simple explanation,” Danny said and they all rushed to cars and drove to Harry’s. They found him standing on the roof on their house pouring something purple from a bottle on the roof. He saw them and waved.
“I’ll be down in a minute, hold on, this stuff is risky to use,” he yelled and they all nodded. Then he lifted the bottle far away from the house and used a metal crow bar to break apart the crack that had just formed where he had poured the liquid.
“Son-of-a-bitch, he’s splitting the house in two,” Jackson exclaimed.
“Why’s he doing that?” Emma demanded. They all looked at one another with confusion. Then Harry lifted half of their house away from the rest and set it down about a hundred feet away. They all gasped at the exposed hole looking at them. He grinned and climbed down a ladder and walked over to them. They all frowned at the gauntness in his face and the way his clothes hung on him, he looked as if he had been losing weight.
“Harry, what the hell is going on, what did you do to our house?” Adam yelled. Harry smiled.
“I’m remodeling, the house is too big for just one person,” he informed them. “All of you kids have all moved out and you’re not going to move back home again so there’s no use in having such a big house so I thought I’d turn it back into its original design again.” They all looked appalled.
“But it’s our house, Harry,” Jackson exclaimed. Harry sighed.
“No, it’s my house. All of your children have houses and when you get married you’ll have more houses, this is my house and it’s too big and too lonely and I want a smaller house,” he told them and they all nodded.
“Harry, why are you selling Macys?” Emma demanded. He looked shocked.
“Macys being sold?” he asked and they nodded.
“To an alterian who’s going to turn it into a mattress factory,” Adam informed him. Harry sighed.
“That bitch, she got even with me for filling the store with crap,” he snapped. “Oh, well, as my mother always said, that’s what I get for cutting off my nose to spite my face.” Then he sighed again.
“What bitch, who are you talking about and why is Jake calling himself Jake Jackson, what the hell is going on?” Jackson asked.
“Yeah, Harry, what’s going on?” Emma asked, her forehead wrinkling a little like it always did when she was perturbed. He smiled at them.
“Well, I guess you’d better hear it from me seeing how your dad obviously is too much of a coward to tell you,” Harry said.
“Tell us what?” Sean interrupted.
“Your father has divorced me and he’s moved in with Violet and he’s going to marry her,” Harry informed them. They all gasped with shock.
“Violet, who’s Violet?” Cassie asked, her face getting as red as her hair. All the kids looked confused.
“You kids all know Violet Emery, she’s Reverend Milo’s daughter,” Harry said and they all nodded.
“But Jake hates Violet,” Ryan protested. Harry shook his head.
“No, I hate Violet, your dad loves Violet and they’re engaged to be married,” he informed them. Danny snickered.
“Does he know that she’s slept with all of his children except me?” he sneered. Harry shrugged.
“Everyone’s slept with everyone and no one cares about that stuff, you know that Danny,” he admonished him gently. Danny shrugged. Harry continued. “Now your dad is probably afraid that you’re all going to take my side so I want you all to go over there and tell him you’re not. He’s going to need your help building his new home over on Farm One and your grandparents are moving over there too so they’ll need your help building their house too.” All the kids sighed.
“I don’t believe this, he divorces you after ninety-three years to marry that whore,” Cassie exclaimed. “Why couldn’t the two of you just have an open marriage like the rest of the people have?” she asked. All the kids nodded. Harry sighed again, he had been dreaded this question.
“Because Violet wants to have children and Jake wants them to have his name,” he told them as bravely as he could but tears still came to his eyes and spilled over. He wiped them away. “I thought I had cried all of this away,” he said and tried to laugh. Danny reached and grabbed him in a tight hug. All the kids hugged him.
“It’s going to be alright, Harry,” Jackson whispered and they all kissed him. He smiled.
“Sure it will be, it will just take some time, maybe in five or ten years, I’ll just be fine,” he said sadly. Then he told them he had work to do and they should all go and visit their dad. They all nodded and drove away.
“I don’t care what Harry said about being fair and not taking sides, you know that Jake didn’t just decide one day to leave Harry for Violet, he must have been cheating on him for years, that son-of-a-bitch,” Adam spat. All the kids nodded.
“Violet’s been working for Jake and granddad for ten years at the clinic, I wonder how many of those years the affair’s been going on?” Emma asked. They all looked sad.
“Poor Harry, he can’t have anymore children so Jake trades him on a model who can, that’s not right,” Sean said and all the boys looked angry. Cassie laughed and they all looked at her.
“If any of you think for a minute that Violet is going to give Jake children then you’re barking up the wrong tree. That selfish bitch would never in a million years have a baby, she’s afraid of getting fat. She’s too much like her best friend Gloria to get pregnant and have a child,” she informed them. Emma giggled.
“And we all know how well she did with a child,” she retorted and Jackson grabbed her hand and kissed it. She smiled at him.
“Well, she’s got Jake convinced that she’s going to give him children, he’d never divorce Harry unless it was for the sake of children,” Danny said wisely.
“She’s playing Jake for a fool then but why?” Adam asked but no one knew. They got to the clinic and went in. Violet saw them and smiled her sweet smile.
“Your dad is free, why don’t you all go in, he’ll be so happy to see you all,” she gushed and ignoring her they walked past her and walked into Jake’s office. She kept the smile on her face until the door was shut and then she stuck her tongue out at them and made a face.
“Jake, what the hell is going on, Harry just told us you divorced him and you’re going to marry Violet, is that true?” Jackson demanded in lieu of a greeting. Jake smiled and stood up to greet them. Both girls rushed into his arms like they usually did and he took this as a good sign.
“Now, kids, what happens between Harry and me is between us, it doesn’t affect you kids and you shouldn’t take sides,” Jake told them. They all nodded slowly.
“So it’s true, you did divorce Harry to marry Violet,” Emma said and Jake nodded.
“What happened between me and Violet just happened, we didn’t mean for it to, but we just fell in love and I knew how much Harry didn’t like her so we had to keep it a secret,” he told them. Danny snorted.
“So you cheated on him,” he accused and glared at his dad. Jake sighed.
“I didn’t intend to, Son, but if Harry had known about Violet he would have been very angry and hurt and I didn’t want to see him hurt,” he tried to explain but none of the kids were buying it.
“He looks pretty hurt now, Jake,” Adam remarked. Jake sighed.
“He’ll get over it and one day we’ll be friends again, you’ll see, me and Harry have been friends for a long time, one day we’ll be friends again,” he said and they could see he actually believed what he was saying. Then he grinned.
“Now, who wants to help me build a house?” Jake asked and they all nodded.
“Sure, Jake, we’ll help you build your house,” Jackson said and Jake smiled with relief. They’d come around and they wouldn’t pick sides. Then he looked at Danny’s angry face and sighed again. That son would never come around and, of course, he’d take Harry’s side, he was always Harry’s special one from the beginning and he probably always would be.
The kids all helped Jake and their grandparents build their new houses and Violet was nice and sweet to them all and they found her a changed person. She took the two girls shopping and to get their nails done and they had a good time. She joked with the boys and took them to dinner and they had a good time. Everyone seemed to like her except for Danny, he remained polite but no matter how nice and sweet Violet was to him, he kept his distance. Of course, living next to Harry, he saw him every morning and he saw the constant pain his dad was in so sweet little Violet and the beaming Jake didn’t stand a chance of convincing Danny that Harry would eventually get over it.
Once Harry got his house separated he tore up all the floors, tiles, sinks, toilets and fixtures until all that was left was an empty shell. Then he chopped down some trees and ran them through the Saw Mill 5000 and made beautiful hardwood floors for all of his rooms and put all new tiles in his bathrooms and kitchen. The pantry shelves were replaced with new ones but the food service elevator he left alone, the new one was exactly the same and there was no need to replace it. But the basement stairs were different so they got replaced.
He did keep the extra windows in the front room and took off the stupid looking awning that he had put up to keep Violet from peeking in so many years ago. There was no one living in that house anymore and he doubted that when there was that they would think to have a telescope in the attic and use it to peek into his living room like she had.
Once all of the floors were in, he put in all of the new tubs, sinks and fixtures. The new ones were much more elegant and of course, pretentious as hell but he giggled as he installed them and wished there were someone other than himself to enjoy the new look.
“They’re going to start calling me crazy Harry if all I talk to are a couple of dogs, Gertie,” he told her one day. She barked and wagged her tail. It was his day to weed the fields so he climbed on his tractor and put on some country music, turned on the air conditioning and drove off at the amazing speed of three miles an hour. He was on his fourth row when he saw the women with long red hair standing at the end of the next row. Harry paused and she jumped behind him and he began the fifth row.
“How are you holding up, Harry?” Kathleen asked softly. He shrugged.
“I’m remodeling the house,” he informed her. She nodded.
“I know, I’ve seen you working, you’re working too hard, you need to slow down some; why don’t you come over for dinner and relax,” she said. He shook his head.
“I’m not ready to face anyone yet,” he told her. She shook her head.
“You can’t hide forever, you’re got to get back to normal as soon as you can, we’re still your friends, we love both of you,” Kathleen told him. He said nothing for a minute then he sighed.
“Did you know?” he asked her softly. She didn’t say anything for a minute then she sighed.
“Steve and I saw them together at the Bird Cage one night with David and Gloria when you had told me he was having dinner with his mom,” she confessed. He nodded.
“Was that before or after the anniversary party?” Harry demanded to know. She sighed again and he knew it was before. “Why didn’t you tell me, Kathleen, you let me make a big fool out of myself in front of everyone, dancing with Jake looking all lovey-dovey and all of them laughing at poor stupid Harry, he doesn’t know his wonderful husband is sleeping with the woman he hates. God, those people from Farm One must have been laughing all night and you knew and you didn’t say a word.” He shook his head and turned the tractor around and stopped where he had picked her up.
“Harry, try to understand, Jake is our friend too, we didn’t want to interfere,” she pleaded. He shook his head.
“You knew it was wrong not to tell me, Kathleen, even though Jake is your friend too, you should have told me and you know it,” Harry stated and she nodded.
“I’m sorry, Harry,” she said. He turned the tractor around and began his weeding again without saying another word. She frowned. “Harry, don’t be like this, we’ve been friends too long for you to do this to me.” He just waved at her but didn’t turn around. Frustrated, Kathleen walked back to her house, wiping tears from her eyes. Steve watched her come in.
“How did it go?” he asked. She shook her head.
“Now he won’t talk to me, he’s right, we should have told him Jake was cheating,” she said sadly. Steve sighed and hugged her.
“Then Jake would hate us right now, Kathleen it’s a no-win situation, if we’d told Harry, Jake would hate us, so we kept our mouths shut and now Harry hates us, we were in the shit no matter what we did,” he reasoned. She shook her head.
“I think I’d rather have had Jake hating me than Harry,” she admitted and he nodded.
“Me too, honey,” he said sadly.
Harry laughed when he opened the bin for the furniture and found it in neat little boxes and it had to be put together, and then he cried because Jake was the one who was handiest with the screwdriver. But he persisted and soon had a whole house full of really elegant furniture and it was really lovely stuff. He would have never in a million years picked out any of it himself but that was the whole point of a whole new you, you changed your whole way of thinking and being.
Phillip Montgomery’s clothes were more elegant and stylish also. Even his casual clothes were stylish with little alligators monogrammed on his shirt fronts and creases in his shorts. Harry even let his hair grow so long he could put it in a little ponytail and grew a mustache; he was a brand new Harry. Danny laughed and said it made him look like a hippie but Harry said that was exactly the look he was going for.
Once his house was in order Harry took all of the bins over to Sherwood and stored them. Then he didn’t have anything to do so he decided to go exploring by himself since everyone was still busy selling everything they had to the alterians. He wondered when they were going to realize that that was a pointless occupation. They were going to run out of stuff to sell before they ran out of alterians.
In the twenty years since they had arrived the eighty thousand alterians had expanded to over a hundred and twenty-seven thousand some alterians and there was no stopping the population growth. They loved large families and Bali their God insisted they produce as many children as they could. It was the scared duty of every alterian woman to procreate and they took their duty seriously.
Harry decided that day trips would be stupid when he could just take a week and relax and see everything so for that he would need new camping equipment so he drove to his old Colorado camping store that was now owned by his younger brother Kent and went in. Kent greeted him warmly and waved.
“Hey, Harry, long time no see, how have you been?” he asked cheerfully, obviously he hadn’t heard of the divorce. Harry pasted a smile on his face.
“Pretty good, thinking about doing some camping so I came in to pick up some supplies,” he told him. Kent nodded and Harry went to work. He got an air-cart and picked out a nice big tent, a shower tent and toilet because he hated peeing in the woods. Then he picked out a stove and refrigerator and cold/ice box combo and brought all that up to the counter. He was going to go back for the rest when Kent eyed everything with pleasure and picked up his little scanner and gave his older brother a big grin.
“This sale is going to make my week,” he exclaimed. Harry kept the surprise off of his face but wanted to reach over the counter and smack the grin off of the little shit’s face. Was he really going to charge him for all of this? After all the years of Harry giving him free stuff from all of his stores not to say the fact that Harry had given him this very store they were standing in and filled it not once but twice. Plus, Harry had given him the car he was driving and the house he was living in. The little prick had balls the size of cannonballs to even think about charging him for a few camping supplies. Harry had other plans. He reached into his back pocket like he was reaching for something and made a noise in his throat.
“Oh, shit, Kent, you know what I’ve done, I’ve left my checkbook at home,” he said with a laugh. Kent laughed too. “I’m going to have to run home and get it, let me put this stuff back and I’ll get it later this week,” he told him. Kent shook his head.
“I’ll just hold it up front for you, Harry, you can run home real quickly,” he said. Harry shook his head and looked at the clock above his brother‘s head.
“I wish I could but I’ve got to meet Dr. George at the Center for a meeting right now, but I’ll come back later for this stuff, promise,” he declared and before Kent could promise to hold it, Harry quickly turned the cart around and rushed through the aisle putting everything back where he had found it. Then he waved at the selfish little prick and rushed to his car and drove home.
“Can you imagine the nerve of that little bastard,” he told Gertie and Bo who laughed at him. Harry searched through his last six hundred and sixty-three stores looking for a camping supplies and his luck held out, he found Elite Camping Supplies.
“Well, look here, Elite Camping Supplies, Gertie, Bo, hop in the ship, we’re going for a ride,” he said and Gertie barked and Bo just wagged. They left the house and Danny saw them fly away and wondered where his dad was heading off to so late in the day when he should be eating dinner. The man was not eating right. He decided to cook some food and leave it out for Harry when he came home.
Harry found all that he needed for his camping trip and more. Elite also had clothing and he outfitted himself in some rather stylish safari wear that included a pith helmet and nice hiking boots. When he had all of it on, he looked like someone from one of those ancient Tarzan of the Jungle movies and this made him giggle which made the two dogs jump on him with excitement.
“You like this look don’t you, Gertie, Bo, yes I look like a movie star,” Harry gushed and that gave him a good idea.
The next day he grabbed some money and drove to Cannon Cameras and walked in the door. Monroe, Jake’s younger brother smiled and greeted him warmly.
“Harry, how wonderful to see you, come on in,” he gushed and held out his hand. Harry shook it and looked around at the store. Monroe looked at him and obviously didn’t like what he saw because he frowned.
“That brother of mine ought to be shot, that Violet Emery is just plain bad news,” he said with anger. Harry shrugged; he really didn’t want to hear about this. Monroe went on.
“Did you hear they’re getting married on Saturday?” he asked and Harry felt like the man had slapped him. It must have shown on his face because Monroe instantly felt like a fool.
“I’m sorry, Harry, I’m sure you didn’t come in here to hear that old news, what can I do for you today?” he said overly cheerful. Harry attempted a smile that failed and looked around the store.
“I’m looking for a video camera, Monroe, I need a really good one, actually what I’d really like to have if you’ve got one is one of those little movie cameras,” he told him. Monroe’s eyes lit up.
“I know just what you need,” he exclaimed and opened a locked cabinet under the counter. He held up a mini movie camera. “The Kodak Mini Movie 5000, the latest and best home movie camera ever made,” he said and showed Harry how it worked.
“It’s even got this little wrist screen so you can put it on the tripod and film yourself and see what you’re filming on the wrist screen,” he showed Harry how that worked and Harry was very impressed. He was also impressed with its price, a whopping ten thousand dollars plus another three thousand for the extras like the tripod and extra wide angle lens for long distance shots. He grinned at Monroe.
“This is perfect, I’ll take it all,” Harry gushed and the other man smiled and began to pack it up.
“If I might be so bold, what kind of movies are you going to be taking?” Monroe asked casually. Harry smiled.
“I’m heading over to Savannah to do some camping and thought I might take some videos of the scenery and talk DJ and Steve into putting on some kind of travel show on their TV station. Maybe some of the Alterians would be interested in seeing the Dark Continent and some of us who haven’t seen parts of it,” Harry explained and Monroe’s eyes lit up again.
“I’d be interested in see that kind of show, who’s your camera man going to be, I’d volunteer for the job if you haven’t gotten anyone lined up yet,” he offered. Harry shook his head.
“I’m going alone for a while, just me and the dogs, I need some alone time Monroe, some time to sort things through, maybe later, I’ll keep you in mind,” he said and he reached in his pocket and pulled out a big wad of cash. “What’s the damage here?” he asked with a grin. Monroe laughed and he placed his hand over Harry’s.
“Put your money away, man, your money isn’t any good in here,” he teased and handed him the bag. “You just take some good movies and I’ll be sure to check the guide and look for your show.” Harry nodded.
“Thanks, Monroe, I’ll see you,” he said and smiling he left the store and got into his car. At least someone in this town remembered the deal they had made with him and wasn’t a reneging back-stabbing little prick like his brother. He drove home and began loading up the passenger carrier and then was forced to do the one chore he had been dreading. He had to take Daisy, Jake’s white cow down to his mother’s barn and drop her off for God only knew how long because he couldn’t keep on milking her and throwing away the milk. It just wasn’t right, it was wasteful and if Jake was getting married in two day, he wasn’t coming home and Harry didn’t drink white milk.
“Come on, Daisy, let’s go and meet some new friends,” he told her and lifted her up and walked down to the other barn. He wondered if Bessie and Kelly the two green cows would miss her and that depressed him so much he almost cried the whole way but stopped himself because he didn’t want to show up weeping.
“Hi, Harry, what are you doing with that cow and why does she have a red ear?” his mother Kate asked when she saw him standing in the open doorway. All four of the lesbians were in the barn stacking bales of yellow-green grass.
“Hi, Harry, don’t you look dapper, I love that little ponytail,” Jan said and laughed. Barb shook her head.
“I don’t, it makes you look like a beatnik, cut it off,” she declared. Everyone laughed. Then Kate noticed that he wasn’t laughing and teasing with them like he usually did.
“What’s wrong, Henry, why are you so gloomy?” she asked. Harry smiled.
“I need you to take Daisy for a little while, Mom, just until I need her again,” he said solemnly. “That’s why I’ve dyed her ear red so we won’t get her mixed up with your cows. That is important to me; I want her back one day, but I don’t need her now.” Kate nodded.
“Why don’t you need her, Henry, doesn’t Jake drink white milk anymore?” Barb asked; confusion on her face. Harry shrugged.
“He’ll probably be buying his milk from a dairy from now on,” he told them and then sighed. “Jake’s left me, he’s divorced me and he’s going to marry Violet Emery on Saturday and they’re going to have children together.” His eyes filled with tears and he began to sob. “Shit, I told myself I wasn’t going to cry anymore,” Harry said and he reached for a hankie but of course he didn’t have one. Jan pulled out a red bandana and handed it to him. He thanked her and wiped his eyes. Kate stepped forward and hugged him.
“Oh, Harry, I’m so sorry, Mouse,” Barb said and hugged him too. Soon all four lesbians were hugging him while he cried. Barb had tears in her eyes too and so did Joy. Jan looked angry.
“That little fake tittied bitch, I knew she never wanted to be a Veterinarian, she was using that job as a way to get close to Jake and steal him away from you and stupid man that he is, he fell for it,” she snapped. Kate sighed.
“Men always think with their little heads and not their big ones, I’m sorry, Henry, but it was bound to happen, you and Jake should have had an open marriage like the rest of us and maybe he wouldn’t have strayed,” she stated. Harry sighed.
“What, you think I didn’t offer him an open marriage, I did, Mom, and he always said he didn’t want one,” he informed them and they all looked surprised. “Every single time I brought up the subject of an open marriage or him trying to make love with a woman, he always turned me down saying that I was all that he needed and that if he saw me making love with another man it would break his heart. But it only took Violet eight years to convince him he was bi-sexual and steal him away and even then I offered him an open marriage and he could still keep her and stay married to me but she wants children and you know that if he has children Jake would want them to have his name so they have to get married.”
“Violet is never going to give him children and he’s a fool to think she is,” Jan said firmly. Harry shrugged.
“She will if she wants to keep him,” he said and Kate sighed.
“She will just because you can’t and she hates you enough to do it, she’s been waiting ninety-three years for her revenge and she’ll keep Jake as long as she sees it hurts you and drop him the instant you move on with your life,” she predicted. Barb hugged him.
“That’s what you’ve got to do, Harry, you’ve got to move on with your life as fast as you can and forget Jake Jackson ever existed,” she advised. Harry nodded and turned around and walked away.
“Come to dinner on Saturday, we’ll keep you company,” Kate called out. Harry waved but didn’t turn around. They all sighed.
“He won’t come, he’ll sit at home in the dark all alone and cry,” Joy predicted and they nodded.
“Poor little Mouse,” Barb said and choked back a sob. Kate pulled the cow into the pasture with the others.
Harry loaded up the passenger carrier and put his cow on with enough food for nine or ten days just in case he got lazy. He was leaving a message on his phone saying he’d be away for a week in case his kids wondered where he was and worried when wedding bells rang and the Wedding March began to play and a formal picture of Jake and Violet came faxing over his machine. He gasped in horror and just watched the whole thing appear. They wouldn’t dare send him an invitation to their wedding, how could they have that much nerve? But apparently they did because that’s exactly what it was.
Dearest Harry, you are cordially invited to our joyous occasion, the damned thing began. Harry read the whole thing asking for presents and his best wishes for the happy couple and stared at the glowing smiles the couple wore and the tacky door knob adorning Violet’s ring finger. He couldn’t help but face the fact, Jake looked happier than he had in years. His dark, brown eyes were glowing. Harry ripped the picture in half and threw it in the trash and looked around for anything he had missed. Then he locked up the house and walked out to the Elizabeth.
“Off to Savannah we go, guys,” he said cheerfully to the dogs that wagged their tails. Gertie barked and he flew away.
Danny got home that night and read his invitation. He sighed and looked at his dad’s smiling face and glanced over at the dark house across the way. He wondered how Harry was taking the news and decided to go over and check on him. When there was no answer to his knock he called him on the phone and got a cheery message instead.
“Hello, this is Harry, Gertie and Bo and we’re not home, we’re gone off exploring the Dark Continent of Savannah and will be back in a week, see you then, leave a message if you must.”
“Fuck,” Danny cursed. Of course his dad would find a way to be out of town for the wedding. He should have taken one of them with him though. It wasn’t good for him to be all alone at a time like this. Danny called all of his siblings and told them the news and all of them got angry.
“Did you know he was planning a camping trip?” Jackson demanded to know. Danny shook his head.
“No, he never said a word to me, and I never saw any camping gear anywhere,” he told them. Emma sighed.
“This really sucks, this is the happiest night for Jake and we’re all going to be worried about Harry,” she snapped. Ryan glared at her.
“I don’t think he did it on purpose,” he snapped at her. Jackson glared at him.
“That’s not what she meant,” he snapped at him. Sean glared at him.
“That’s what it sounded like to me,” he snapped. Adam held up his hands.
“Hold on everyone, fighting with each other isn’t going to bring Harry back or make Jake cancel the wedding and go back home where he belongs,” he told them. They all looked embarrassed.
“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Ryan said to Emma who said it back. Everyone said they were sorry. Then Danny sighed.
“Well, wherever Harry is, he’s got the dogs with him so he won’t do anything stupid, all he’ll do is cry a lot but he’ll be back,” he said and they all looked appalled, they hadn’t even thought of that.
“You don’t think Harry would do that, do you?” Cassie said softly. Danny shrugged.
“Not as long as he’s got the dogs with him he won’t, he loves them more than he loves anything, even himself,” he told them and they all suddenly were glad Violet was allergic to dogs.
“Let’s just get through this wedding, put on a happy face and put it behind us and when Harry gets back, we’ll kill him,” Sean teased and they all laughed. Ryan hugged him.
“That’s the best idea you’ve had all week,” he declared. They all went home leaving Danny to stare at the dark house. He took his two dogs Chance and Checkers inside and fixed his dinner.
Harry landed on the southern coast of Savannah and parked away from the beach and began to set up his camp site. He brought with him one carrier just filled with hundred gallon plastic bottles of water and hooked one up to his shower and one up to the kitchen sink. Savannah was a desert and he didn’t think he’d have much luck if he tried to drill for water. Once camp was set up he set the camera on the tripod and put the wrist view screen on and played with the toggle until he could accurately move it around. Then he looked around for something interesting to film but it was almost night time so he decided to try again in the morning.
“Let’s have supper,” he told the dogs who looked like they thought that a wonderful idea so he feed them and ate a sandwich and some yogurt and sat in a chair on the beach and listened to the waves hit the shore. There was no other sound and it was very peaceful, like he was the only person on the planet and for a little while he could forget all about Jake and Violet and everyone else and just listen to the sound of the waves.
The cold eventually drove him inside and he snuggled in his blankets with two big dogs keeping him warn and fell asleep eventually to the sound of the waves crashing to the shore.
The moo of the cow work him up so Harry go out of bed and milked her and ran the milk through the pasteurizer and faced the day. ‘The Day.’ But he pushed that aside and made breakfast for him and his best friends and changed his clothes into his safari look, compete with pith hat and marched to the beach to look for something interesting to film. He found giant purple sea turtles coming on land to lay eggs and thought this was the perfect thing to film so he set up the camera and put himself and the two dogs in front of it.
“Hello there, this is Harry, with Bo and Gertie, say hello Gertie,” he said and Gertie barked on cue which he knew that she would. He grinned and patted her head and then hugged Bo. “Bo is the strong, silent type,” he said. “We’re here on the Southern Coast of Savannah, also known as the Dark Continent and today I’ve discovered giant purple sea turtles that have come on shore to lay their eggs in the sand. Let’s get a little closer shall we and take a look.” He smiled at the camera and lifted it off with his telekinesis and it followed him down the beach.
“There they are, look at how big that one is,” he gushed and did a close up of the turtle. “See her legs and how they dig into the sand and carry her along, they must have superior muscle strength, I bet she swims fantastically. Now she’s going to lay her eggs in that big hole she’s dug, I’ll get a better look for you.” He moved the camera around and in closer.
“Now you can see the eggs coming out and they’re green, that’s surprising, green eggs from a purple turtle, I would have thought they’d be purple too, but that’s the beauty of Eden, you never know what color something is going to be.” They watched the eggs for a bit and then the turtle walked away and another turtle, a bigger one walked over.
“Oh, I think this is the male and he’s going to fertilize the eggs, yes, he’s beginning to spray them, oh my, this is rather disgusting, but I can’t stop watching,” Harry declared and laughed. “Now isn’t that interesting, now the eggs are turning blue, rather odd, but very interesting. Now he’s going to cover then I suppose so that birds and other creatures don’t eat them. We’ll have to come back later and watch the little turtles hatch and walk to the sea; that should be fun. Now let’s take a little walk up the beach and see what we can see shall we. Oh, look at this, some tiny crabs and they’re blue, Bo, don’t sniff them, they’ll bite,” Bo gave a little yelp as the crab reached up and bit him. Harry put the camera back on him and grinned.
“See what happens when you don’t listen to Harry,” he teased then he heard the call of a bird overhead and lifted the camera up. “Look at what we’ve found, some very ugly sea birds, I think they’re after the turtle eggs, yep, see them diving for them, I’m not letting that happen on my watch, watch me throw some rocks at them and scare them away.” Harry threw some rocks and laughed when the birds cried and dashed away. He did that until the turtles covered their eggs and then moved down the beach.
“Well, that was more fun that we deserve, wasn’t it Bo and Gertie?” he asked and pointed the camera at them. They both barked on cue and he laughed. Then he pointed the camera at the waves crashing on the shore because they were almost out of time and then pointed it at him and the dogs.
“Well, that’s all the time we have for now, see you next time but for now, this is Harry with Bo and Gertie, say goodbye Gertie,” he said and Gertie barked. He smiled and patted both dogs and then the time ran out and he was finished with his first video. He looked down at the dogs.
“Well, that was a lot of fun, wasn’t it guys, you both are regular ham bones,” he teased and they jumped up on him and licked his face. He got the camera and they ran back to camp. He put the CD in its case and marked it with the date and put it in the box and then fixed some chicken and rice with vegetables and ate it. Then he listened to some music but that only irritated him so he sat in the chair, drank some beer and watched the sun set. The wedding was over and Jake was now officially not his and belonged to Violet, the woman he despised. Tears ran down his face and Harry wanted to throw himself into the water and swim out until he couldn’t swim anymore and let the sharks have him. And the only things preventing him from doing that sat at his feet and every once in a while looked up at him and wagged his or her tail and grinned. If he left them here alone they would die and he couldn’t do that to them, they trusted him.
“Let’s go to bed, guys, I’m tired,” Harry said with a sigh and they followed him into the tent where he checked first for tiny bugs, found several and smashed them and then crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep.


The wedding went off without a hitch. The ceremony was performed by the bride’s father, a beaming Reverend Milo whose voice rang out with pride as he joined his daughter to Jake. The happy couple beamed as they kissed and Violet looked stunning in a gown she had bought from an alterian shop. Jake was handsome in a black tux. His best man was his brother Monroe and everyone agreed the two men looked just like their dad.
All of his kids attended and were equally stunning and Jake spared no expense with the wedding. He hired an alterian caterer, an alterian band who played Memphis jazz and the alcohol flowed freely. Everyone gushed and said they were having a wonderful time. Jake, smiling and joyous came over to the kids table to check up on them.
“You kids having a good time?” he asked cheerfully and they all smiled and nodded. Jackson stood up and hugged him.
“We’re having a great time, Jake, it was a beautiful ceremony,” he told him and everyone gushed how wonderful the ceremony was. Jake beamed.
“Violet sure is beautiful isn’t she, I’m so lucky,” he gushed and Danny wondered how much he had had to drink. Violet came over and put her arm through her new husband’s and beamed at them.
“This is such a wonderful party, are you kids having a great time?” she asked in her sweet voice. They all assured her that they were. Then she looked around and pouted.
“Harry didn’t come with you?” she asked and they all looked shocked and shook their heads.
“Why would he come?” Emma asked. Violet giggled.
“We invited him because we want him and Jake to still be friends, after all, they have known each other since they’ve been kids and there’s no reason why they can’t be friends, so why shouldn’t he come to the wedding?” she asked sweetly and Danny wanted to hit her. Jake kissed her.
“Isn’t she great, she doesn’t hold a grudge or have a mean bone in her body,” he praised her and Violet blushed. Then someone called them away and they said goodbye and rushed off. All the kids looked at each other and frowned.
“I sure hope Harry left for Savannah before that invitation came and we can intercept it,” Cassie said. They waited until the happy couple flew off in their helo for Hawaii and their two week honeymoon and then rushed over to Harry’s to prevent him from seeing the message. Emma found it in the trash.
“Too late, he’s already seen it,” she announced and picked the ripped picture out. Danny sighed and looked at it. Jackson stood in the foyer and frowned.
“Hey, everyone, come look at this room,” he called and they all rushed over and gasped.
“What the hell is this?” Sean asked. They all looked surprised.
“This room isn’t Harry, this is too,” Ryan grasped for the right word. Adam found it.
“Pretentious,” he declared and they all nodded. Then they took a good look around the rest of the house and inside Harry’s closet and they didn’t like what they found.
“This house is all wrong, Harry isn’t like this at all; what is he trying to do?” Cassie asked; her face worried. Adam shrugged.
“He’s trying to make himself into an entirely different person, obviously Jake didn’t like the old Harry anymore so he’s making a new Harry,” he guessed correctly.
“Oh, man, that’s fucking sad,” Sean said and they all felt sad and they all had to get out of that house as fast as they could. Danny locked up.
The next day Harry climbed a cliff and filmed some birds feeding their young.
“Watch the mother bird feeding the little fish to her babies, isn’t that sweet, oh, what darlings, and very hungry little monsters they are. Now that’s very interesting, did you see the mouth of that little bird, he has teeth and usually birds don’t have teeth like that, how fascinating.”
On the third day Harry filmed beautiful little rainbow fishes swimming in the tide pool using the underwater lens.
“Look at these beauties, aren’t they lovely, look at the blue ones, they are so colorful, they look like they’re dancing. Those yellow ones with the fuzzy tails, I could see them on stage, they look like little ballerinas. Now this grass they’re swimming around isn’t grass at all but alive, see it moving, now look, it’s going to swim away, now, that’s very interesting. What a clever job at camouflage.”
On the fourth day Harry walked in a bit and found some colorful lizards and followed them back to their lair and filmed them there.
“Look, we’ve discovered the lizard’s home and it looks like they live all together in a lizard condo, here comes several now, let’s get the camera real close and you can see the detail on their bodies, some of them are very clever at hiding among the rocks. Can you spy them? Let’s see, there’s one over there, see him against that rock, he’s blending in, but I can see him, look, there goes Gertie to say hello, say hello Gertie.” Gertie of course barked at the lizard and it ran away.
“Guess he didn’t want to play with you today, Gertie, oh, well. Look Bo’s found one near that cactus and he’s hiding near that flower, see the reddish skin? Yep, that’s a lizard, good job, Bo, don’t get too close, yep, that had to have hurt Bo; cacti needles are sharp.”
On the fifth day he found some sea otters basking on some rocks and sent the camera in to film them with their young and that was the best day.
On the sixth day he found thousands of those tiny blue crabs racing all over the beach mating and filmed that and the birds flying down to snatch the crabs up and carry them back to their nests to feed their young.
On the seventh day he filmed himself sitting in his chair with the dogs sitting by his feet and watching the sunset.
“Today we’re going to do something different; we’re going to watch the sunset over the water. This is called Laguna Bay and tonight is a full moon and there’s nothing more beautiful on this planet than watching the sunset over the water and listen to the sound of the waves crashing gently against the shore. So be quiet and listen and watch. Shush.”
He aimed the camera at the setting sun and just sat there. The sky blazed purple and orange and faded slowly to dark blue and the moon came out and sparkled like diamonds on the midnight blue ocean and the waves danced and he aimed at the waves crashing on the shores and you could practically feel the breeze. Then the film ended and he turned the camera off and went to bed.
The next morning Harry broke up camp and headed home. He wanted to get the videos to DJ and Steve and get their honest appraisal of them and see if they were interested in his little travel documentaries. If they weren’t he wasn’t going to stop doing them, he loved filming in front of the camera and he could always save them for himself and watch them later and remember this time when he was two thousand years old. He laughed when he thought of that. Harry at two thousand years old, he wondered who he would be with then. Maybe one of the kids would have someone nice he could fall in love with; he didn’t know anyone living right now who really interested him. But then he really hadn’t taken a real look, maybe he would be surprised if he tried.
Harry landed and unloaded his cow first thing and put her in the corral and then unloaded his stuff and unpacked everything and cleaned out the passenger carriers and then went into the house. He frowned when he saw that horrible picture sitting on the desk in the kitchen because he knew he had thrown it in the trash. That meant that someone, one of the kids had been in his house and he didn’t appreciate them going through his trash. He took the picture outside and burned it and scattered the ashes and then returned inside and fixed lunch. His appetite was still nonexistent but he tried to force food down so he made a sandwich and some salad and ate half of each and feed the rest of the turkey to the dogs who greatly appreciated it. He put the uneaten salad in the compost bucket.
“Guess I’ll do some weeding,” he muttered knowing that while he’d been gone folks had probably gotten lazy about it. He took his cell phone and listened to his home messages while he was weeding, he had about fifty, all about the same and all about the divorce and wedding. Harry listened to a few and then deleted them all.
“Harry, honey, I just heard the news, I’m so sorry to hear about you and Jake splitting up, if there’s anything I can do, please call me.” Fran sounded like she’d been crying. “Of course I have to go to the wedding; I know you’ll understand; I love you both so much.” Harry deleted her.
“Harry, my friend, I have just received the strangest wedding invitation, your husband Jake has invited me to his wedding to Violet but how can this be when he is married to you, please call me back, I am very worried about you,” Sarek said. Harry deleted him too.
“Harry this is Kathleen, please call me back, please don’t be mad at me, we’ve,” Harry deleted her.
“Harry, this is DJ, sorry to hear about you and Jake, thanks for filling my store, that was really nice, I’m going to the wedding,” Harry deleted him.
“Henry, it’s your mother,” Harry deleted her. Then he just deleted everyone, there was nothing anyone was going to say to make everything alright or make Jake come home which was the only thing that was going to make everything alright, so why talk to any of them. And DJ was the only who thanked him for filling his stores, the rest of the selfish bastards probably expected it. Well, they were going to wait a long time for that to happen again, he was through with being Harry the nice guy. From now on, he was out for number one and that person was Harry.
Harry drove his tractor slowly in the fields and thought about the rest of his empty life without Jake and cried some more, wiping his eyes on the hankie he had taken to carrying now that he no longer had Jake to carry one for him. He had to depend on himself now; this was just the first step in a long journey, one he didn’t want to make but had no choice. He wondered if Violet was going to get pregnant right away or if her saying she wanted children was just a scam to get Jake to marry her. He hoped it was for his sake and wished it wasn’t for Jake’s. He saw Kathleen standing at the edge of the field and turned the tractor around to avoid her. His cell phone rang immediately. He sighed and picked it up.
“Harry, this isn’t fair; you just can’t not talk to me,” she complained.
“Kathleen, I really don’t want to talk to anyone, not just you, please just leave me alone for a while,” he told her.
“So you’re not mad at me anymore?” she asked with hope in her voice.
“No, I’m not mad anymore,” he said and she sighed with relief. “Tell your husband I’m sending him and DJ some videos I made from Savannah for a travel show. He’s under so obligation to show them if he doesn’t like them, just send them back to me. I just thought they would be cute to show on his station since he’s always looking for new stuff.”
“Okay, Harry, I’ll tell him; why don’t you bring them over tonight and have dinner with us?” she asked.
“No thanks, Kathleen, I’m not up to company yet, but I’ll let you know when I am,” Harry told her. She sighed.
“You know the sooner you get back to normal, the better you’ll feel,” she told him. He sighed.
“So everyone’s been telling me, but I don’t feel normal and I’m not going to pretend that I am,” he said firmly so she let it be.
“Okay, Harry, I’ll talk to you later, I love you,” she said and he hung up. She sighed and walked back to her house. Steve looked interested when she mentioned Harry’s videos from Savannah.
“A travel show, that should be fun, when’s he sending them over, did he say?” he asked. She shook her head. He hugged her. “Well, at least he’s talking to you now,” he tried to be cheerful. She grinned.
“Well, that’s true and he is getting out of the house and exploring like he said he wanted to, that’s a good thing,” Kathleen smiled and they went back to their day.
Harry weeded all day and the next and then the third day he arranged for an Alterian messenger service to pick up and videos and dropped them off at the TV station with a note. He wasn’t up to facing anyone and refused all of his kid’s invitations to dinner, telling them he just wanted to laze around the house and planned to go back to exploring Savannah next week.
“Harry, we don’t like you going off to Savannah by yourself, you should take someone with you,” Jackson told him. Harry looked at him with surprise.
“First of all, its none of your business if I go off to Savannah by myself, I’m a big boy and I can take care of myself and who the hell are you kids to tell me what I can or cannot do?” he said calmly. Jackson looked uncomfortable.
“Second, there’s no one to take, all of you are so busy pissing away your time selling everything you own to the alterians and you haven’t got anytime to relax and enjoy a sunset,” he continued. “And third, I’m not alone; I take Gertie and Bo with me.”
“Fine, fine, forget I said anything, we just worry about you, Harry, that’s all,” Jackson informed him and then hugged him. Harry smiled.
“When are you kids going to stop this Harry crap and start calling me Dad again, you know it pisses me off,” he said and Jackson laughed.
“Why do you think we call you Harry,” he teased and they both laughed. Then Jackson looked around the kitchen.
“What’s up with this new décor?” he asked. “This isn’t you, this is too, how did Adam put it, pretentious for you.” Harry grinned.
“This is the new and improved Harry S. Talbert, elegant and pretentious as hell and he’s staying for a while and so is the ponytail and mustache so get used to it,” he declared and Jackson laughed.
“Okay, I rather like the ponytail, the mustache makes you look like a pirate though,” he said and Harry nodded.
“I like that, shiver me timbers,” he said and Jackson shook his head and turned to go.
“Drink a few less beers, Harry, and eat something, you’ve lost too much weight, I know the saying is ‘you can never be too rich or too thin’ but you can and you’re too thin, it doesn’t look good,” he told him.
“I’ll eat more when I have my appetite back, see you later, kid,” Harry said and locked the door behind him, something they never had to do before all those alterians arrived. He wondered if they had asked for blood or tissue samples yet and wondered if they had would Dr. George and the others tell them. He sighed and went to the living room to stare at his pretentious walls.
While Harry was making his travel show, Jake was having the time of his life, he hadn’t had this much fun in years. He and Violet left the best party he had been to in years and while the trip to Hawaii had been longer than he was used to, ninety minutes instead of the usual half-hour, but he had been the one doing the flying which was nice for a change. She had sat next to him and praised him the whole way.
“That was the best wedding a girl could ever dream of, thank you, Jake you’re the best husband already,” she gushed and he puffed up with pride. Then they had landed in the helo port at the beach house and he carried her over the threshold into the house and gasped with surprise at the new house he saw before him. Violet giggled at his facial expression.
“Surely, darling you didn’t think we were going to live with that tacky old stuff you and Harry had in here did you?” she teased and he grinned. This house was a master showplace. It was elegant and there were vases and flowers everywhere and the floors gleamed like never before. He kissed her hard and passionately. Then he carried her up the stairs to his new master bedroom with the four post bed with its lacey curtains and made love to his new bride. He even went down on her and she tasted like fresh ripe strawberries. This straight life was wonderful.
And the wonder lasted for two magical weeks. They did have one sticky moment when they came back from hiking from the waterfall and she wanted him to go down on her and when he did, she smelled a little bit funky and he made a face. She saw this and got up quickly and said she wasn’t in the mood for that and they fucked instead which he loved and she loved. She loved that he had the biggest dick on the planet and bragged to all of her friends about his ‘mighty sword’ as she called it.
Then their first night home in their elegant new house, Gloria and David invited them to a little get together at their house and Jake was surprised to see go-go boys from the Bird Cage there.
“These boys give the best head on the planet,” Max informed Jake with a leer and to his complete surprise one of the boys in his gold satin g-string, dropped to his knees in front of everyone and began giving old Max head. Jake gasped with shock and Max laughed.
“Gloria throws the best parties, you’ll have the time of your life, Jake,” he boasted and he grabbed the boy, who had to be legal and over eighteen to work at the club by his hair and pulled him into a bedroom and closed the door. Then to Jake’s complete surprise Gloria began arranging everyone into partners and three-ways for sex. She paired him off with her and his wife for a three-way because she was dying for a good fuck and wanted a hard pounding. His wife giggled at his expression and led him the master bedroom where the two women undressed him and seduced him superbly. And he gave them both the pounding of their lives and they loved it.
After that Gloria’s little parties became a Friday night event, or a Saturday night event and Jake was the stud everyone wanted a piece of and he was having a ball. His dad was big, but he was bigger and everyone wanted him to pound away at them. He even got to pound away at old Max and wished he could have told Harry about that, they would have both laughed at that one. He missed Harry like crazy because they could have shared so much; he couldn’t talk to Violet the way he used to talk to Harry. But no one was talking to Harry; he wasn’t returning anyone’s calls. Jake had heard that on the grapevine, Harry had locked himself in his house and was ignoring everyone. That worried him a little but his life was going so well, he didn’t have time to worry too much, so he put it out of his mind and went on with his wonderful time.
Harry went back to Savannah and this time went to the West Coast and saw some dolphins in the water and filmed them. And he filmed some of those big, black sharks attacking some sea otters which was savage and fierce. Then he filmed big red and blue birds in a marshy area that looked rather majestic. And more fishes, different ones and more of that grass that came alive and some pink and lavender sea horses. He made seven shows and then moved on to the East Coast and then the Northern Coast each time making seven shows and taking a break to head home between coast to do some weeding, or help with the harvest.
“Where the hell have you been lately, Harry, every time I call your house I get the same message,” his mother Kate complained as they picked tomatoes. Harry shrugged.
“That’s because I’ve been doing the same thing, I’m exploring Savannah and it’s a big continent and its going to take a while to do it,” he informed her. She frowned.
“You’re not running off and hiding from life are you because that’s the worst thing you can do,” she said and he sighed.
“No I’m not off hiding, in fact, I’m filming a travel show for the TV station,” he told her and everyone looked surprised.
“You’re filming a travel show, that’s fantastic, Mouse, when’s it on, I haven’t seen it,” Barb gushed. Harry shrugged.
“You’ll have to ask DJ or Steve, they run the station not me,” he said and they all looked at the two men in question. They both grinned.
“Harry’s show runs every Tuesday and Friday at ten in the morning and then again at nine in the evening and everyone loves the show, they keep asking for more and we have to keep repeating them, he’s so popular,” Steve informed them. DJ laughed.
“He’s been getting more email than any of our shows and even Gertie and Bo get mail,” he said and they all laughed.
“Gertie and Bo are on your show?” Jan asked with a grin. Harry smiled.
“Yep and Gertie barks on cue,” he informed them and they all looked amazed.
“How on earth do you get her to do that?” Kathleen asked. Harry shook his head.
“That’s a secret and if I told you then I’d have to kill you,” he declared sounding a lot like their old Harry and they all laughed with relief. Harry went back to picking tomatoes and wanted to die. He wanted Jake so badly he ached. Jake would have loved his travel show and he could have held the camera and helped him with it, what a fun time they could have had doing it. Tears ran down his face but he turned it so they wouldn’t see.
Harry took his tomatoes home and just tossed them into his metal boxes. He figured he probably wouldn’t make the effort to make sauce or soup this year and just eat them plain or on salads or stews or whatever. Everything just took too much effort these days, he felt like all of his bones weighed three times as much as they should. The only time he escaped was when he was filming something interesting to show people, and then he forgot about himself and could concentrate on what he was seeing.
Harry decided to show everyone the furry-purry spiders next and had to butcher a cow to get enough meat. He hated the idea of doing it alone but then he hated the idea of doing it with someone more so he flew a helo out to the field and picked up a cow and flew it back late one night when everyone was inside and wouldn’t see him. Then he said the prayer, killed the poor beast and butchered the whole thing entirely by himself. It took him eight hours and he was exhausted by the time he was through. He took a lot of meat chunks in a bin for the spiders and then two bins of meat home for himself along with the usual pastrami and corned beef and left the rest for someone else. When he got home he sent an email to the farm telling them about the meat and saying it was up for grabs to whoever wanted it. Then he took a shower and went to bed. The doorbell woke him up around ten and pissed as hell he opened the door to a messenger.
“Are you Harry Talbert?” the man asked cheerfully. Harry nodded and then signed for a flat white box. Then the man left and he closed the door. Curious he opened the box to a framed wedding picture of Jake and Violet, a beautiful picture, but one he really didn’t need or want to see. She was stunning and he was as handsome as he had been the day he had married Harry and seeing him like this broke Harry’s heart all over again. Harry broke into tears, great big sobs and held the picture to his chest and fell to his knees. If Violet could have seen him, she would have danced around him with joy. Both dogs whined and licked his face. Harry just continued to cry and hold the picture. Then he crawled back into bed and stared off into space until he fell back asleep. Danny found him there hours later with a tear-stained face, still clutching the framed picture.
“That fucking cunt,” he spat and gently took the picture from his dad’s hands. Harry woke up and looked at him.
“He’s not coming back, he married her and he’s never coming home to me Danny, I’ve lost him forever, I want to die, please let me die,” he whispered. Danny sat on the bed and hugged him. He rocked him as he would a small child.
“Its okay, Dad, its going to be okay,” he whispered and brushed the hair from Harry’s face and kissed his cheek. “It’s going to be okay.” Harry nodded and closed his eyes.
“Have you eaten today, Dad?” Danny asked softly. Harry shook his head.
“I’m not hungry,” he whined. Danny laughed and he got up.
“You wait here, I’ll fix you some scrambled eggs and toast, you like that,” he said. Harry sighed and decided he might as well eat them; the kid won’t leave until he did. So he got up and washed his face, staring at the horrible face that stared back at him and then went into the kitchen and sat at the table and watched his son cook for him. The dogs came in and sat at his feet. He looked at them and then looked at the clock.
“Can you feed the guys too, I must have slept all day,” he asked and Danny nodded. He put eggs made with ham and cheese in front of him with toast and then went to feed the dogs. When he returned Harry was still staring at his food and he sighed and poured him a glass of milk and then handed him a fork.
“Eat or I’ll have to feed you and you probably won’t like that,” he said firmly. Harry laughed and began to eat. Once he started, he realized that he was indeed hungry so he ate it all, plus the toast and two glasses of milk but then he was stuffed and he refused the donuts his son offered to run and pick up.
“Oh, God, no, Danny, I couldn’t eat another bite, I’m stuffed,” he said and grinned. Danny grinned, and then he looked at the white box the picture had come in and read the return address.
“Fucking bitch, I should go over there and slap her silly,” he declared and Harry grinned again. Then he sighed.
“She’d love that, just like she’d love to hear I fell apart from seeing the damned thing, don’t you tell a soul about finding me like this,” he wagged a finger at his son who nodded. “Now thanks for feeding me but I’m tired as hell and going back to bed, so clean up and get out of here,” Harry said and kissed him and walked back to the bedroom. At the doorway he paused.
“Thank you, Danny,” he said softly and left. Danny smiled and cleaned up and took the picture with him. But he did tell all of his siblings about what he found that night and the girls cried and all the men wanted to slap Violet and Jake for hurting Harry more than they had to.
“Jake probably didn’t know she sent it,” Emma defended her dad. Sean snorted.
“Old Jake thinks he and Harry should be good buddies and hang out, get real, he’s not living in reality these days, he’s been going to Gloria’s sex parties and slipping his dick into everyone that stands still long enough for him to do it,” he said and everyone laughed.
“That’s an image I didn’t need,” Cassie retorted and they grinned.
“Well, Harry will get over him eventually, he’s just going to need a little time that’s all, it’ll be hard but he’ll get over Jake and find someone new to love or at least to make love to and then he’ll move on with his life,” Jackson said reasonably. They all nodded except for Danny who didn’t think it was going to be that easy but he didn’t say anything, they didn’t see their dad the way he had or hear his anguished cries. He knew one thing, he wasn’t going over to Violet and Jake’s this week for dinner with the rest of them, he couldn’t look that bitch in the face after what she did to Harry. Not without saying something so it was better to stay away and say nothing.
Harry woke up feeling sluggish and slow like he had a terrible disease or was very old, that’s how he felt, very old. He sighed and took a long hot shower but that didn’t make him feel any better. It took him forever to load the ship for his trip and then put on the meat and remember the dogs but they jumped enthusiastically into the Elizabeth so he tried to put on a good show for them.
“Okay, guys, off we go to see the furry-purry spiders,” he spoke as cheerfully as he could and Harry lifted off. He found a good camp site far enough from the spiders so they couldn’t be tempted to show up and wander off with one of his dogs and put up a security shield just in case they did. They he lifted the bin of meat and set off.
“Hello, this is Harry with Gertie and Bo from Savannah and today we’re off to see the amazing furry-purry spiders of Savannah, say hello Gertie,” he said and Gertie of course barked. “Bo is the strong silent type,” Harry declared and hugged them.
“Now the spiders are quite large so don’t be afraid when you first see them and they’re meat eaters so don’t ever approach them by yourself because they’re sure to carry you off to their caves and eat you later,” he teased. “Here’s one now, lets put the camera over there. See him, oh, he’s going to be shy, now, there he is, he’s coming over, oh hello little fellow, I’m going to pet him, hear his purr. Now here comes more, they can smell the meat. Now I’m going to start feeding them. Gertie, you and Bo, go over there.” The dogs both obeyed him and ran off camera and sat away, they were scared of that many spiders.
“Now look at all of them, aren’t they magnificent, they’re quite spectacular, look at them attack the meat, they love raw beef the best. Hear them purr, that’s marvelous, now I’m taking the camera right up to the caves to get a peek inside, I hope they don’t attack me. See the webs, aren’t they beautiful, oh, look, that one doesn’t look too friendly, I’d better back off with the camera.” Harry brought the camera back to the crowd.
“Okay, the meats all gone, now its time to leave, they’re in a sort of feeding frenzy here and I don’t want to be their next meal so see you next time, this is Harry with Bo and Gertie, say goodbye Gertie.” Gertie barked and the film ran out. Harry grinned and lifted his vegetable bin and his dogs and ran for the ship and lifted off before the spiders realized he was alone and therefore edible.
The next thing Harry showed them was all of the gemstones just lying in the valley floor between the desert and the mountain range and he got a big laugh out of that and picked one up and faced the camera.
“When we were kids a bunch of us found these color rocks and asked me if I thought they were diamonds, rubies, sapphires, topazes and emeralds and I said no, I said they were just colored rocks,” he said with a big grin. “Actually though, these are in fact, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies and topazes but I lied because I didn’t want them all picking them up and collecting them. I was a selfish greedy little boy and I want to say that I’m not sorry, guys. I’m still a selfish greedy little man and they’re all mine and I’m not sharing.” He laughed and the dogs barked.
“My daughter Emma has a jewelry store and I’m sure she’d die for some of these stones to play with so I’m going to pick up a few for her and the rest will just lay here in this canyon where they’ve lain for millions of years and that’s kind of wonderful, at least I think so,” he said and grinned.
Then he moved on to the coffee fields and showed them how to pick coffee and when he was through picking coffee he picked tea and flew back to Edenville, roasted and dried it and left it at the center for them to divide. When he checked his email someone told him they were low on sugar so with a sigh he flew to Athens and collected sugar cane, brought it back to the Mill, processed it and left it at the Center for them to hand out. Then he loaded up more food and went back to Savannah, he wanted to explore some caves next. Harry had remembered a particular cave and wanted to investigate a sound he remembered.
Harry did two shows on caves and then one on the monkeys and one on some flowers and insects he found interesting. He also explored a dozen caves without success until he remembered that the cave he was looking for was located by the field where all of the blue oranges were and the monkeys were found. Then he found it quite easily.
The three explorers entered the cave and Harry heard the bats flying ahead and Bo whined because he heard them too. Harry patted his side.
“Its okay, fellow, if you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone,” he whispered and hoped he was right. He paused and listened and sure enough, he heard that tinkling sound he had heard almost a hundred years before and it seemed to be coming from the left. Harry walked slowly to the left and kept the beam of the flashlight directed to the floor of the cave. If you beamed onto the bats, it sent them into a panic and they began to swoop around and attacked you.
“What’s this ahead of us?” Harry whispered more to himself than to the dogs that were walking very close to his side. Up ahead he could see another entrance to maybe another cave and it was lighted or had light. He stepped over the threshold into the second cave and gasped. He was walking into a magical cave, with purple crystal walls and a hole in the ceiling shot down sunlight from somewhere and it was sparkling.
“Holy crap,” Harry exclaimed and the sound echoed through the cavernous room and down a long corridor. Harry walked to the middle of the huge room; it must have been a hundred feet wide, sixty feet high and sixty feet wide in places and stared with awe. It was purple crystal, pink crystal, blue crystal, black crystal, every color crystal you could imagine, all over the walls. A room made of crystal, he had heard of such caves, but never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined he would ever find one.
Then Harry looked at the black crystal again and got an idea. If he got a large black communication crystal and built a tower here in Savannah and one in Eden then he could communicate with everyone live via the telephone. They could even put a tower on Sherwood and Mykonos and the whole planet could communicate with one another. Hell, they could even launch one into orbit and have communication that way, but they could start with communication towers. He got out his laser knife and looked for four matching crystals of approximately the same size and about the size of a cantaloupe. He found them easily on the west wall about knee high and cut them out. They hummed as he cut them and he put them in his back pack. Next he cut several large purple energy crystals about the size of golf balls that were needed to run the towers. These went into his back pack and he happily began to walk out of the cave. Then he went back and cut off a few little ones of each kind that he would need for hook ups. Then he flew home the happiest he had been in a long time.
Harry took out his architecture computer and designed four tall communication towers out of petrified log, steel from the extra bins and parts from an electronics store he had in Sherwood. He then flew out and brought the entire store and put it in the field out back of his house. Then he called DJ, Steve, Synta, Brian and Carl and asked them to come over and listen to a project he had in mind that he was very excited about and needed their input. He also called all of his sons and invited them to join the team. He put the black and purple crystals on the table and placed a towel over them.
“What’s up, Harry, its good to see you’re inviting people over,” Steve said in lieu of a greeting. Harry rolled his eyes.
“That’s a fine way to say hello to an old friend,” he teased and Steve flushed.
“Sorry, I guess I’ve been spending too much time with Kathleen,” he apologized. Harry waved his hand.
“Let’s make a deal everyone,” he announced. “I won’t bore you with whining about my divorce and you won’t bore me with advice about moving on,” he said and they all looked embarrassed and agreed.
“So what’s this project all about?” DJ asked and they all nodded.
“Yeah, Harry, its good to see you all excited about something,” Jackson remarked and Harry sighed.
“Enough already; anymore cracks like that and the person who said it is off the project,” he said firmly and everyone looked sheepish.
“Okay, we get it, everything’s normal,” Adam said just as firm and glared at everyone. They all nodded. Then Harry handed out schematics of the towers and they all looked impressed and a little confused.
“This looks like a communication tower,” Carl said. Harry nodded.
“That’s exactly what it is, Carl,” he told him. They all looked confused.
“But Harry, in order to build a communication tower, don’t we need a very large black crystal at the top of the tower and a large power crystal to run it and we don’t have either,” Steve said and nodding Harry giggled. DJ jumped to his feet, his face all lit up and he rushed to Harry and picked him off his feet and spun him around while the others looked surprised. Then DJ turned to them.
“He’s found a crystal cave, don’t you get it, that’s why he wants to build communication towers, because Harry’s found a crystal cave,” he shouted and they all looked at Harry who nodded again. He leaned over and took the towel off the table and they all gasped at the sight of four huge black crystals and the four golf ball purple ones. DJ picked up a black crystal and gazed at it.
“Holy crap, I can bowl with this thing,” he declared and everyone looked horrified. He laughed and put it down. “I was teasing,” he said and they relaxed.
“Where did you find these, Harry?” Adam asked. Everyone looked at Harry who smiled.
“Remember back when we were young and exploring Savannah?” he asked Steve and DJ who both nodded. “Well, remember the day the monkeys threw the blue oranges at you, Steve?” Steve laughed.
“Oh yeah, I remember that, they almost attacked us but you pushed them away,” he said. DJ grinned.
“Before we found the blue oranges we had been in a cave and I heard a tinkling noise but the girls were screaming so loud it scared the bats and they flew down and attacked us,” Harry said. DJ snorted.
“Those damned bats had the worse smelling shit, it was totally disgusting,” he told them. All the boys looked impressed. Harry grinned.
“That tinkling noise was the sound of the wind flowing through the crystal cave, it’s in that cave to the left and once we set up these towers, I want to take everyone there via live camera,” he informed them. Steve grinned.
“Oh, man, that would be a great show, everyone would watch that one, we could play that on prime time,” he gushed. Harry nodded.
“Now all we have to do is build the towers and put them into place and we could communicate from anywhere on the planet,” he told them and they all nodded. Danny stood up.
“Well, let’s get to work then,” he said and they all stood up. Project Communication Towers was underway.
While Harry cut down the necessary trees the other men got to work cutting up the bins they would need, they needed a lot of steel to reach the height they wanted. When they had all the building materials gathered for all four towers they sorted through the electronics store for the components they needed for the processors. Then they built them and mounted them on four hexagon shaped pedestals to be placed at the top of each tower.
Everyone came to stare as they built the four towers side-by-side, foot-by-foot and everyone asked what they were doing. They just said they were building something.
“I can see that, but what are you building, Henry?” Kate asked, with irritation in her voice. Harry sighed.
“Its like this, Mother, it’s a secret project and I’m not a liberty to tell you right now but you’ll figure it out for yourself by the time we’re through,” he told her and she sighed.
“Then just tell me now, Henry,” she snapped. He grinned.
“And spoil the surprise, never, now go away, we’re working,” he said and waved her away. None of the husbands working on the project told their wives and his two daughters didn’t know which pissed them off.
“Why do they get to help and we don’t, that’s sexist and wrong, Harry,” Emma snapped at him. He sighed and agreed.
“You’re completely right, Emma Rose, and I’m sorry, will a big bag of diamonds, sapphires, rubies, topazes and emeralds make you feel better?” he asked and she grinned.
“Well, yes, they would,” she declared and he told her to take the big blue bag in the closet. Cassie sighed.
“I don’t suppose you have one of those for me?” she asked. He nodded.
“You can have the green bag, darling, of course, I would never bring home precious stones for your sister and not bring home some for you, what kind of father do you think I am?” he teased and she hugged him.
“The best kind,” she declared and ran for the house. All the boys laughed.
“Give a woman a few million in precious gemstones and she’ll love you forever,” Adam teased and they all grinned. The girls came back with big grins on their faces carrying pillow case sized bags of precious stones. The boys were impressed.
“Damned, maybe I should start wearing a dress,” Sean retorted. Harry smiled.
“You do that and I’ll pick up some for you,” he told him and they all laughed. Sean shook his head.
“It’ll take more than some to get a dress on me,” he declared. Danny blew him a kiss.
“That’s not what you said last week when I saw you on the corner of David Marshall Avenue and Jones Street,” he teased and all the boys hooted and hollered. Sean rolled his eyes and looked at his dad.
“He’s just mad cuz Jackson borrowed his lipstick and hasn’t returned it,” he said scoring two points with one insult. Harry nodded with approval; that was very clever.
The base of each of the towers was petrified wood mixed with steel and then when they reached about a hundred feet they became all steel and that’s when people started to realize that they were towers of some kind.
Harry put the crystals on display on a table with the girls guarding them, he had finally let the wives and the girls in on the secret and they were excited about the communication towers and screeched about the crystal cave.
“You found crystals, Harry, oh, my God; and you didn’t tell me, you rat!” Kathleen threw herself at him and he laughed and spun her around.
“And spoil the surprise, darling,” he teased her and everyone laughed. Then they all came out to gasp at the cantaloupe sized black balls and golf ball sized purple energy crystals and watch the building of the towers. Everyone was so excited and happy and Harry promised them a live show of the crystal cave as soon as the towers were up and running.
“It’s a damned shame Harry didn’t find that cave while he was married to Jake, you’d be a very rich woman right now, Violet,” David remarked as the four watched the building from a safe distance. Violet shrugged. Jake laughed.
“Harry wanted to take a trip to Savannah and look for the crystal cave just a few years ago but I wouldn’t take time off from my practice,” Jake told them and Violet gasped as she realized how close she had come to billions of dollars worth of crystals. Gloria patted her shoulder.
“Harry will give out those crystals for free just like he had all along, he’s like that, so generous,” she sneered and Jake looked at her funny.
“Harry always believed that energy should be free,” he defended his ex. Violet smiled and took his arm giving her friends a warning glare.
“Energy should be free to everyone,” she said sweetly and they all smiled.
They put the Eden tower high on the highest mountain peak and left Brian and Ryan who had won that lottery and flew to Sherwood and put that tower and left three people there and flew to Mykonos and put a tower there and flew on to Savannah and put the tower there. Then they all got on their telephones and dialed one another and cheered when they saw familiar faces on the view screens.
“Oh, my God, Harry I can see you,” Carl from Mykonos gushed and he waved. Standing behind him Harry could see his son Danny who waved. He waved back and Sean waved at his brother. Everyone started talking at once and then they made a conference call and called Kate who was excited to see them all from the corners of the planet. They held the phones away so she could see the areas they were calling from.
“You did it, Harry, you’ve linked the planet, now all you’ve got to do is build an airlines so we all can get there, not just you in your ship,” she informed him and he grinned.
“That’s the next step, Mother,” he declared and everyone cheered. Then he flew back and picked everyone up and brought them back to Savannah so they could see the crystal cave for themselves. They deserved that for all of their hard work. They all stood outside the cave by the field of blue oranges and he held up his hand for silence. They were all very excited.
“Now for the first part of the cave, it’s going to be very dark and the bats are above our heads so be very quiet so they don’t swoop down and attack us. They have very sharp claws and their shit smells very bad and you don’t want them shitting on you,” he warned them and they all laughed and made faces.
“That doesn’t sound like much fun, DJ, shut up,” Steve declared and they all laughed. DJ looked insulted.
“Hey, don’t pick on me, I didn’t say a word,” he protested. Harry grinned.
“I seem to remember it was you teasing the girls who brought the damned things down on us the last time,” he reminded him. DJ grinned and looked around.
“Well, I don’t see any girls this time, oh, sorry, Carl, I didn’t see you standing there,” he apologized. Carl punched his arm. Everyone laughed. Harry rolled his eyes.
“Get it out now, ladies, once we get inside the caves, I don’t want to hear a peep,” he admonished them. They all settled down.
“Okay, Harry, we’re ready,” Jackson announced and they all nodded. So Harry turned on his flashlight and entered the cave.
“Keep your lights on the floor, don’t shine the light up on the bats or they’ll attack,” he warned and they passed the word along. Everyone made a face when they smelled the rancid odor of the bat feces.
“Oh, man, what is that smell; Ryan, did you take a shower today?” Sean remarked and everyone laughed, but it was low. Harry rolled his eyes. Over their heads the bats fluttered and flew around, it gave all the men the creeps although none of them would have admitted it. Finally they were at the entrance of the crystal cave. Harry paused and grinned at them.
“Prepare to be dazzled,” he declared and one by one they passed him and entered the cave. And one by one, he heard them all exclaim, “Holy crap, this is fucking amazing.” It made him beam with pride. He entered the cave last.
“Dad, this is amazing, we’re all so proud of you,” Adam gushed and hugged him tight. Harry laughed and hugged him back.
“Hey, all I did was find it; nature made it,” he told them. They all took pictures and he showed them the corridor and the other bigger cave.
“There’s enough crystal in here for a million years, Harry,” Brian declared and they all agreed on that.
“Look, here some green over here,” Ryan pointed it out.
“There’s some rose and blue over here,” Sean pointed.
“I’ve found some nice white,” Jackson called out. Everywhere they looked it was like a crystal rainbow. Every color was represented, but the precious purple was the most dominated color; everywhere you looked it was purple. Then Danny found the large hole that led down somewhere.
“Here, where does this go?” he asked and they all looked at Harry who shrugged.
“I don’t know, I didn’t check it out because I was alone, but I brought some rope so we can all go down now,” he suggested. They all grinned, they liked that idea. Harry was the first down and he gasped and looked up.
“Oh, man, you’re all going to like it down here,” he yelled back up. His voice echoed and sang up the caves and tinkled on the walls sending chills up everyone’s backs.
“Oh, man, I love that sound,” DJ exclaimed and they all laughed. Then they all slid down the rope and gasped at the size of the cave down the hole.
“Holy crap, Harry, this cave is bigger than the other two put together,” Carl said and they all grinned. They just all couldn’t stop grinned. Then Harry got a great idea. He waved his hands around.
“Gentlemen, in honor of this splendid occasion, I give you permission to take the crystal of your choice, no matter how big, whatever color, except for purple or black, of course, and you may drill it out yourself,” he said grandly and laughed. Their eye’s all lit up.
“Any size, oh, man, Harry, you’re going to regret saying that,” DJ declared and started looking around. Everyone took out their laser knives. Danny grinned and hugged him.
“Why not purple or black?” he asked. Harry smiled.
“Because if you took purple or black you might be tempted later to cut it up and use it for something, another color you won’t do that to and you’ll always have a reminder of your first visit to the crystal caves,” he informed him and everyone laughed.
“You’re right about that, Harry, if I took a purple one, I’d eventually chop it up and use it for something,” Brian said, shook his head and laughed. They all searched for about a half-hour and then began drilling. Harry found a nice green larger than a cantaloupe and cut it out, it was beautiful and had lots of faucets. All the men picked very beautiful stones. Then they got a look at DJ’s rose colored stone and broke out into laughter. It was the size of a basketball and very heavy by the way he was carrying it. He grinned.
“Remember, you said any size we found,” he reminded him and Harry grinned.
“That I did, buddy, that’s all yours if you can carry it up the hole,” he teased and DJ frowned. Then Harry laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll lift all your stones up the hole so you don’t drop them and crack or break them.”
“That’ll be great, buddy,” Steve patted his back. Harry did more than that, he lifted everyone up the hole while they all gasped and laughed and then they pulled him up by the rope and laughed.
“That was a great ride, Harry, I wouldn’t mind doing that again,” Carl declared and they all laughed again. They left the caves, quiet so the bats wouldn’t attack while they were holding their precious crystals. Harry lifted DJ’s monster ball for him and flew home. Everyone gasped at the sight of their trophies and Harry had to promise everyone a trip to the caves after his TV special aired later that week. He went home to relax; it had been a tiring three weeks.
Harry aired his TV special on prime time the following Friday night and the whole planet Edenville and Medford tuned in to see him, Gertie, and Bo standing outside the cave, smiling in front of the camera.
“Hi, everyone, this is Harry with Gertie and Bo live from Savannah via Black Crystal Communication Towers standing outside the Crystal Cave where I found those black crystals, say hello to everyone, Gertie,” he said and Gertie barked and everyone laughed. Jake felt a terrible ache in his heart seeing his precious dog on the screen looking so beautiful and alive. He grinned and looked at the others in the room.
“It looks like Harry gave her a bath for this performance, she looks so beautiful,” he gushed. David sighed.
“Goldens are such beautiful dogs, I had two Goldens when I left Memphis, but they died,” he reminisced. Gloria rolled her eyes.
“The last thing we need in here are those two big dogs shedding their hairs all over the place,” she snapped and he sighed. Violet agreed.
“I wouldn’t have those big dogs in my house,” she told her and Jake looked at her funny.
“I thought you were allergic to dogs,” he reminded her. She smiled sweetly.
“I meant if I could have dogs, I’d prefer a smaller dog, sweetie,” she covered up quickly. He nodded and went back to his old dog on TV thinking maybe if he kept Gertie in the garage he could have her but that wouldn’t be fair to the dog, that would be like prison to the gentle Gertie who wouldn’t understand why she couldn’t come into the house and be with him. He sighed and stared at the TV.
“Now for this first part of the cave, we have to be really quiet and not scare the bats, right, guys,” Harry said to the dogs who grinned at him. Everyone laughed.
“Those dogs look like they understand him,” Linda said. Max laughed.
“They probably do after a hundred years,” he remarked and all the people with dogs agreed. They all gasped at the shot of the bats hanging overhead.
“Those things look nasty,” Myra said making a face.
“They smell nasty too, they have the worse smelling shit,” Jake informed them and all the girls giggled.
“Now here we are at the entrance to the Crystal Caves and be prepared to be dazzled, let me put the wide angle lens on the camera, this is all going to be very exciting,” Harry informed them. Then he led the way into the cave and everyone gasped.
“Holy crap,” Max exclaimed and he spoke for all of them.
“Look at all that purple crystal, there’s enough to last for a million years,” Dr. Blake declared. Harry panned the camera all around so they could see all four walls and the ceiling.
“Here’s where I drilled the four crystals for the communication towers, as you can see, there’s plenty of black left, there’s plenty of everything left,” Harry told them with a big grin. Then he led them down the corridor to the next cavern and they all gasped again.
“This one is bigger than the first cave and here there’s this little hole that leads down to a third and even larger cave but we won’t be going down there tonight because there’s not enough of us to risk the trip,” Harry informed them. They all sighed with disappointment. Then he aimed the camera on the largest rose crystal they had even seen.
“My God, look at the size of that one,” Charles exclaimed. Harry grinned for the camera.
“I thought I’d drill this beauty out for you so you could see how it was done, if you’d like to see that why don’t you call me on my cell phone right now and if I get two out of three callers saying they like to see this, I’ll cut this beauty out right now,” he told them. His phone rang immediately.
“Hello this is Harry, well, hello, Carl, you’d like to see me cut this out right now, thanks for calling,” he said cheerfully and hung up. He looked at the camera and grinned.
“Well, that’s one vote for drilling,” Harry said and his phone rang. “Hello, hey, Mom,” he looked at the camera. “It’s my mom Kate and she doesn’t sound too happy.” He made a face and everyone laughed. “What’s that, you say you don’t want me to cut this stone out, you say that’s grandstanding and I’d look foolish and silly, thanks for calling,” he said cheerfully and hung up. He grinned at the camera.
“She’s a nice lady but she loves to lecture, comes from all those years of teaching,” he said in a whisper like he wasn’t talking to of thousands of people. Everyone laughed. “Now that’s one for and one against, so this next call should be the deciding call, let’s take this next call. Hello, this is Harry,” He listened for a second and hung up quickly.
“That was one of those annoying prank callers, probably an obscene caller; you don’t want to get those kinds,” he remarked and laughed. Violet looked at her phone and looked shocked.
“That little bastard just hung up on me, live on the air,” she sputtered. Everyone laughed. She threw the phone across the room. Harry picked up his phone again.
“Hello, this is Harry, hey, hi, Sarek, so nice to hear from you old friend, what’s that, you want to see me drill this beauty out, say no more, just for you and old Carl, I’ll do just that,” he declared and hung up the phone. He grinned at the camera.
“Well, there you have it. Two out of three calls and they all want me to cut this baby out of the wall, it looks like a big one, this has got to be at least six or seven thousand carets or more, I could sit on this one,” he said cheerfully and went on to describe how he was going to cut it out and then proceeded to do so.
“Wow, I wish I was there,” David sighed and he leaned forward. Everyone leaned forward and the camera angles showed every little detail of the job so they missed nothing. And when the huge stone was finally out, it was enormous and Harry had to use his powers to lift it in his arms. It was the largest stone any of them had every seen. He could have sat on it and it was the most beautiful one any of them had every seen, perfectly shaped and curved. Harry grinned as he held the waist high crystal to his body.
“This is really fantastic, I think I’ll keep this one for my living room or maybe build a museum for it, I’ve never seen a crystal this big but maybe there’s another in these caves as large or larger, wouldn’t that be neat. So this is goodbye from the Crystal Caves, I’m Harry and here’s Bo and Gertie, say goodbye, Gertie,” he said and Gertie jumped up on the crystal and looking straight at the camera, barked. Bo just jumped up and looked like he was grinning. Jake laughed.
“Those two are just ham bones, did you see them smiling at the camera,” he declared and all the men laughed. The women were still in shock over the size of the crystal.
“Did you see the size of that thing, it must be worth millions,” June gushed. Dr. Blake nodded.
“I saw one half that size at the museum in Memphis City and it was worth five million, that one would be worth six times that,” he gushed. Charles whistled.
“Can you imagine finding a purple one that size; now that would be worth billions,” he declared. Myra smiled.
“I heard that Harry had promised to take everyone on a tour to his caves like he did the guys who worked on the towers and I just bet he’ll let everyone drill a crystal out like they did,” she said smugly. They all looked at Jake who nodded.
“Harry would do that sort of thing, he’s very generous,” he agreed. They all grinned. Violet smiled and hugged her husband.
“You’ll find me a big crystal like that one won’t you, sweetie?” she pleaded nicely. Jake grinned and hugged her.
“I’ll look until I find one, sugar,” he promised and she squealed.
Harry came back from the caves in time for the harvest and everyone worked hard to pick all the vegetables and fruits and process them. He ran all the wheat through and stacked it in his new basement and made juice like he always did skipping the junpar and apple juice that Jake loved so much, it just reminded him that Jake was gone and he really didn’t need any more reminders.
He did have extra cranberry because Jake hadn’t cared for that as much so he mixed that with the junpar and that was good, he liked that a lot. And he had his extra fields of barley and corn to make his whiskey and vodka so that kept him busy for a while. Adam who had taken over the liquor store helped him and they had a lot of fun making whiskey, scotch, rum, tequila and gin and storing them in the barn the kids had built long ago and taking the stuff out of there that had aged properly. They did this frequently so that Adam never ran out of liquor to sell. The alterian booze wasn’t the same fine quality as the human kind and while it was adequate, the humans all preferred the taste of their own stuff.
Adam made it a point not to sell his liquor to the alterians which pissed them off, but he didn’t have enough to supply booze for over thirty thousand adult alterians. Some of the humans gave human liquor to their Alterian friends as gifts which was always welcomed since it was stronger and more potent than theirs. David Marshall had run out of liquor years ago and tried to make some to sell but it had tasted awful so he was forced out of business and blamed Harry and his sons for not sharing theirs. This was ridiculous and no one made him any attention.
After all of the winter preparation work was done Harry began taking people to the caves. He started with the people on his farm and took them one day in October. His moms were very excited and he had told everyone to bring their laser knives with them and a back pack to bring home their samples. This had made them all extremely joyous.
“This is so exciting, Henry, I’ve never drilled for crystal before,” his mother Barb gushed as they stood outside the entrance to the caves. He grinned at her and hugged her.
“Okay, listen up everyone, these bats will attack if you shine your lights on them, so please keep your flashlights aimed at the floors, you don’t want them flying on you and shitting on you,” he called out and his mother Kate frowned.
“Must you use such common language, Henry, please, there are ladies present,” she admonished him. He grinned.
“Okay, Mother,” he said and turned to the crowd. “You don’t want these bats using the potty on your head,” he said and they all laughed. She giggled.
“That’s much better,” she said and they entered the dark cave. Everyone held their noses.
“What is that smell?” Joy asked. Harry looked back and grinned.
“That’s bat poop,” he informed her and she wrinkled her nose.
“You can say bat shit, I’m not your mother,” she told him and he laughed softly. Then they entered the first cave and everyone gasped with awe and wonder.
“Oh, my goodness,” Kate exclaimed. Barb giggled.
“Don’t you mean; Holy crap, dear,” she said and everyone laughed. Kate stuck her tongue out at her partner and they kissed.
“This is fantastic, Harry, leave it up to you to find us a crystal cave,” Jan said with admiration. Harry smiled and she hugged him.
“Good thing you didn’t find this while you were still married to that man, then he would have gotten half of it when he divorced you,” Kate told him and he nodded.
“You’re right, Mom, Violet would have loved that,” he said and they all agreed on that. He showed them down the corridor and the other cave and they all got to cut out their own stone to take home.
Next he brought the people of Farm Two and Three together and then the kids of Farm Five and then the kids of Farm Six. Then he brought his two daughters and the ladies of the men who helped in a special trip and he brought Dr. George and Shelley with them but only because they were Emma’s grandparents. They were a little shocked to find themselves with this group and not with their friends of Farm One and a little confused.
“That’s a nice stone you have there, Shelley,” Harry admired her rose colored crystal the size of a cantaloupe and she grinned as she held it.
“I saw a bigger one but it was too high for me to reach, you should have ladders here for people, Harry,” she admonished him. He shrugged.
“Everyone saw the height of the caves, if they wanted to reach the top of the caves, they should have thought to bring ladders with them,” he told her. She nodded.
“That’s true, darling,” Dr. George who had a green crystal slightly larger than hers said as he stood next to them. He was wearing the biggest grin. She pouted.
“Well, let’s not tell the others about bringing ladders, I don’t want Linda getting a bigger crystal than mine,” she decided. Harry shook his head.
“Those other people from Farm One aren’t getting a tour of my caves,” he informed them and they both looked shocked.
“Why not, Harry, I thought you were giving everyone a tour of your crystal caves?” Dr. George asked. Harry shook his head again.
“Those people of Farm One are not my friends,” he informed them firmly. “They have spent the last ninety-three, no, hundred years or so calling me a fishy freak fagola and making fun of me and my children. Every time I turn around they are laughing at me and trying to make my life as miserable as they can so why should I reward their behavior with a tour of my caves and a sample of crystal? I’m tired of leaning over backwards and kissing their asses. I’ve tried for years to be as nice to them as I could and getting them to like me but its no use, they’re never going to like me no matter what I do and no matter how many times I save their sorry asses so I’m going to stop trying. They can all go to hell for all I care. Now I’ll give them energy crystals because I believe energy should be free but that’s all they’ll get out of me for free, everything else they want, they’ll have to pay for. And the only reason you two got the tour is because you’re Emma’s grandparents and you delivered my seven children, you two can stay over there with the other assholes of Farm One and go to hell with them. But you have a nice day Dr. George and enjoy your crystals.” Harry smiled and patted the older man on his shoulder and walked away.
“Well, I can’t wait to show Linda my crystal and tell her she won’t be getting one,” Shelley grinned at her husband who sighed.
“They can’t say they don’t deserve his dislike, they’ve treated him like shit and it’s about time he returned it,” he told her. She smiled and looked down at her crystal with pleasure.
A few days later Shelley invited all of the ladies over for coffee and put her and George’s crystals on gold pedestals in their living room with lights on them. They were really very beautiful and made the whole room light up. All of the ladies couldn’t help but notice them when they all came in and gushed over them and stood admiring them as Shelley brought out the silver coffee service and poured.
“Shelley, where did you get those crystals?” Linda demanded as she was handed her coffee in its fine china cup. Shelley smiled sweetly.
“Oh, we got those the other day when Harry took George and me on a tour of his caves,” she said just as sweet. All of the ladies gasped.
“He took you and George on a tour, why didn’t you call us and tell us, we would have come,” Myra practically shouted. Shelley shrugged.
“We didn’t know we were going to the caves, he only called George that morning and asked if we were doing anything and asked if we wanted to come over and when we got there Emma was there and off we flew to Savannah,” she explained. Violet shrugged.
“That’s alright, we’ll just go on the next tour,” she told them. But Shelley shook her head. They all looked at her.
“Why are you shaking your head?” June asked. Shelley sighed.
“Harry said he wasn’t taking any of you on a tour of his cave,” she informed them rather smugly. They all looked shocked.
“Why not, he said he was taking everyone on a tour,” Gloria stated. Shelley sighed.
“He told George and me that he was tired of all of the people of Farm One calling him that ‘fishy freak fagola’ and that you had all hated him for years and he didn’t understand why. After all, he had tried for years to get all of you to like him and he couldn’t understand why you didn’t. So he’s finally given up and said that if you didn’t like him then he didn’t like you and he’s not wasting any more of his time on you and why should he take people who hate him on a tour of his caves and let them drill a precious crystal out of them,” she explained. Linda gasped.
“But you and George live on Farm One and you hate him too,” she protested. Shelley nodded.
“Yes and he told us to go to hell too,” she informed them. “And the only reason we got a tour of the caves was because we are Emma’s grandparents and because George delivered his seven children, at least that’s what he told us.” She looked at her precious crystals and smiled. Gloria stood up.
“Well, if he took you on a tour because you’re Emma’s grandparents, then he’d better take me on a tour, I’m Emma’s mother for Christ’s sake,” she yelled and they all grinned as she stomped out of the house. Violet fumed and she stood up.
“Sissy and Jackson are his children’s grandparents, they’ll get a tour too and Jake and I will be on that tour, you can count on that,” she declared and stomped from the room. They all looked at one another and laughed.
“Maybe Jackson, Sissy and Jake will get a tour, but she’ll never see those caves,” Linda predicted. They laughed again.
Gloria and David got their tour because after all as they pointed out in the email they sent to Harry, they were Emma’s birth parents. The others did not. Harry informed them that they were liars and he didn’t give tours to liars and cheaters no matter who their children or grandchildren were. Besides he told Dr. Jackson in an email, the man called his precious grandsons ‘fishy freaks’ and his two granddaughters that ‘bird girl’ and that one ‘whose not mine’ so he didn’t deserve a tour based on that. He further informed them that Violet Jackson would never see the caves under any circumstance ever and she can stick her thumb up her ass and rotate as far as he was concerned. Jake laughed at that and his wife glared at him. He apologized immediately and said he had never heard Harry use such language, he must be really angry. Violet pouted.
“It’s been seven months for Pete’s sake, how long is he going to hold a grudge,” she snapped and he shrugged. It kind of delighted him to think Harry still loved him enough to still be so angry. It boasted his ego.
Winter came and Harry continued with his tour of Savannah only now he went on daily and live so everyone tuned their TV’s on from nine in the morning until two in the afternoon and Harry took them on a walking tour of the beautiful and majestic continent. They all loved him and his two dogs and the station got loads of email for him and his cell phone rang constantly with callers who asked him questions live on the air from three till four and he answered them directly to the camera and they loved him. Everyone loved him except the people who hated him and they hated him tremendously.
The Medford Zoo contacted him and they wanted him to bring back species of monkeys and other animals he saw for the people to see everyday and he almost refused until he saw the beautiful and realistic habitat they built and he captured examples of what he encountered and brought them back. They named their zoo the Henry Talbert Zoo in honor of him and this tickled him to no end. All of his kids came out for the grand opening and Harry signed autographs for hours and had his picture taken with a million smiling kids who liked to try on his pith helmet. Bo and Gertie had their picture taken with all of the kids and they had a ball being adored by the fans who all loved them.
“Harry’s a frigging movie star,” Violet snapped to Gloria as the two watched the smiling man sign autographs and meet his fans. The two woman made identical faces and walked away.
“I don’t see the attraction in watching a bunch of animals in cages,” Gloria remarked as they watched some monkeys swing from tree to tree. Violet giggled as two monkeys began mating. Gloria laughed.
“That looks just like Max and Jake at last weeks party,” she teased and Violet slapped her arm.
“My husband does not look like a monkey,” she protested and giggled. “His face sort of looks like that when he comes though,” she confessed and both women laughed. They walked around, got bored and went shopping.
“I hate that fucking little bastard, I need to get find a way to get even with him,” Violet said with a gleam in her eyes. Gloria laughed and sipped her wine.
“Haven’t you already done that, darling?” she asked dourly. They both giggled. Then Violet shook her head.
“No, this is different, he thinks he can shit all over all of us, we’ve got to fix his little ass,” she declared and they came up with a plan.
A few days later Harry got a call from Brian at the bank and he had to rush back from Savannah.
“We’ve got a serious money problem here, Harry,” he informed him and he showed him the low stack of bills in the vault. Harry frowned as he looked around.
“We printed twenty million dollars, where did it all go?” he asked the older man who frowned.
“All of those people from Farm One have been coming in and buying it up,” Brian informed him. Harry shook his head.
“What the hell kind of stupid game are they playing now, this is ridiculous, why do they want with all that cash laying around?” he wondered. Brian shook his head.
“I don’t know, but I do know we can’t use any of the gold in the vault to print more money, what if they decide to cash in the money for gold, then we’d be stuck with no gold to give them,” Brian told him. Harry grinned, now he got their stupid little plan.
“That’s what they’re doing, Brian, they’re buying up all the money, to force me to use the gold in the vault as collateral to print more money and then they’ll come back and demand their gold back and when I don’t have it, they’ll all laugh,” he informed him. Brian shook his head.
“So what are you going to do, boss?” he asked. Harry grinned.
“I’m going to use my forty-million I’ve got at home to print more money and let them try to buy all of that,” he said. Brian laughed.
“There’s no way they have forty million,” he declared.
So Harry went home and got forty million and Steve and DJ helped him print more money and make more coins. They then announced the printing of the money to everyone and the addition of forty million dollars to the economy of Edenville. Everyone gasped when they realized how rich Harry was and how he practically owned the town. And when they read that he had used his own money and not the money from the bank vault they were frustrated.
“But he’s got to be broke now, he only had forty million,” Violet gushed and they all laughed. Jake shook his head. He loved his new life, but he just didn’t understand why they all hated Harry so much. But they did try to keep him out of the loop as much as possible and didn’t rant against his former husband or make homophobic comments when he was around. They knew not to push it too much. They didn’t want to lose their black stud or make him unhappy.
The Halloween party came and Adam brought the bar and Sean and Ryan brought the sodas and everyone dressed up and had a great time. Harry flew to Savannah and camped out and everyone sighed and missed him. Jake and Violet dressed up as a sultan and his harem girl and everyone gushed at their costumes which they purchased at an Alterian shop. The alterians didn’t understand Halloween but the kids loved the dressing up and getting the candy and they embraced the holiday as they did all of the human customs.
“Harry didn’t come?” Kate asked her grandchildren who all shook their heads.
“We called but he ran away to Savannah as usual,” Emma told her. She sighed.
“He’s never going to get his life back as long as he runs away and hides from everyone,” she complained as she surveyed the crowd. Her eyes found Jake and the other Farm One crowd and she frowned.
“Your father looks happy,” she observed. Cassie laughed.
“He’s drunk already, he’s drinking scotch with Max and Charles and smoking those nasty cigars,” she said and Kate frowned.
“Good, when they all get lung cancer my Henry can heal them,” she said with satisfaction. All the kids laughed.
Thanksgiving came much to everyone’s disappointment Harry ran off again and even phone calls from his kids couldn’t bring him back.
“We haven’t eaten together as a family in years, you kids all eat with your friends so don’t play the eating as a family card on me, just eat with your friends as you always do and I’ll eat with Bo and Gertie and I’ll be fine. I don’t feel like a big community affair this year, so don’t push it or you’ll annoy me,” he said firmly. Jackson sighed.
“You know, Harry, this running away to Savannah routine you’ve got going on is beginning to annoy the hell out of us,” he told him. Harry laughed.
“So who the hell are you kids to tell me how to live my life,” he told them. “I don’t tell you how to live your life so stay out of mine, I’ve always wanted to explore Savannah and that’s what I’m doing.” They all sighed.
“But holidays are for families,” Emma protested. Harry sighed.
“We’ve had ninety some holidays together and we’ll have thirty thousand more, skipping this one isn’t a big deal and you know it, besides not everyone is going to show up at the Center anyway. They don’t do that anymore and none of you do anymore either, so why make a big fuss about it this year, just because I’m divorced? That’s a silly reason, I’m fine,” he told them firmly and he hung up on them. Danny sighed.
“That’s the trouble, Dad, you’re not fine,” he whispered. But what could he do; what could any of them do, Harry was all the way in Savannah and their helos didn’t have the range to make it that far. Only the Engineering ship could travel there and Harry had the only one. He could just fly away and there was nothing they could do to stop him.
Then Christmas came and it was the same thing, but this time he did it one step better. He turned off all of his phones and refused to talk with them. He left a message for them all and stayed off line until January when he flew back. They were all furious with him and rushed over to yell at him but when they took one look at his weary haunted face they didn’t have the heart to yell and just hugged him instead.
“Don’t ever turn off you phone again, Harry, you scared the hell out of us,” Jackson admonished him gently. Harry nodded and accepted the hot cocoa made with green milk Emma handed him. He looked like he had lost twenty pounds and his face was all sharp angles. He hadn’t shaved in weeks and looked terrible. He sipped the cocoa and smiled.
“You need a haircut,” Adam told him and picked up the scraggly hair that hung past his shoulder blade. Harry shrugged.
“I’ll go to the barber tomorrow, right now I need some sleep, I haven’t been sleeping so good,” he said. They all sighed.
“Have you been eating, you’ve lost too much weight, let me fix you some eggs,” Danny offered. Harry shook his head.
“Eggs make me nauseous, maybe I’ll heat up some soup,” he said. The girls stood up.
“We’ll heat you up some,” Cassie offered and they rushed to the kitchen. They looked amazed at the pantry. No spaghetti sauce, no tomato soup, nothing like usual. They found some chicken noodle soup from a can and heated that up with some crackers and brought that out. Ryan and Sean were telling their dad about the wild New Year Eve party they had gone to. Harry was laughing.
“I hope you two boys had more sense to carry booze over to Medford after midnight on Sunday morning,” he said and they looked sheepish. Harry shook his head.
“Those alterians are really serious about their liquor laws and if you get caught with an open bottle in Medford after midnight on a Sunday then you’re going to jail for a year, human or not. That’s part of the treaty between the two species, they have agreed to obey our laws when they’re in out city and we’ve agreed to obey their laws when we’re in their city and if they catch you, you’re in jail,” he informed them. Jackson grinned at his brothers.
“You two idiots are going to love alterian jail, I’ve heard they’re very nice,” he teased. Ryan threw a pillow at him. The girls brought the soup out and stopped a major fight. They all watched Harry carefully and made sure he ate all of the soup and most of the crackers and then tucked him into bed. The boys feed the dogs and Danny promised to milk the cow in the morning so he could sleep in. Harry sighed.
“I’m sorry to be such a pain in the ass, Danny,” he apologized. Danny grinned and kissed his forehead.
“You’re not a pain in the ass, Harry, I love you,” he whispered and turned out the light on his way out. All the kids exchanged worried looks as they left.
“Well, the first holiday without Jake is going to be the hardest,” Emma reasoned and they all nodded.
“Ninety-nine years is a long time to love just one person,” Adam declared and they all agreed that was a long time.
“He’ll get better, he just needs a little more time, it’s only been ten months,” Cassie said and they all nodded.
Harry woke up the next morning and for a moment didn’t know where he was, the bedroom was so strange and then he remembered and cried a little. Then he got up and made some French toast for breakfast and looked out at the snow.
“And I can’t even go to Hawaii to get away from it because that fucking Violet has my beach house,” he swore to the dogs who wagged their tails. He decided to spend a few days making spaghetti sauce instead and made that, tomato soup, chicken noodle soup, turkey soup, potato soup with ham, cream of every kind of soup he could think of and cooked up a storm. The only thing he couldn’t make was banana nut bread, he couldn’t face that alone. He did fly to Hawaii, to the other side and picked mangos and other fruit and sliced and canned them for the summer. When his pantry shelves were fully stocked and his appetite better he felt better and butchered two pigs.
Then he spent the rest of the winter playing video games and watching movies on the view screen, eating popcorn and just hanging around. When everyone announced they were almost out of coffee, he gathered up a crew of kids and took them over to Savannah to pick some and some tea. Then he took them to the nut oasis and they gathered nuts and he made a batch of peanut butter and left that at the Mill for everyone to split. He took a whole case for himself figuring he deserved it for doing all the work.
Then March came and it was the hundredth anniversary of their wakeup and arrival on the planet and they planned a big celebration. They wanted Harry to help plan the party because he always organized the best parties but he informed them he was going to be too busy with his travel show. So all of the women from Farm One took charge and planned it. They charged everyone five hundred dollars and hired an alterian caterer and band tried to do it as cheaply as possible so they could split the money left over and keep it for themselves.
Harry was supposed to give the speech as usual but he got all dressed up in his tux and then panicked at the thought of facing all those people and Jake and flew off in the Elizabeth and went instead to Mykonos to sit on the shore and gaze at the six waterfalls and relieve the whole experience by himself. He cried when he got to the part where he and Jake shook hands and sparks flew and they fell in love. He cried so hard he threw up and fell asleep with his face in the sand while his dogs huddled close to him to keep him warm.
“Where’s Harry, this party blows,” Victor Warner exclaimed as he surveyed the crappy food and water-down drinks. All the kids agreed.
“We paid five hundred dollars for this crap, I bet Linda and the other women bought this cheap shit and kept the money for themselves,” Eric Jones said and everyone glared at the group of women who flushed with anger.
“This is all Harry’s fault, he should have organized this party, where is he anyway?” Linda yelled. Jackson walked on stage and everyone looked at him. He cleared his throat.
“Listen everyone, I’ve got a note from Harry I’d like to read to you,” he said and everyone fell silent. He began to read, “Dear fellow survivors, family, and kids, sorry I’m not here to celebrate with you tonight but I really wasn’t up to a big gathering right now. Maybe in twenty or thirty years when my heart mends I’ll feel like it. I’m not the only survivor who’s capable of telling that old story, sixty-six other people were there too and I’m sure they can do a good job. If the party sucks and I’m sure it does, those old gals from Farm One probably cheated and bought cheap crap so they could keep all of your money and spend it on themselves so maybe you should all go out and celebrate on your own and have a great time. See you all in twenty years and I promise to throw a real celebration. You really should have put Jenna, Lily and Cindy and them in charge, you should have remembered the lessons from the first year, all of them people from Farm One were worthless when we landed and they’re still worthless. Love, Harry.”
“You got that right, Harry,” Carl shouted and everyone laughed.
“This party blows, I’m out of here,” Ryan shouted and everyone began leaving.
“Wait, wait, we haven’t told the story yet,” Linda shouted. All the kids booed her.
“Blow it out your ass,” someone shouted and she looked offended.
“That fucking Harry ruined the party,” Myra shouted and Kate glared at her.
“You women ruined the damned party when you hired that crap band and served this lousy food. Where did all that money go, you had ninety-nine thousand dollars. I don’t see ninety-nine thousand dollars worth of stuff here! Christ, where are all the pictures of the Roosevelt and us from the first year? You didn’t do anything right, Henry was right, you were worthless then and you’re worthless now,” she snapped and walked away.
Jake looked embarrassed and looked around the room. She was right, there wasn’t almost a hundred thousand dollars spent on this party; there wasn’t even five thousand dollars spent on this cheap shit. He sighed and took his wife out to the Bird Cage with David and Gloria leaving the others to clean up the mess.


Chapter Nine

Harry came back two days later for spring planting once again and it went like clock work. Harry did the wheat field like he always did and they all took the fields they always did and it went fast. No one said a word to him about the Centennial celebration and he didn’t say a word so it wasn’t mentioned.
Then he took off for Savannah and continued his exploration. Now he was in the jungle by the mountains where they had heard and seen the big, black cats and everyone gasped at the sight of the one who tried to attack him. It was very large and very beautiful so he shot in the air above its head and scared it away. Bo and Gertie barked furiously and wanted to go after it but Harry held them back.
“That kitty is too big for you to be messing with it,” he told them and laughed. Everyone watching laughed. Then they all heard the anguished cry of a smaller cat and Harry ran up the mountainside and the camera followed him just in time to see the large cat carrying off the body of a smaller cat. It moved so fast Harry had no time to help the smaller cat and he felt so helpless.
“Oh, that poor cat, that’s the law of the wild I suppose, the large animals have always eaten the smaller ones, but that doesn’t make it any less painful to watch,” he told the audience. Then he noticed Bo sniffing in the brush and the dog barked and whined. Harry went to investigate.
“What have you found, Bo, what’s this, oh, you little darlings,” he cooed and picked up two little kittens, both gold and white with black spots, hissing at him and growling. He held them up to the camera and grinned.
“It looks like that black cat gabbed the mother of these two kittens and now they’re all alone, if I don’t take them, they’ll starve to death out here or another bigger animal will eat them,” he informed the camera. He petted the kittens and cooed to them.
“Its okay, darlings, I won’t let anything bad happen to you, you’re safe with old Harry, I’ll take good care of you,” he promised and took them back to camp. Both dogs followed, wagging their tails. Everyone watched as Harry fetched some raw fish and feed the kittens who attacked the fish, obviously they were very hungry and then he feed them some milk. He got a plastic box and put some sand in it and aimed the camera off so they could potty in private.
“You don’t need to see this, that’s rude,” he said with a grin and everyone watching laughed. Then he picked up the little ones and examined them. “This darker one looks like the female, isn’t she a darling, I think I’ll call her Darla,” he said and kissed her little forehead. Then he looked at the second, more gold kitten. “This one’s the male and he looks just like a little bear so his name is Bear,” Harry decided and held them up for the camera.
“Everyone, meet the newest additions to the Talbert family, these two Savannah, mini-leopards, Darla and Bear and aren’t they the cutest little things?” he asked and hugged them. “I should get them to a Veterinarian right away to get them checked out,” he said and he looked around. “I’ll be off the air for a couple of days but stayed tuned for further adventures and more pictures of our newest family members, goodbye from Savannah, say goodbye Gertie,” Harry said and Gertie barked and Bo wagged his tail. Harry turned off the camera and packed up a few things. He put the kittens inside his shirt for ride back and, of course, they peed on him during the four hour flight but he didn’t mind.
“These two are so adorable, granddad is going to go bonkers when he sees them,” Cassie gushed as she held the two kittens on his couch the next day. Harry was getting ready to leave for their Vet appointment and frowned at her. She looked confused.
“You are taking Bear and Darla to granddad aren’t you, Harry, you know how much he loves cats and he’s going to die when he sees these two,” Jackson declared. Harry sighed and reached out for the two and put them in the carrier Emma had brought over for him. All the kids looked shocked.
“I’m taking them to Dr. Andrews not your granddad and don’t look at me that way, there is no way that man is getting near these kittens, besides your father will be at work and I’m not going near that Clinic,” he informed them. Adam sighed and put his arm around Harry’s shoulder.
“You’re going to have to see Jake eventually, Harry, it’s a small town and there’s only a hundred and ninety-eight humans, you can’t put if off forever and it’s been a whole year,” he said. Harry sighed.
“I’ll see him when I see him and that’ll be when I decide, now I’m going, thanks for the carrier, Emma, I’ll return it when I get my own later today, bye,” he said and he walked to his car and he and the dogs who he took everywhere with him drove off.
Dr. Andrews, an alterian Veterinarian was delighted to see the two mini-leopards and gushed all over them.
“They are the most amazing creatures, so delightful, my goodness isn’t she a beauty,” he gushed over Darla who was very friendly and purred loudly. Bear was equally friendly and the staff loved them. Everyone had to come in to see the kittens and play with them. The doctor announced them fit and gave them their shots and Harry took them to Petco to buy them everything they would need. He definitely needed to buy them radar collars so they couldn’t wander away from camp. He didn’t want one of those big black leopards eating them.
All pets were welcomed in Abby’s Petco so Gertie and Bo happily followed him into the store where he got an air-cart and carried the two kittens in his arm while he did his shopping. He got them carpet trees to climb on, a carpet house to play on and in and lots of balls, cat-nip mice and other toys. He also bought food for them and the dogs and of course chew-toys for the dogs. Everyone gushed over the dogs and kittens and he made his way to the check-out counter. The woman at the counter peered at his face and smiled.
“You’re Harry Talbert from the Travel Show aren’t you?” she asked and everyone turned to look at them. Harry smiled.
“Yes I am and this is Bo and Gertie, say hello, Gertie,” he said and Gertie, of course, barked which made everyone smile and clap. The woman picked up a picture from under the counter and showed it to him. It was one of him with his dogs. She smiled and waved him through.
“No charge for Harry Talbert,” she told him and everyone clapped. He thanked her and walked out to his Jeep happy that another one of his old friends had remembered their deal from long ago. In the car he put the collars on the kittens, blue for Bear and pink for Darla and they looked adorable. Bo licked them and they played with his tail, he had adopted them and was playing his role as their dad. Gertie liked them too but it was Bo they snuggled up to and slept next to. Gertie still preferred to cuddle up to him which he loved. At least he still had something of Jake’s who loved him.
Harry took the kittens back to Savannah and had a great time filming their antics and the audience loved them and the dogs. He filmed the jungles of the continent and brought back more animals for the zoo which they loved. Then one day in August, he came upon something interesting, a plant that looked familiar and he grinned at the camera. The dogs and cats that were now fifteen pounds and still growing were safely close by, they couldn’t go far because of their collars and the dogs would bark if any strange animals approached.
“Now this is very interesting,” Harry informed everyone and held out the leaves of the plant that was higher than his head for them to see. “We humans call this plant marijuana or if you like, pot, weed, grass, Mary Jane or a few other names. It is a narcotic similar to alcohol and it can make you quite high, as they call it. Very relaxed and mellow. It is dried and smoked in a cigarette like tobacco or in a pipe and can be alright unless you over-indulge and then you are referred to as a ‘pot-head’ or a ‘doper’ or a ‘dope-fiend’ and that’s not a good thing to be. Anything in moderation is okay and this is legal back on Memphis where we came and I’m going to cut all of this down and process it and then use the seeds to plant a field.” Harry grinned.
“Some of the older members of Edenville are going to be very happy when they find out about this,” he declared and laughed. “Of course my mothers would be shocked if they found out that I smoked marijuana a few times when I was away at college. It was very nice and made me feel quite relaxed and I was able to think clearly. The only trouble was that it gave me an enormous appetite and I ate almost the entire contents of the snack machine one evening.” He giggled. Then he began cutting down the plants and there were tons of them and he kept finding more.
Harry brought all of the plants back to the Mill and processed them and when he was done he had a fifty pound drum of seeds and a thousand pounds of tobacco. He didn’t want the time consuming task of bagging it and handing it out so he rounded up all of his children and invited them to his house for the evening to try it. They were all curious and showed up. He also got an angry call from his mother about his confession.
“Henry Simon Talbert, I should punish you, how dare you smoke pot in college, you were only thirteen or fourteen years old,” Kate snapped, her face red with angry. He laughed.
“Mom, that was a hundred and ninety-two years ago, you can’t punish me for something I did a hundred and ninety-two years ago,” he said and she wagged her finger at him.
“I don’t care how long ago it was, young man, I would spank you if I could, I’m very disappointed in you, Henry, Barb and I never tolerated that kind of thing,” she told him. He laughed again.
“Don’t give me that, where do you think I got the stuff,” he said. She looked confused.
“What do you mean?” she asked weakly.
“From that fake book in your bedroom where you and Barb used to hide your stash, I stole it from you, Mom,” he confessed and her face got redder.
“You knew about that?” she asked. Behind her Barb giggled. Kate turned around to glare at her. Her partner shrugged. Harry laughed.
“Pot has a distinctive odor, you can spray all the air freshners you want but you can’t hide the smell,” he informed them and they both sighed.
“Still you admit what you did was wrong, Henry,” Kate said. Harry shrugged.
“I was a thirteen year-old smart ass, I was going to do what I wanted,” he admitted. Kate laughed.
“So you admit you were a little smart-ass,” she said with satisfaction. He grinned.
“I was thirteen with an I.Q. of 217, of course I was a little smart-ass, what did you expect, I was smarter than everyone around me,” he told her and she smiled with pride.
“Simon was the only one who could keep up with you,” Kate said and sighed.
“So when are you going to share this find with us?” she asked eagerly. Harry grinned.
“As soon as I can convince one of my kids to take on the job of handling it, I don’t want to bother with it and I’m certainly not just going to just give it out like the coffee and the tea,” he told them. Kate looked surprised.
“Why not?” she demanded. Harry laughed.
“Because this stuff is valuable like the alcohol and whoever gets it is going to make a fortune with it and maybe Jackson, Cassie or Adam will want that opportunity,” he informed his mother. Kate sighed.
“I suppose you’re right, the others won’t appreciate it if you just give it to them, and they certainly won’t like you, they’ll just think you’re a chump,” she admitted. Harry grinned.
“I’ll heal them if they were sick or dying but that doesn’t mean I have to like them or give them anything more than I have to,” he said and she nodded.
“So what is this stuff anyway?” Cassie asked as her dad brought out plastic bags of green leaves that looked like cat nip. He handed each of his seven children their own bag and a package of cigarette papers and put eight little pipes on the coffee table. They all looked interested.
“These are called pipes and these big bottle type things are called bongs and they’re all used for smoking grass,” he explained. Then he showed them all how to roll a cigarette. They all clumsily rolled one laughing and making fun of each others attempts.
“That looks like the size of your thing, Sean,” Ryan teased him. Sean made a face.
“You only wished yours was this big,” he taunted back. Cassie rolled her eyes.
“Prick jokes are always so amusing,” she said and they all laughed.
“Now a word of caution,” Harry said. “You don’t want to smoke this stuff and drive at all and you definitely don’t want to smoke and fly ever. This stuff is just like alcohol and you would probably crash into the side of a mountain or a building and kill yourself and someone else. I’ll bring you back but then I’ll kick your stupid ass afterward.” They all laughed.
“Okay, Harry, we understand, we won’t smoke and fly or drive, we promise,” Adam declared and they all nodded.
Then they all lit up and Harry showed them all the correct way of inhaling and holding the smoke in their lungs and they did that and waited but they didn’t feel anything.
“I don’t feel anything, are you sure this stuff works?” Jackson said. Harry grinned.
“You’ll feel it in a minute, take a few more totes,” he instructed and they did. Then Cassie began to giggle.
“Oh, wow, I feel dizzy, Harry, you have two heads,” she laughed and he grinned.
“I think you’re high, darling,” he informed her and she giggled some more.
“Oh, wow, I feel great, so relaxed,” Danny declared and they all agreed this was fun.
“Sex on pot is terrific, at least I heard it was, I never tried it, I didn’t have sex until I was fourteen,” Harry told them and a flash of pain fluttered over his face then was gone. Ryan patted his knee.
“Oh, man, I don’t know about you but I want a donut like really bad,” Sean exclaimed and that sounded wonderful to all of them. Harry giggled and raced to the kitchen. He came back with seven dozen donuts. They all grabbed for them.
“Hey, that box is mine,” Emma yelled at her twin as he grabbed two. He graciously handed her one and they kissed. Everyone opened their box and dug in. Then they began to talk about customers in the stores and Gertie and Bo got some of the food and Harry brought out sandwich stuff too and sodas and they had a big party. Then everyone wandered off to bed and he cleaned up.
The next morning he and Danny milked the cows and they talked about who wanted to handle the pot. Jackson immediately raised his hand.
“I’m getting sick of selling books, this stuff could be fun, do you have a tobacco store left I could put it in?” he asked and grinned when Harry nodded. Cassie frowned.
“I want to help, can I be your partner?” she asked her brother who nodded.
“Of course Cas, we’ll be partners,” he said. They all looked at Adam who shrugged.
“I’m happy with the booze,” he declared and they all laughed.
“I’m happy with the toys,” Danny told them.
“We’re fine with the soda,” Ryan and Sean said at the same time like they always did. Emma grinned.
“I’ve got the jewelry store and that’s great for me,” she said.
So it was settled, Jackson and Cassie would get a tobacco store and the pot. They began building it the next day after Harry came back from Sherwood with it and within two weeks everyone was smoking and having a good time. Dr. Jackson who owned a tobacco store was angry when his grandchildren refused to share some of the pot with him so he could sell it in his store and called them selfish and greedy.
“Those damned kids, they won’t share any of the marijuana with their own grandfather, that’s greed, pure and simple,” he complained to his wife. Sissy sighed.
“They’re still blaming us for Harry and Jake splitting up; why can’t they understand we didn’t do anything wrong, it’s not our fault Jake isn’t gay like Harry, he’s bi-sexual,” she stressed the last word. Dr. Jackson glared at her.
“My son is straight, he’s not bi anything, he’s married to a woman, that means he’s straight, he was confused, that’s why he was with that fishy freak,” he yelled. She sighed again.
“Well, you calling them fishy freaks isn’t going to get you some of that marijuana, they’ve heard you calling them that and it hurts their feelings, Jackson, they’re our grandchildren and I love them,” she stated. He glared at her and slammed his fist down on the table.
“They are fishy freaks just like Harry and as soon as Jake and Violet give us some real grandchildren we won’t need them,” he declared and she was shocked.
“You can’t mean that, what about Jackson, you’ve loved that boy since the day he was born, he’s your namesake,” she said. He looked uncomfortable.
“As soon as Jake and Violet have a son, they’ll name him Jackson and he’ll be the real Jackson Henry Jackson, just like me, the way it’s supposed to be,” he said and got up and walked out the door leaving her in shock.
The next few years passed and everyone watched Harry and his animals explore Savannah and soon there was nothing left to see and he ended that portion of the program. He said goodbye to the Dark Continent with a special two hour show highlighting the things they had witnessed and delighted the viewer by announcing that he was taking the show to the continent of Sherwood with its majestic mountains.
He was looking much better these days and had a little beard to go with his mustache and looked quite rugged and handsome. The cats had grown to an amazing forty pounds each, Bear was forty-five and everyone loved them. They obeyed Harry’s commands instantly and no one worried when they saw them walking along the street, they were very friendly animals and loved to be made over. They always caused a scene and Harry the travel guy had to stop, talk and sign autographs wherever he went but he never minded; he loved talking to his fans.
His mothers worried because after five years he still wasn’t dating anyone and turned down all invitations to go out whenever he was asked. The most persistent of his gentlemen callers was the minosian Chan who greatly admired the handsome man and wanted to seduce him. But Harry wasn’t in the mood to be seduced, he didn’t even masturbate, it was like that part of him had shut down completely when Jake had closed the front door. But he was content with his animals and his show and seemed happy so people didn’t question him.
Sherwood was magnificent with its beautiful mountain peaks and its rich meadows and miles of coasts. Harry began on the coasts like he had in Savannah but these coasts were different and teaming with wildlife and on the western shores the ones that faced the Greek Islands he found there were no sharks only a different variety of dolphins who were very friendly. He filmed a whole show on them.
And he loved it so much in Sherwood he spent the first winter holed up in the ski resort that they had built and no one came to anymore because they were too busy selling their stuff to the alterians. He skied and had a great time and filmed himself doing it and some of the kids remembered the great times they had had on the slopes and asked to be brought over so he made a few trips over for them and had visitors for a while. They had a great time and he enjoyed their company.
The second spring he concentrated on the meadow fields and the wild life found there and brought back some for the zoo but by summer he had moved on to his first mountain and moved up the slope. Then he began to climb with the dogs and cats as company. Everyone was amazed at how easily the two dogs got up the steep ledges; they didn’t know of course that Harry was lifting them up. That was his little secret. Then one day in September as he was nearing the top of the first peak the worst thing that could have happened did. Harry had just ended the taping for the day and was returning the camera to his back pack. In order to do this, he had to unhook his harness for a brief second, put it in, put the backpack back on, and then snap the harness back on. While he was putting the back pack on, a large, angry purple eagle swooped down and flew right into his face and distracted him. Harry pushed the bird away from him and felt himself slip away from the rock face and the little ledge he and the dogs were standing on. The harness should have caught him and kept him from falling but he had unhooked it so he kept on falling right off the ledge and into the sky. His first thought was relief, now he didn’t have to go through the motions of living anymore and could die in peace. Then he heard the dogs barking furiously and realized that without him they would die on that ledge. So he had to do something very quickly or he would die and they would die. He was falling very quickly and time was of the essence.
“Harry,” he screamed and he pushed with his mind and all of a sudden he stopped falling. Just like that, he stopped. Harry felt his heat beating a million miles an hour and looked down at the ground only about a hundred feet away.
“Holy crap,” he exclaimed when he realized how close he had actually come to dying. Then he thought of how long it was going to take him to reach his dogs and panicked thinking what if they didn’t wait for him but tried to climb down on their own. That’s when Harry realized that if he could stop himself from falling, what was to stop him from lifting himself up? Nothing. So he pushed and felt himself lift up a few inches and pushed some more and soon he was lifting in a standing position and it was more like he was flying up the mountain and it felt fucking amazing.
“Gertie, Bo, here I come, I’m back, stay on the ledge, don’t come down,” Harry shouted as he approached the two dogs who began to bark when they saw him coming. He reached them and hugged them with tears in his eyes. “Shush, I wouldn’t leave you, I love you too much, I would never leave you Bo, Gertie, where are those cats, there you are Bear, Darla, I bet you wondered where I was didn’t you, now I’m back, let’s all go to the top shall we,” he said and lifted them all up and flew to the top. The cats hissed at him, they hated to be lifted but the dogs grinned, they loved it. Then Harry lifted his supplies and made camp. He was extremely glad he was alive and at the top of the mountain. He feed everyone including himself and ate with a gusto he hadn’t felt in years.
“Nothing like a dear death experience to make you feel alive is there, huh, Gertie, huh, Bo,” he teased and they both jumped up on him and wagged their whole bodies. He figured they must have been really glad to see him. Harry lied on his sleeping bag and stared at the stars and thought about his life. He had a pretty good one even if he didn’t have Jake. He had his work, his animals, his kids and now he could fly, one day he would have a man to love and who loved him, what more could a man ask for? He fell asleep with a smile on his perfect cupid bow mouth.
Jake on the other hand wasn’t so content with his life. Oh, the first five years had been extremely happy ones and he had had a hell of a lot of fun but now the bloom was off of the rose so to speak. Whenever he asked his sweet wife when they were going to have those children she seemed so eager to have, she put him off saying she was waiting to have children with her twin sister Amy and she wasn’t ready to have children yet. After all, they were only a hundred and twenty and they were going to live to be thirty thousand years old, they had plenty of time to have children.
And now that they had been married for seven years Violet wasn’t as sweet to him as she had been when they were first married and she wasn’t as nice and considerate to live with as Harry had been. He found out soon that if he wanted clean clothing he had to wash them himself because she never washed until she was out of clothes and sometimes wore dirty ones over. He hired a housekeeper and someone to come in and do the laundry, with his busy medical practice; he just didn’t have the time to do laundry. He didn’t know how Harry had managed to keep up with the housework, the cooking, laundry, and manage two stores. It amazed him to think about it.
Then there was the cooking. Violet did not cook. Not ever. All those wonderful meals she had brought in from home to share with him at the clinic had been cooked by her mother or his. She laughingly confessed to tricking him because she had been in love with him. He had been flattered by this at first but after a while coming home late from work and having to take her out to dinner every night got to be annoying. Sometimes all he wanted was a nice home cooked meal and his couch. And she’d just laugh and get all dressed up and insist on dragging him out to the latest hot spot for dinner and dancing. Violet was always ready for a good time. Sometimes he would just go over to his parent’s house and his mom would cook him dinner while Violet pouted and went out with David and Gloria who like her were always in the mood to party.
And then there was the matter of breakfast. Violet always insisted on the same brand of English muffins from the store with low fat cream cheese and low fat milk and God forbid if he ate any of them. Every week she would buy enough for the week along with orange juice and special flavored creamer for her coffee and if Jake touched any of it she would hit the roof.
“Jake, did you eat one of my muffins, I know I had three left and now there’s only two, you know I hate it when you eat my food,” she’d snapped. He’d shrug and promise not to do it again.
If she went to the store, she never picked up bread or milk or anything for him, she only bought stuff that she liked or wanted and said it was for her, even though she was spending his money, the money she insisted he leave out for household spending. And when Jake went to the store and bought food for himself and didn’t bring home her stuff, she’d bitch that he never thought of her, how inconsiderate he was and how rude he was. And if he bought fatty foods in the house she’d bitch about her waistline and how he was tying to make her fat or she’d tease him about how fat he was getting and he didn’t need that fatty lunchmeat, his belly was getting big enough and soon he wasn’t going to be able to see his feet.
Another complaint he had with her was her personal hygiene. Violet was not a very clean woman and didn’t bathe as much as she should, or at least as much as Harry and he had. Jake always took a shower at night before he went to bed; he wanted to be fresh for his partner; that was polite. But Violet would come to bed all stinky from the day and just spray some perfume over herself which over sweat and female odor was slightly nauseating. What was even worse was when she expected him to go down on her and that really made him want to puke when he smelled her when she opened her legs really wide and pushed his face down there. That musky aroma would hit him in the face like a slap and he would gag and make a retching noise. She’d look at him with frustration.
“What’s the hell the matter, I sprayed perfume on, it can’t smell that bad,” she swore. He shook his head.
“Why don’t you take a shower, sugar, I can wait for you,” he said gently. She glared at him.
“You know Jake, some men love the smell of my pussy and I don’t have to take a God-damned shower for them,” she yelled. “Your father went down on me for an hour last Saturday and swore it was the best pussy he’d ever tasted, you’re just a sissy.” Jake shook his head.
“Violet, today is Tuesday, the last time you had a shower was Monday morning, that’s practically thirty hours without a shower, sugar, you stink and your pussy is rancid, no one could go down on you like this,” he stated and she flushed with embarrassment and closed her legs.
“Go to hell, Jake Jackson, in fact, go sleep in the other room, I have a headache and I’m not in the mood,” she shouted and with a sigh, he climbed out of bed and went into the spare bedroom. To tell the truth after smelling her funky pussy, he wasn’t in the mood anymore either.
She complained to her mother and his mother who both laughed.
“Honey, some men are like that, he’s not a sissy, your father is like that too,” Sarah told her. Sissy giggled.
“Jackson’s not like that, the stinkier my pussy gets, the better he likes it,” she confessed and they all laughed. Violet gave her an evil smile, she could have told her that, but Sissy didn’t know about her husband’s participations in the sex parties, she thought he just got drunk at parties and they put him to bed to sleep it off.
“I’m very careful with Milo, I wash myself every night before we go to bed just in case he wants to do that, it’s just a nice thing to do,” Sarah told her daughter who sighed.
“Well, shit, now I have to apologize to Jake,” she declared and both older women laughed, they knew the younger woman hated to admit when she was wrong.
The following week at one of Gloria’s famous sex parties Jake was having a good time until he stuck his dick into the ass of one of the rented go-go boys from the Bird Cage and pulled it out to find it all covered in shit. He almost lost his dinner and drinks and he did lose his hard on. He rushed to the bathroom to wash, cursing all the way and hating himself for not wearing a condom. The next morning he woke up with strange milky white discharge leaking from his penis and rushed to the clinic to see Dr. George who diagnosed him with a venereal disease. Jake was stunned and heartbroken.
“But I thought we didn’t have any of those,” he stammered. Dr. George patted his shoulder.
“We didn’t, unfortunately the alterians do and they can pass them along to us,” he informed his patient. “Fortunately I have a cure for you, a little shot and it will go away in a week but you can’t have any sex for the next seven days. I have some cream for you to put on your penis; you’re going to be getting a little rash.” Jake looked horrified.
“If you want I can get Harry in here and he can heal you right away, he’s done it for the kids and some of the adults and it’s pretty quick and you won’t need the cream and you can have sex right away,” Dr. George offered. Jake shook his head.
“Oh, God, no, I don’t want Harry finding out about this, its too embarrassing,” he said firmly. The older man sighed.
“There’s nothing embarrassing about this, Jake, it happens to all of us who have sex with the alterians at one time or the other and Harry won’t mind,” he assured him but Jake shook his head again.
“That’s okay, I’ll take the shot and the cream,” he said and Dr. George smiled and gave them to him. Jake went home informed Violet he was never having sex with another alterian, they were filthy disgusting creatures. She laughed when he told her what had happened.
“Well, you should be used to seeing shit, didn’t that used to happen when you used to fuck Harry?” she sneered. He looked appalled.
“That never happened when I had sex with Harry, Harry was always clean, I never pulled out my dick and saw shit, never, that was the most disgusting thing I ever saw,” he shouted. She laughed.
“Well, use a condom the next time like the other men do,” Violet told him. He nodded and she kissed him.
“I can’t believe you fucked Harry for ninety-three years and you never saw shit, he must have douched all the time, his bowels must be all fucked up,” she declared and he wondered if that was true. Poor Harry he thought. Then he sighed and thought poor Jake, no sex for a week and he wondered what kind of rash he was going to get. It turned out to be a very red and very painful rash and he tried not to scratch but he couldn’t help it. And Violet was mad because he couldn’t participate in the following week’s party and she had to go alone.
Harry woke up the next morning and after breakfast practiced his flying. He found out that by bending his knees slightly he could take off easier and that the two dogs loved flying with him. He also found out that flying without goggles and something covering his ears wasn’t smart. The wind dried out his eyes and made seeing difficult and the wind blowing in his ears hurt and it must have done the same to the dogs. So he decided to make a trip back to Eden and fix them all up with goggles and hats with ear coverings. He told his audience he had a special treat in store for them in a couple days so he had to go off to set it up. Then he flew home.
“Harry, I saw the show, what kind of treat are you working on?” James Campbell asked as he entered the Surf City. Harry grinned and let all of his animals in with him. All the people in the store rushed over to make over them and ask for his autograph.
“I’m working on a special project, you’ll see in a couple of days, right now I’m looking for goggles maybe the kind swimmers wear, where do you keep them?” he asked. James walked him to the right aisle and helped him pick them out. Harry took all his stock of ones he thought would do and to the delight of the people watching, tried several pairs on the dogs to find ones that fit them.
“Are the dogs going to be part of your project, Harry?” one woman asked. Harry nodded.
“Of course, I’d never do anything without Bo and Gertie, say hello to everyone, Gertie,” he said and Gertie barked while everyone grinned and petted her and Bo. They petted the cats too and made them purr.
“When Bear and Darla have kittens can I have one?” a little girl asked. Harry grinned.
“Oh, they’re much too young to have kittens, but I’ll keep you in mind, see all of you folks later bye,” he said. “Say goodbye, Gertie,” he said and Gertie barked. Everyone waved and said goodbye to them and they left. Then he went to Steve’s hat store which thankfully was empty except for the Alterian who ran it for him who was ecstatic to meet the famous Harry, Bo, Gertie, Bear and Darla and helped him find cloth hats to fit the dogs and hats that he could take the ear flaps off and sew to the other hats to protect their ears. Harry paid for everything because he was sure the man had never heard about the no-paying deal and then went home and made a pizza for dinner. He watched an old rerun of one of his shows and laughed at himself and went to bed.
“You’re a very funny person, Harry,” he said as he climbed into bed.
Jake was watching the same program and it was one he hadn’t seen before and his heart ached at the sight of Gertie barking on cue. He wondered how on earth Harry had trained her to do that. Bo looked good and so did those cats Bear and Darla, they followed Bo around like he was their daddy. He looked around his lonely house and wondered why they never got the cats Violet had promise they’d get, probably because she didn’t want animals shedding and leaving hairs on her perfect décor. He looked around the perfect house with everything perfectly placed and wanted to move things around but knew that that would only irritate her and set her off. So he just sat there and watched his beloved dogs and Harry who looked pretty good with that cute little mustache and that long ponytail. He wondered when he had started wearing his hair like that, he didn’t look anything like he used to; that mustache made him look like a stranger. If it wasn’t for those purple pixie eyes Jake would have sworn he was staring at someone else, he couldn’t even see Harry’s upper lip anymore and that perfect cupid mouth and that was a damned shame. He sighed and scratched his balls that were covered in red rash and hated those nasty go-go boys; he was never touching one of them again.
The next day Harry flew back to Sherwood and prepared the dogs for the great surprise and greeted his viewers. He knew they would all be surprised by the getups they were wearing.
“Hi again, this is Harry with Gertie, Bo, Bear and Darling high on a mountain top from Sherwood, say hello, Gertie,” he said and Gertie of course barked. “You might wonder what the heck are we wearing and I’m going to tell you. We are wearing our flying gear. That’s right, we’re all going to take a little flight today over to that nest where some baby eagles are and we want to take a closer look. Hopefully Momma and Daddy eagle will be off somewhere and we can take a peek. Now I know you’re all asking yourself how in the world are Harry and the dogs going to get over there? Well, the answer is simple. I’ve rigged the Elizabeth on remote and some harnesses and we’re going to just lift off the ground and safely just cruise over there. And in case you’re wondering about the dogs, let me tell you, Gertie and Bo, love to fly. They really do, if they didn’t, I would never let them do it. Now Bear and Darla hate to get their feet off the ground so they won’t be joining us. Let’s go, doggies, and see some eagles.”
Harry lifted himself off the ground and then lifted the dogs who really did look like they were enjoying the experience and they flew over to the eagle’s next and took a look at the baby eagles and they were cute as hell. And they got a really good look at them before Momma came swooping in and they had to leave. Then Harry flew around the mountain and the viewers got to see all kinds of things they would have never got to see without the action cam, as Harry was calling the flying camera.
Steve and DJ got tons of calling about the new format, some wanted Harry to stop immediately and demanded that the dogs be taken away from him; they swore they were being abused. But the men pointed out that the dogs obviously loved to fly, they weren’t whining or crying but laughing and wagging their tails when Harry announced if they wanted to fly, the dogs jumped up with excitement and couldn’t wait to get up in the air. If the Alterians had a problem with flight, that was their problem, the humans had no problem with flying dogs; they all thought they were cute.
Now that Harry was airborne his viewers got a new perspective on the continent and they were enthralled and gasped at the beautiful scenery. All of the humans were enthralled also and more than a few of them commented that maybe they had picked the wrong continent and they should have made their town on Sherwood instead of Eden when they first landed. And when Harry showed them the snow-capped mountains in the winter they all gasped at the wonder and beauty before them. They even witnessed an avalanche and its wild thunder as it roared down the mountainside.
“My God, that’s magnificent,” Max muttered as the waves of snow washed down and crashed to a halt against the trees. Linda held his hand and they smiled at each other. Violet snorted.
“It’s just a bunch of stupid snow, what’s the big deal?” she asked and everyone looked at her. Jake rolled his eyes.
“You don’t think that’s the most glorious thing you’ve seen?” he asked with disbelief. She shook her head.
“It’s the most boring thing I’ve ever seen, are we going out tonight or watching boring view-screen all night, I want to go dancing,” Violet said and stood up, her lower lip making that little pouting movement that he used to think was cute, but now just got on his nerves. Jake shook his head.
“He’s going to show us the snow rushing into the ocean next, we don’t want to miss that, sugar,” he said, almost pleading. David and Gloria stood up with their friend. Gloria made a face.
“That sounds dreadful to me, let’s go to the Bird Cage, come on, Jake, you can drive, David and I want to get toasted,” she said and giggled. David giggled too. Jake got up and sighed. Violet squealed and hugged his arm.
“Thank you, honey, I’ll rent you one of those go-go boys and you can take him to a back room,” she said with a sly look. Everyone laughed. Jake shook his head and he walked to the door.
“You can keep your nasty boy, I’m not little any of those filthy creatures near my mighty sword, no way,” he protested and Violet giggled and made a grab for his crotch.
“Ah, is your mighty sword afraid to come out and play?” she teased. He grabbed her hand.
“Violet, don’t grab at me in front of people, where’s your manners?” he was shocked and sounded it. She pouted.
“Jake, we’re in front of our friends, don’t be such a prude,” she scolded him. He glared at her and slammed the car door shut and started the engine.
“Don’t grab at me like I’m a piece of meat, its inappropriate behavior, stop acting like a slut,” he shouted and now she was the shocked one. Gloria and David both giggled. Violet glared at them and then at him.
“Drive me home then, I’ll take my own car and you can stay the hell home and watch your stupid ex and his stupid snow,” she yelled. He drove them to his house and got out of the car and slammed the front door as he entered the house. They all got into her car and she drove away slowly and carefully, Gloria sat in the front with her and David sat in the back as he usually did when he drove with the two ladies.
“I tell you if he acted this way with Harry, I don’t see why the man made such a fuss about him leaving, Jake is a big fat idiot,” Violet fumed. Gloria laughed.
“Maybe you should give him back,” she suggested. Violet giggled.
“Not as long as he wants him back, no way, Jake will be mine until I’m through with him and not a day sooner. I’ll make his life miserable if he keeps this shit up,” she vowed. Both of the Marshalls laughed with her.
Harry spent five years on Sherwood, five years in which he slowly recovered and he would have eventually made it back to Eden and his life there if it hadn’t been for the dream. A very horrible dream which he kept having over and over and he couldn’t get rid of it no matter how hard he tried. He should have gone to Dr. George for some advice or help, but he didn’t trust the man to keep the dream to himself. If he told the others, they would have had the time of their lives laughing over poor old Harry and his pathetic dream.
In the dream Harry was walking down the streets of Edenville with his seven children and they were all happy, smiling and enjoying the sun. Then they turned the corner of Jackson Street and Talbert Street and standing in the middle of the street were Jake and Violet with seven children, five boys and two girls just like Harry and Jake had. But these children were all younger; the eldest son was only about ten years old. Violet had this superior smug look on her face and Jake was wearing a proud look, the one he always wore when he was with his children. The eldest son stepped forward and looked at Harry’s son Jackson who had stepped forward.
“Who are you supposed to be?” the younger son asked. Jackson frowned.
“I’m Jake’s son Jackson,” he answered. The other boy shook his head.
“I’m Jake’s son Jackson, you’re just a fishy freak and the fake Jackson, I’m the real Jackson, ain’t that right, granddad?” he asked and turned around. Suddenly Dr. Jackson was there with Sissy and they were both beaming, their arms around the real Jackson.
“That’s right, grandson,” Dr. Jackson said proudly, “This is my real grandson, this is Jackson Henry Jackson and he’s the real grandson, not that fishy freak, he’s the fake. Harry, all of your sons are fakes, Jake regrets ever making them with you. Those fishy freaks shouldn’t be alive, you should all go away.”
“Yeah, Harry, go away,” Violet stepped forward to say. “And take your fishy freaks with you.” Jake stepped forward with her.
“Go away, Harry, take those fishy freaks with you, you’re all fishy freaks,” he declared. Then suddenly everyone in Edenville was there and they were all saying the same thing.
“Go away, Harry and take those fishy freaks with you, you’re all fishy freaks.”
Harry would wake up with his heart pounding and his throat dry from shouting.
“No, not my children, no, Jake,” and the dogs would whine and lick his face but he would still have the dream a few nights later and spend the night crying and holding his belly where his precious boys had come out, rubbing his hands together and feeling the warmth on his body trying to heal himself of something but he didn’t know what.
Finally Harry decided that he had enough of the TV show, it was about time for him to go off the air anyway. Ten years was long enough for him and the dogs to be in view of the alterian public, anymore and they would start to get suspicious of how the dogs stayed alive and young looking and why he didn’t age. So he had a goodbye show telling them he was retiring and selected a house and barn and headed for Mykonos. It was far enough away from everyone where he could stay out of everyone’s way and be left alone. There was no way he could return to Eden and resume a normal life. Before he left he filled everyone’s stores for the third time to shut them up. Except for Jake’s store which he knew Violet was running, he didn’t fill that one. He didn’t care if it pissed her off, in fact, he hoped it did.
“Harry, where are you?” Jackson asked a few days later. Harry had set up his phone as he began building his barn. Harry smiled at his eldest son.
“I’m on Mykonos for some fun in the islands man, how are you?” he asked as cheerfully as he could. Jackson grinned.
“I’m fine, thanks for filling the stores, that’s from the kids, you should be getting pretty low on stores by now, what in the hell are you doing on Mykonos?” he asked. Harry shrugged.
“I’m building a house, I felt like a change of pace, going to do something artistic and relaxing for a while and since Jake and that fake-tittied bitch have my beach house, I’ve decided to build here,” he told him. Jackson laughed.
“You’ve got the whole other side of the island to build on, you couldn’t find a nice spot there?” he teased. Harry shrugged again.
“I’ve always liked the view of the waterfalls and its nice here, very peaceful,” he said. Jackson shrugged.
“I guess, well, don’t stay too long, we’ll miss you,” he told him. Harry nodded. Then Jackson said the real reason for the call. “I got a call from Jake and he’s pissed that you filled all the stores except for his and wants to know why.” Harry grinned.
“Don’t you mean little Miss fake-titties is pissed because I didn’t fill her store?” he said and both men grinned. “Please inform your father that we all know whose running his store and that I don’t fill the stores of husband stealing, fake-tittie bitches and he’s a millionaire so let him fill the damned store for her.” Jackson whistled.
“You’re still holding a grudge after ten years, man, remind me never to piss you off,” he teased. Harry smiled and put his hand up to the screen. On his side his son put his hand up so they were touching hands.
“Jackson, there is nothing you can ever do that will ever make me that angry with you,” he assured him. Jackson smiled.
“Well, have fun on the island man, and stay away from those goats,” he winked and hung up. Harry laughed and went back to work on his barn. Jackson called his other dad.
“Jake, I called Harry and you’re not going to like what he said,” he told him. Jake groaned.
“Oh, Jackson, don’t tell me he’s not going to fill the damned store, Violet has been screaming for days as it is,” he complained. Jackson laughed.
“Well, Harry’s exact words were, and I quote, “We all know whose store it really is and I don’t have to fill the store of some husband stealing, fake-tittie bitch,” unquote,” he told his dad. Jake whistled.
“Harry’s still holding a grudge after ten years, wow; I never knew he could do that,” he sounded pleased. Jackson laughed.
“Don’t sound too pleased when you tell Violet what he said, I don’t think she’ll like it,” he warned him. Jake flushed.
“I’m not pleased, I’m angry, damned what in the hell am I going to do? Harry’s put me in an awkward position, Violet’s really going to be hurt,” he said. Jackson shrugged.
“Harry did say that you’re a millionaire and that you should fill her store yourself,” he suggested. Jake sighed.
“I guess that’s what I’ll have to do, unless she makes me go see Harry and demand the bins,” he sighed again. Jackson shook his head.
“That’s going to be hard to do, Harry’s on Mykonos building a house,” he told him. Jake looked surprised.
“What the hell is he doing on Mykonos?” he demanded. Jackson shrugged.
“He wants to relax in the sun and he can’t do that in Hawaii, someone else has his beach house,” he said and Jake flushed.
“Yeah, I know, hell, we don’t even use that place anymore, he could have gone there, he should have asked, I would have let him use it,” he said. Jackson shook his head.
“Jake, you know perfectly well Violet would have never let Harry use her beach house and Harry would have never used it,” he told him and Jake sighed.
“Yeah, I really screwed up there, Son, I used to think Harry and I could have stayed friends but I guess I was wrong,” he said sadly. Jackson smiled.
“Well, we all make mistakes Jake, but it’s never too late to go back and say you’re sorry and correct them,” he advised gently. Jake looked surprised.
“Maybe you’re right, I’ll see you later, I’ve got a patient now, maybe I’ll have you kids over for supper, that’ll be fun,” he said and Jackson nodded.
“Sure, Jake, that’ll be fun,” he agreed and hung up. He couldn’t wait to tell his siblings old Jake was unhappy and what Harry had said about Violet. Maybe there was some hope the two of them would get back together after all these years after all.


After Harry built his barn he sneaked back to Eden and brought all of his food and some clothes and stuff that he wanted. Then he began work on his house and by himself that took almost a month to build but it was a nice house and had a fantastic view of the waterfalls. Then he planted a big garden and flew to Hawaii and pulled up some banana, mangoes and papayas and other fruits so that he wouldn’t have to go back and forth to get them. He didn’t know how long he planned on staying on Mykonos but if it was more than a year then it was worth it.
Then he started to explore the island like he never had before and found lots of interesting caves and tide pools filled with lots of interesting creatures and plants. He dreamed the dream here too but it didn’t seem as scary or as real, it was like putting the distance took away some of the power. And staring at the waterfalls cleared his brain.
The cats loved the island. They loved chasing the goats but after killing and eating the first one, they just chased them. What they really loved doing was fishing in the surf, catching big fish and eating them raw. Bear especially loved trying to catch the small tiger sharks that roamed the reefs. Harry warned him away from them, scared that the sharks would harm him, but the cat wouldn’t listen so Harry sighed and hoped that the cat would be quicker than the fish.
Harry’s children would all call and check up on him from time to time and they all laughed at the beard he was growing and said he looked like a beatnik. He just said shaving every day was a nuisance and who was there to see? Cassie said it made him look like a mad professor and he laughed. When his mother Kate found out he was on Mykonos she called and demanded he come home immediately. She frowned the moment she saw him on the view screen.
“My God, Henry, what on earth is that on your face?” she demanded. Harry grinned.
“It’s called a beard, Mother, how are you today, I’m fine,” he retorted. Barb in the background giggled. “Hi, Barb, how are you?” he called out. She waved.
“Hello, Harry, I love your beard, it makes you look smashing,” she called back. Kate snorted.
“It makes you look old, you look thirty, good heavens, people will think I’m old enough to have a thirty year-old son, Henry, I demand that you shave that thing off immediately,” she snapped. Harry laughed.
“There’s no one here on Mykonos but me, Mom, no one will know I have it,” he assured her. She frowned.
“Why are you on Mykonos all by yourself, this isn’t about Jake leaving you is it, because if it is, my God, Henry, it’s been ten years, enough is enough, get over it already, the man has been married to Violet for ten years, its time for you to leave the past behind you and make a life for yourself, get a husband, get a lover, for God’s sake, get a hobby, get something, but get over Jake Jackson,” she said firmly. Harry sighed.
“Don’t you think I’ve tried, Mom, I really have,” he told her. “I had that travel show for ten years and that didn’t work. All I think about all the time is Jake. I want Jake, I love Jake. I can’t help it. I’ve been in love with Jake since I was fourteen. Maybe that’s stupid but it’s the way I feel and I can’t help it. Maybe I just need more time, after all, I was in love with him for almost a hundred years; maybe it will take twenty years to get over him and not ten. So I’ll just stay here on Mykonos and get a hobby, maybe I’ll take up painting or something, or woodworking, who knows. But I’ll get over him when I get over him and nothing you or anyone else can say or do is going to make him go away any faster so just leave me the hell alone and let me whine and cry on my own.”
“Fine, stay on Mykonos and mope, I’ll leave you alone if that’s what you want, but no man’s is worth all of this Henry, not even Jake Jackson, he’s just a man and from what I hear, his mighty sword has been very busy at Gloria’s parties while you’re moping, he’s been playing you for a fool,” she informed him. Harry shrugged.
“If that’s what he wants to do, that’s his business, goodbye, Mother,” he said and hung up on her. Then he stuck his tongue out at the screen. “You really had to tell me that didn’t you, you witch.” He decided to take a walk and explore some caves.
“You really didn’t have to tell him that, that was cruel,” Barb admonished her and Kate sighed.
“Maybe it will help him wake up and smell the roses a little faster, God knows nothing else I’ve said has, Henry has always been obsessive but this is ridiculous, Jake is just a man, it’s time he moved on with his life and found another one,” she stated. Barb sighed and hugged her.
“Would you find it that easy to replace me?” she asked her. Kate sighed and patted her back.
“I love you, dear, but if you left me I’d replace you quickly, I don’t like sleeping alone, you know that,” she told her. Barb giggled.
“You are so practical, you’d probably have someone the day I left,” she teased and Kate grinned.
“Just don’t leave me at night, that wouldn’t give me enough time,” she teased her back and Barb rolled her eyes. Then Jan and Joy came in and it was time to fix lunch.
Harry found some interesting caves on the other side of the ridge where the goats hung out and they were filled with some rather colorful clay. He took some and played with it and wished he had a kiln so he could make some stuff and bake them. He sculpted a very pretty dolphin out of some blue clay and with a sigh, left it in the sun to dry. Gertie sniffed it and they walked home. Maybe he would check the stores he had left to see if he had any art supply stores or toy stores where he might find a kiln. Sculpting with the clay had reminded him of those little brides and grooms he had made for the wedding cakes those many years ago and that had been fun. Maybe his mother was right and he should find a hobby.
The next day Harry carried an empty fifty pound drum down to the caves to put some clay into. Even if he couldn’t bake it in a kiln, he could play around with it and that would be fun. He spied the little dolphin in the sun and it looked funny so he approached it slowly and gasped with shock as he neared it.
“Holy crap,” Harry exclaimed and he bent down to pick it up. The dolphin had dried to fine porcelain finish as if it had been baked in a kiln, painted and sprayed with enamel. It was absolutely gorgeous. Harry was astonished. He held it out to Bo and Gertie for their appraisal.
“Look at this, isn’t this amazing?” he asked and they both wagged their tails. He grinned and kissed them. This got him to thinking. He rushed into the cave and filled the container with yellowish and red clay and lifted it back to the house. There he made two sculptures of his two dogs in sitting positions using his hands and some chopsticks to make the fur and help shape the eyes. He thought about it and decided he really needed the proper tools. So he went through the stores and found an art supply store and laid the finished pieces in the sun and grabbed some food and headed for Sherwood.
“I think this is the right bin guys,” Harry said to his friends who jumped up and barked. He found the sculpting tools and two tables and other stuff he thought he might need and took them back to Mykonos and went to bed. The next morning he noticed that Darla was acting weird, meowing and scratching at the door so he rushed down to the beach to find Bear laying cold and stiff in the sand with a big gash in his side where a shark had taken a bite out of him and killed him. Harry sank to his knees and burst into tears.
“Oh Bear, you stupid cat, I told you to stay away from those sharks,” he cried and held the dead cat. He carried him home and milked Bessie and ran the milk through the pasteurizer and drank a whole half-gallon. Then he rubbed his hands together and placed them over the wound and healed it. Bear remained dead. Darla meowed very loudly and rubbed against Harry who petted her.
“Don’t worry honey, I’m going to bring him back if I can,” he consoled her. Both dogs whined and he petted them. Then he rubbed his hands together and like he had done with DJ, Harry placed one on the cat’s forehead and one over his heart and closed his eyes. It was dark and he couldn’t see anything but eventually he saw Bear sitting in the dark and picked him up. Then the cat under his hands took a deep breath and began to move. Harry laughed and hugged him. Darla rushed over and began licking Bear and the two had a happy reunion. Bo came over and began licking Bear who greeted him like he knew he had been lost. Harry poured some milk for the cats and some for Gertie and Bo and rushed to the kitchen for fish and meat to feed them. When they were all eating he sat at the table and cried, mostly with relief that he had been able to bring his friend back to life. He looked over at the feline giving himself a bath.
“Maybe now you’ll stay away from those tiger sharks, you idiot,” he said and Bear looked at him and yawned. Harry laughed. “Oh, am I boring you?” he teased and Bear came over and hopped on the table. Harry petted and rubbed his tummy while he purred.
“Oh, Bear, what would I have done without you,” he cooed and Bear smiled at him. Harry then threw him off the table so he could fix his own breakfast. The cats settled on the couch and the dogs on their bed while he ate. After he cleaned up Harry went out and checked on his sculptures and found them to be very nice, a little amateurish but nice. Then he got another idea and rushed back to the cave, taking with him the drum as it was his only one.
At the caves Harry dumped out the yellow and red clay and replaced it with black and rushed back to the house. He put one of the artist tables together and the stool and brought out the tools and a book on sculpting and began work on a bust of Jake’s head and shoulders. He worked from memory, he didn’t need a picture to remember that face, he had loved that face and traced that mouth, those eyes with his fingers many times. Now he did it with clay and he did it with the same love. Hours went by and he lost the sun and turned on lights. When the dogs whined he remembered their dinner and feed them and the cats. Then he remembered to eat and kept on working until at last it was as perfect as it was going to get. He laid it out in the yard to catch the morning sun and fell asleep. The cow woke him up and he milked it, feed the animals and went back to bed. The phone woke him up later.
“You’re still in bed, Harry it’s after eleven in Mykonos, what are you still doing in bed, you’re not sick are you?” Danny asked, worry in his purple eyes. Harry grinned.
“No I’m not sick, I was up late working on my sculpture so I went back to bed after milking Bessie, how are you Danny?” he asked and his son grinned.
“Pretty good, still living with Martin, say hello, Martin,” he teased and Martin called out hello to Harry who called hello back. Then they talked about gossip for a while and Harry told him about Bear getting attacked by the shark and dying on him and how he had to bring him back to life. Both of the men seemed impressed by that.
“Oh, wow, Harry, you brought a dead cat back to life, that’s pretty amazing, I can’t wait for my healing powers to come in, when do you think that will happen?” Danny asked. Harry smiled.
“Why don’t you try healing little scratches and start from there and see what happens,” he suggested and Danny’s eyes lit up. Martin laughed.
“You’re going to create a monster, Harry, he’ll be running around cutting himself shaving,” he teased and they kissed. Harry was happy to see that. They all said goodbye and hung up.
“Back to work; what shall I do next?” he asked the dogs who wagged their tails. He started on a full body of Jake, naked and lying down on his side, one arm folded with his head resting in his hand and his legs slightly crossed. He worked on it all day setting the alarm so he would know when to feed the dogs and cats. They roamed in and out of the house all day trying to get him to come out and play with them but he was only interested in his work so they sighed and went outside to play without him.
Harry continued his sculpturing for the next week, running out of clay and running back to the caves for more and thought; this is ridiculous and flew to Edenville to the Mill and stole twenty brand new fifty pound drums and brought them back to Mykonos and filled them with black clay. Then he continued his work making bust and figure after figure of Jake until the whole house was filled with them and he was manic, wanting to make more.
So he flew to Sherwood and it was snowing and he was shocked but got another barn and cut down a dozen trees and picked up a Saw Mill 5000 and brought it all back to Mykonos where he built the barn and then lined it with bookcases that had little lids so that the sculptures wouldn’t fall off of them. Then he put the ones he had done onto the shelves and it didn’t look like so many like it had in the house and Harry was relieved. Then he went back to sculpting Jake.
Harry did big Jakes and little Jakes and naked Jakes and Jake sitting reading a book and Jake’s penis, he did a lot of naked Jakes and some of the penises were not proportioned, they were over-proportioned but Harry had a one-track mind and that’s where it went some days. He did a giant Jake’s penis, it was twenty inches long, fully erect; every vein and muscle throbbing and he took it to bed with him sometimes, it was so beautiful.
Every week Harry would talk to Danny and hear the gossip of all of his kids and what they were doing and who they were living with and all the major happenings of Edenville and he kept up with everyone and they would talk for hours and it was fun, almost like they were together in the same room having a conversation.
“You’d never believe who just moved in with Emma, never in a million years,” Danny gushed one day and Harry giggled.
“Never in a million years, mm, let me think, it wouldn’t be DJ, now would it,” he guessed accurately. Danny was astonished.
“How on earth did you guess that?” he stammered. His dad laughed.
“When Emma was born DJ said that one day he was going to marry her so I guess that one day has finally arrived,” he informed him. Danny laughed.
“That’s just what everyone’s been saying,” he declared and they both laughed. Then he asked as he always did before they hung up. “So when are you coming home Harry, I cleaned your house the other day so it’s ready for you.” And Harry would shrug like he always did.
“I don’t know, Danny, I’m working on my sculptures and its nice here, I’ll stay a bit longer,” he said and Danny would sigh and smile and they’d hold their hands up to the view screen, say their ‘I love you’s’ and hang up. Then on the one side Harry would get up and go back to work but on the other side, Danny would wipe the tears from his eyes and Martin would hug him.
“He’ll come back soon, honey, he’s just comfortable, he doesn’t realize how much you miss him,” he would comfort him. Danny would nod and they’d go back to their life until the next time and the next conversation.
While Harry was on Mykonos he got emails from Eden informing him that they were almost out of coffee and was he going soon to get some for them. He sent them an email back and informed them that there was both coffee and tea on Eden that they could get for themselves. Max sent him an email stating that it would take them eighteen hours to go there and back to get coffee and why wouldn’t he get it like he always did. Harry informed Max that he was on Mykonos and it would take him nine hours to get to Savannah to get the coffee, three hours to drop it off in Eden and then six hours to get back to Mykonos and that was eighteen hours for him. What made them so God-damned special that he had to fly for eighteen hours and they didn’t? They never sent him another email about coffee or tea.
Eventually Harry got tired of sculpting Jake and moved on to other subjects. He started with his children doing all of them as baes and then as toddlers and young children, these he put them with various animals, some of the boys with their beloved dogs, the girls with their cats. Danny he put riding a goat which he actually did when he was five, holding on to its tail and giggling like mad.
Then he did them as teenagers in quiet poses, Jackson lying on his back with his arms folding over his head and staring up at the stars, it was a beautiful piece. Emma sitting on her bed reading, wearing her earphones like she always did.
Then he did them as adults in fancy clothes like they were going out of the town and with Danny he put in Martin, the two of them standing side by side since they appeared to be a couple. The other kids he wasn’t sure of whether they would stay with their loves but Danny was like him and he was sure he and Martin would last.
His favorite of the children pieces was a set of all seven children dressed in their Halloween costumes the year he dressed them up as little ‘fagola’s’ and Sean had done his fantastic impression of Max and everyone had gotten such a kick out of it. They had laughed for hours over the five year-old boy flicking his hand under his chin and saying, ‘fagola’ in Max’s old man’s raspy voice. Harry was keeping these for his mantel. The others he was planning on giving to his children.
Then Harry did the four sheep ladies, putting them on the sheep, which his mother was going to have a fit when she saw but they were cute pieces.
Then one morning Harry was making breakfast, it was a little after six and he had milked the cow, feed the animals and ran the milk and was just having his morning coffee when the phone rang. He frowned thinking that it was after six here which meant that it was after midnight back on Eden, so who was calling so late, he hoped this wasn’t an emergency. He sat down on shaking legs and clicked on the phone. Instantly the picture of two happy, smiling men in suits, with their ties loosened and top buttons unbuttoned came on. He grinned; Danny and Martin were obviously drunk. Danny held out his left hand to show off a dazzling diamond on his third finger.
“Congratulate us, Dad, we’re engaged,” Danny gushed and Harry felt a wave of warmth wash over him. He grinned and held up his hand to the screen. Danny held up his and they touched.
“Danny, Martin, how wonderful, I’m so happy for you both, this is great news, when did this happen?” he asked and tears came to his eyes. Both men laughed as he wiped away tears.
“I knew he’d cry, didn’t I tell you, Martin, Dad would cry when we told him,” Danny said with delight in his voice. Martin laughed softly.
“Yes, you did, darling,” he said and they hugged. Harry laughed.
“I can’t help it, I get emotional when I hear wonderful news, I’m just a big softy, so when’s the wedding?” he changed the subject. Danny grinned.
“In two weeks, we decided to have it during Founder’s Days, so you have to come home now, you will come home for the wedding won’t you?” he asked, his voice sounding worried. Harry nodded.
“Of course, I’m coming home for your wedding, Danny, I wouldn’t miss it for anything, you should know better than to ask that silly question, what kind of father do you think I am?” he asked, his face all concerned. Danny giggled.
“Just thought I’d check,” he said. Martin hugged him. Harry laughed.
“Founder’s Day, that will be quite a celebration, a wedding after all these years, I’ll tell you what, we’ll have a real celebration and host the entire party, tell the story, bring out all the old pictures and have your wedding the next day, that will be really special,” he said, excitement making his purple eyes gleam. “You boys up for that?” he asked and they both grinned.
“Sure that would be great, Dad,” Danny gushed. Then Harry laughed.
“Founder’s Day, wow, is it March already, wow, how time flies, say what year is it?” he asked and both men looked shocked.
“You don’t know what year it is, Harry?” Martin asked solemnly. Harry shrugged.
“I haven’t been on the computer in years, I’ve been busy with my art,” he explained. Danny shook his head.
“You Bohemian artists,” he teased. “It’s forty-three seventy-three, Dad, you’ve been on Mykonos for twenty years,” he informed him. Harry looked shocked.
“Twenty years, my God, has it been that long, I didn’t realize that,” he said and then shrugged. “What day is it today?” he asked and they shook their heads.
“It’s Saturday, no, its Sunday now, Dad,” Danny told him. Harry nodded.
“I’ve got the harvest to do and some packing, so I’ll be home Wednesday morning,” he said and they both nodded.
“Promise?” Danny asked solemnly. Harry looked surprised.
“Of course, I said I would, didn’t I?” he asked and Danny nodded. Then Harry noticed something. “What’s with all this Dad stuff, I thought you kids called me Harry,” he said. Danny grinned.
“Oh, we only did that because we knew it pissed you off,” he told him. “We decided that you’re our dad and we like calling you Dad.” Harry grinned.
“Good, because that Harry shit was really pissing me off,” he informed him and both men laughed. Then they hung up and Harry sighed. His youngest son getting married, wow, this was pretty exciting. And he had been on Mykonos twenty years, my how time had flown, it didn’t seem that long. He looked down at his ragged beard and thought to himself, there was no way he was going back to Eden looking like this. The beard his mother hated would have to go.
So Harry went into the bathroom and shaved his beard off and took off the mustache too. He never really cared for it and what was the use of trying to look like someone he wasn’t. If Jake didn’t want the old Harry, he certainly didn’t want a new Harry with a mustache. Then Harry went out and spent two days harvesting his crops and loading them into the passenger carrier. Then he packed all of the sculptures that he was giving to his kids and the lesbians and put them in vegetable bins and hidden in with the sheep sculptures he put in the one sculpture he couldn’t bare to part with.
It was one that he did of himself and Jake lying side-by-side, facing each other, their legs entwined. Their hands were held, one over their heads and one on Harry’s leg. Jake was looking down into Harry’s eyes, his gaze tender and Harry was looking up, all the love showing on his face, his mouth up for the kiss Jake was bending his head to give. It was the moment, just minutes after Danny had been conceived and Harry couldn’t be apart from it. He called it ‘The Lovers’ and it was a large piece and very heavy and he wrapped it in a quilt and put it on the bottom of the bin and hoped his curious children wouldn’t find it. Maybe they would just see the sheep ladies and stop there.
“Yeah, right, Harry,” he said to the dogs that jumped on him, excited about going somewhere.
He had left a message on the kid’s machines saying that he should be there by eight Wednesday morning and Harry made good time. He stopped briefly on the peninsula so that he and the animals could pee so that they wouldn’t have to rush into the house once they got there and landed in the field just out in the back of his yard. Eight tall, stunning creatures came rushing out of the house towards the ship as he set it down and he was amazed that these were his children. Why had he felt so alone when he had these wonderful, marvelous people to love him? Harry felt like a total idiot and tears came to his eyes. He put down the ramp and opened the door. The dogs barked and ran down the ramp and the cats followed. He climbed out of the seat, strangely shy and slowly followed them. Danny met him halfway and threw himself into his arms. Harry hugged him tight and the tears came back.
“Dad, I never thought you’d come home,” Danny sobbed and Harry knew he’d stayed away too long. He kissed his son.
“I’m sorry, Danny, really I am, I didn’t mean to stay away that long, please forgive me,” he whispered. Danny nodded. Then Martin walked up and handed his love a hankie and Danny wiped his eyes and blew his nose and Harry smiled and knew this man was the man for his son. He hugged him.
“Welcome to the family, Martin,” he told him and Martin hugged him back.
“Welcome home, Harry,” he said in his deep voice. Then Harry walked down the rest of the ramp and his two girls rushed into his arms.
“Daddy, welcome home,” Emma said and she burst into tears. Cassie sniffled too and Harry cried. Then all of his kids hugged him one by one and Harry got out his own hankie and Jackson sighed, thinking this wasn’t right, his dad should be here giving him his hankie like he always did. Then Harry got practical.
“Come on, let’s get Bessie out of there and all those chickens,” he declared and they went to work unloading and putting everything away like they always did after a trip. And, of course, they wanted to see what was in the bins he said that were his work and their presents. So these they wheeled into the house and opened up and gasped at the beauty and brilliance of his work.
“My God, Dad, these are magnificent, you’re really an artist,” Adam gushed as he held up the statue of himself as a baby. Everyone agreed Harry was a wonderful sculptor. Harry grinned.
“Well, I did have twenty years to perfect my talent,” he said and they all laughed. Then they pulled out the ones he wanted to put on his mantel and placed them there laughing when Sean did his impression of Max.
“Harry, you little fagola,” Sean sneered just like Max and they all laughed.
Then Emma spied the bin they hadn’t seen and they all rushed to it and pulled out the sheep ladies and laughed at them.
“Oh, man, Dad, grandmom’s going to kill you when she sees this,” Jackson exclaimed as he held up the one of Kate on the back of a sheep facing backwards holding onto its tail. All the kids laughed. Then Cassie noticed the quilt at the bottom of the bin.
“Hey, there’s one more in here,” she said and tried to lift it up. “It’s heavy, Adam, come and help,” she called for her twin who rolled his eyes but came forward as instructed. The two were thick as thieves and had always been, just as Emma and Jackson were as close as regular twins. Together they brought the quilt to the coffee table and unwrapped it. Everyone gasped at the uncovered statue.
“My God, Dad, that’s brilliant,” Ryan gushed. He put his arm around Harry’s shoulder. Harry smiled.
“It’s so beautiful, look at the expressions, what love,” Emma said softly.
“I call it ‘The Lovers” Harry told them and they all agreed it was the best name for it. Then Harry grinned and looked at his youngest child. “Actually, Danny, you’re in this statue,” he told him. They all looked surprised. Sean began peering into the cracks as if he was looking for a tiny Danny and they all laughed.
“This was the moment about five minutes after you were conceived, you were in my belly,” Harry said and they all smiled. Then Ryan laughed and they all looked at him.
“I’ve got to tell you, Dad, but you’ve got a fantastic ass, I mean, major fantastic,” he declared and they all laughed. Adam spun Harry around to check it out.
“Yep, he’s right, Dad, that’s a fine ass,” he said. Harry giggled.
“Perverts, I’m raising perverts,” he said and everyone laughed again.
“Danny’s got your ass, Harry,” Martin announced and Danny shook his head.
“Oh, God, Martin, you shouldn’t have said that,” he said as his four brothers pounced on him.
“He has, does he, let’s check this out,” Jackson shouted and they grabbed him and began taking his jeans off. Emma stood up.
“Hey, stop it, you’re going to break something,” she shouted and they stopped. Harry grinned and looked at Martin.
“Are you sure you want to be a part of this gang, they can be pretty rough,” he told him. Martin grinned and grabbed his love.
“I can handle this group, they’re all sissies,” he said and all the men laughed.
“Oh, we’ll get you for that, Martin, as soon as we get outside, you’re a dead man,” Sean declared and they all laughed. Then Harry looked at the clock.
“I’m starved, lets go out and get something to eat, who wants to buy an old man lunch?” he asked and they all stood up.
“Let’s get Chinese, I’m starved too,” Ryan exclaimed. Cassie snorted.
“You’re always hungry and it’s always Chinese, let’s let Dad pick,” she said and they al looked at Harry. He grinned.
“I haven’t had a decent pizza in twenty years,” he declared and they rushed out to the cars. Danny put Bo and Gertie in his yard with Chance and Checkers and Harry put the cats in his house with a big smelly fish. Then they drove to Pizza Hut.
“You’ve got to get a hair cut, Dad, this ponytail has got to come off,” Emma told him as they got out of the car. Cassie nodded and he put his arms around his two girls.
“After lunch, I promise,” he said and they kissed him.
“Harry, my God, how long has it been, so glad to see you,” Dwight Jackson greeted him warmly as the group walked into the Hut as it was nicknamed. They took a large table in the back and ordered five large pizzas and sodas. Harry had his first Dr. Pepper in twenty years and it tasted fantastic.
“Oh, man, I missed soda,” he declared and they all laughed. Adam slapped his arm.
“You could have come back anytime and had all the soda you wanted, old man,” he told him. Harry grinned.
“I was busy being a Bohemian artist, I had to purge something out of my system,” he informed them. Jackson nodded.
“Did you finally get it out?” he asked. Harry nodded.
“I think I did, the last few years on the island have been the most peaceful years of my life,” he told them. They all nodded.
“But you’re home for good now; you’re staying here, right?” Danny asked the worry in his eyes. Harry smiled and patted his arm.
“Yes, I’m home for good now, I won’t be going back to Mykonos,” he said firmly and the worry left his son’s eyes. Then the food arrived and they feasted.
During lunch they talked about wedding plans and Harry’s plans for a real Founder’s Day celebration and all the kids made faces.
“Oh, man, Dad, no ones used the Community Center for years, that place is pretty run down, I don’t think they even cleaned it up from the Centennial,” Adam informed him. Harry shrugged.
“So we’ll clean it up and slap on a new coat of paint, we’ve got eleven days and with a lot of money you can accomplish a lot in eleven days,” he said and they all grinned.
So after lunch Harry got his hair cut which everyone loved and they took a ride out to the Center and found out that Adam had been right. The ladies of Farm One had even left the uneaten food on the tables where it had caked on the plates and glasses.
“Oh, this is so disgusting, we’re never getting this stuff cleaned,” Cassie declared. Harry grinned.
“So we won’t bother, we’ll just trash it all and replace it,” he said. “Ryan and Sean, that’s your job, trash and replace all of the dishes and pots and pans, and we want good stuff,” he told them. They both nodded. Harry turned to Jackson.
“Jackson, your job is to get a crew working on cleaning and repairing the inside. I want it to shine, throw as much money and hire as many people as it takes but get it done fast,” he instructed. Jackson grinned and reached for his cell phone. Harry turned to Adam.
“Your job is the outside, do the same, hire as many people as you can, get rid of all this old crap and make it beautiful for your brother’s wedding,” he instructed and Adam patted his shoulder.
“You got it, Dad,” he said and rushed out. Harry turned to the girls.
“You girls are in charge of the food, tell them I’ll supply the meat, dairy and seafood so all they need to do is fix it, I’ll get the stuff to them in the next few days, hire the best and throw money at them, they all will do anything for the right amount of money, don’t worry about the cake, I’ll get Fran on that, she’ll die if someone else does it,” he said and they nodded. Then Harry turned to the engaged couple.
“You boys can help with the cows, we’re going to need a lot of cows,” he said and they were mystified. “Let’s get to work,” he said and they all rushed off.
That day Harry and the boys gathered twenty green dairy cows and fifteen fat, juicy looking cows and butchered them over the next few days. All the kids helped and it was messy disgusting work but Harry wanted prime ribs, filet mignons and the nicest steaks he could get. All of the rest of the meat they split up and then he sold the leftovers to the meat packing plant who loved getting the fresh meat.
Next Harry went fishing and brought back shrimp, lobsters, flounder, salmon and giant crabs from the Artic Circle. These he snapped the legs off of and threw back into the ocean. The boys made faces as they did this but he informed them the legs would grow back on and they liked this idea. All of the seafood was packed on ice and delivered to the caterers except for the lobsters; they were delivered in giant tanks and kept alive until they were cooked.
Founder’s Day Party invitations and Wedding Announcements were sent out by courier and everyone gasped at the thought of a wedding after all of these years. Harry made the two men inform Jake in person rather than let him find out by courier and they drove by his office one day in the middle of all the excitement. Fran drove by and helped by baking the cake and helping with the food preparation. So did the four lesbians, Kate, Barb, Jan and Joy who were ecstatic to be included with the kids. They were all very happy to see Harry looking like his old self.
“Do you have any of the hundred year old liquor left for the celebration?” Harry asked his son Adam as they were milking the cows two days before the event. Adam looked at him blankly.
“What hundred year old liquor?” he asked. Harry grinned.
“The hundreds of thirty-gallon barrels of whiskey, rum, gin, vodka, scotch and tequila that your dad and I made in forty-two fifty-six and we were supposed to open in forty-three fifty-six and sell,” he informed him. Adam grinned.
“I guess Jake forgot all about that while you were in Mykonos,” he said and Harry called all the kids and Roger and Zach from the newspaper and Steve and DJ from the TV station and they all gathered at the barn in the woods and Harry broke open the seal on the door and they entered the old barn.
“God, its musty in here, was that a rat?” Emma squealed and grabbed her dad’s arm. Harry laughed.
“Of course it was a rat, baby girl, this is an old barn,” he teased her and she giggled. They turned on the lights and everyone gasped at the sight of all the plastic encased barrels. Then Harry faced the camera and told the story of how he and Jake had made the liquor and sealed it up in the barn for a hundred years.
“What are you going to do with it now?” DJ asked him. Harry put his arm around Danny and Martin.
“These two men are getting married in two days so I’m going to serve it at the Wakeup Celebration and at their wedding,” he informed everyone. “Then my son Adam, who owns the Liquor Mart will get the rest to bottle and sell.” All the kids cheered and clapped.
When David and Gloria saw the interview they were stunned and envious.
“Just think of all that alcohol sitting in the barn all these years and stupid Jake forgot all about it,” David muttered. Gloria shook her head.
“I don’t know why Violet wastes her time on him, he’s nothing but a big prick and that gets boring after a while,” she declared. Then she thought of something and ran to call her best friend. Violet approached Jake after they got home from dinner when he was relaxing on the couch watching the newscast and laughing about forgetting about the barn.
“Man, I forgot all about the liquor barn, good thing Harry remembered it,” he said and she smiled and nodded.
“You know, Jake, half of that liquor belongs to you,” Violet informed him. He looked puzzled. She continued. “You and Harry were married in fifty-five when you made that liquor so half of those barrels belong to you and you should have gotten them in the divorce settlement.” He grinned.
“What the hell am I going to do with three hundred barrels of liquor?” he teased and she shrugged.
“Oh, I don’t know; we could store it in the basement or give it to our friends as gifts,” she said and then she smiled like she just thought of something. “I know, David used to own a liquor store, I bet he has a lot of old bottles just sitting around, we could give it to him; wouldn’t that be a great idea?” she gushed. Jake looked at her like she was crazy.
“You did hear what Harry is going to do with it didn’t you?” he asked her and she nodded.
“He’s going to give it to Adam, so what, he can give his to Adam and you can give yours to David, why are you shaking your head, I think it’s a wonderful idea,” she pouted. Jake snorted.
“Maybe if Harry was giving his to Steve or DJ,” he retorted. “But Adam is our son and that’s family. I’m not taking away money from my son to give it to your friend David, no way. It’s ridiculous of you to even ask. Adam is my son too, for Christ’s sake, David is only a friend, you don’t take away from family to give to friends; you don’t do that.” His tone said it was final and she glared at him. Then she made him sleep in the guest room which was really his bedroom, most of his clothes were in there and he slept in there most of the week.
Harry flew to Sherwood the day before the great day and brought back the contents of an Armani store, a fancy gown store and an elegant shoe store and they all unloaded it into Danny’s Toys R Us which was practically empty. None of the kids mentioned their empty stores to their Dad and he didn’t mention filling them again. All they worried about was the party and the wedding. All of Harry’s siblings and the Jackson children helped and dressed themselves for the event out of Harry’s store except for Jake, of course, he wasn’t invited.
March ninth came and everyone arrived at the Edenville Community Center promptly at four in the afternoon like it said on the invitation and was astonished at the magnificent place that awaited them. Harry and the boys had performed a miracle on the old place. It shone like new and flowers grew everywhere, some that had never grown there before. Lights were place strategically and the old cracked sidewalk and parking lot had been replaced.
“Wow, this old place looks like new,” Jenna gushed as her and Carl walked up the sidewalk, they were dressed in their finest. He smiled and they greeted their son Mike who was with their daughter Carla. They were both all dressed up.
“You should see the inside, they’re got all these old pictures hanging up, I saw me when I was only twelve and all of standing by our old house,” Mike told them. Carl’s eyes lit up and they all rushed inside. Jackson and Emma greeted them at the front door. Jackson was handsome in a black Armani suit and Emma was stunning in a black strapless ankle length gown with diamonds at her throat.
“Welcome to the Talbert Wake-up Celebration, come on in and have a look at the pictures,” Jackson greeted them. Emma smiled and shook their hands. Carl told her how stunning she looked. Emma grinned.
“Thank you, Carl, you look handsome tonight yourself,” she declared and he blushed. They went inside where all of Harry’s children and siblings and the Jackson children were all dressed up and led them through the center where everything was laid out like a maze as they went from room to room where pictures and old relics from the past were on display.
“Hey, that’s Armani,” David said when he looked at Jackson standing in the entrance. Jackson smiled at him.
“Welcome to the Talbert Wakeup Celebration,” he said to the foursome. Jake smiled at his two children and kissed Emma on her check.
“You look stunning, sweetie,” he told her. She grinned. Violet frowned.
“Where did you get that gown, I’ve never seen you wearing that before,” she said. Emma shook her head and rocked a little so the gown swayed a bit and made a nice rustling sound.
“Isn’t it heavenly, Dad brought over this wonderful little dress shop for the wedding, you should see what I’m wearing tomorrow, it’s absolutely to die for,” she boasted. All of the men laughed. Jackson rolled his eyes. They were the last to arrive so he shut the doors behind them.
“Dinner will be served soon; why don’t you walk through the displays,” he said and they did. Gloria screamed when she saw a picture of herself at sixteen standing in front of the sign that read “Gloria Lane.’
“Oh, my God, where did Harry get that picture, I lost mine years ago, I must have a copy,” she demanded. Jackson grinned.
“Just send Dad an email, I’m sure he’ll send you a copy,” he told her. She nodded and they moved to the next set of pictures. Violet frowned at a big picture of before her transformation into a goddess, her small breasts obvious.
“He did that on purpose, putting me up there, I hate that little shit,” she muttered. Jake grinned and moved on to the next picture which showed him and DJ lifting a log and moving it to the saw mill.
“The Saw Mill 5000, I remember that day, my stupid Dad stuck his hand in the machine and set off the alarm, then he punched out the machine and Harry had to calm him down,” he told them. Violet yawned like she was bored. Emma rolled her eyes.
“You should have gone to bed early last night, Violet, or are we boring you, dear?” she asked sweetly. Violet glared at her.
Finally they reached the main room where the tables had all been set and fresh flowers from Hawaii were everywhere and the room looked wonderful. The china was lovely, the glasses were all crystal and the silverware was the finest quality. Everyone gushed over the place settings and found their seats. Then the waiters in the matching uniforms brought out the food.
For dinner there was shrimp cocktails, cracked crab legs and oysters on a half-shell with salads with buttermilk dressing that was slightly greenish and everyone realized that it had been made with green milk. Little pamphlets on the tables informed everyone that they were being transferred back to forty-two, forty-eight and tonight’s dinner would reflect that time in history.
“What does that mean; reflect that time in history?” Violet snapped. Linda giggled.
“We had no white milk in forty-two, forty-eight, remember, all we had were green cows and that powered milk that no one would drink,” she said and they all laughed. Violet made a face.
“Well I’m not eating this crap, I hate green milk,” she snapped. Gloria nodded in agreement. Harry walked by their table, looking very handsome in a gray/blue Armani suit and they flagged him down.
“Harry, come here for a minute,” Gloria called and he smiled and walked over.
“Harry, we loved the pictures and the tables are beautiful, when did you get back to town?” Myra gushed. Harry smiled at her.
“Last week, I’m glad you are all enjoying yourself,” he said. Violet made a face.
“I’m not, I don’t like green milk and I refuse any green milk products,” she informed him rudely.
“Me either, Harry, you know I detest green milk,” Gloria snapped. Harry nodded.
“Well, for tonight it is forty-two, forty-eight, ladies, so in keeping with the theme for this evening, I’ll send history’s equivalent to green milk over to this table. I hope you enjoy your dinner, its lobster and filet mignon,” he told them.
“Mm, I love lobster,” Max exclaimed and they all laughed. Harry smiled and walked away. Violet looked puzzled and turned to her husband.
“What did he mean by history’s equivalent?” she asked him. Jake shook his head.
“I have no idea, sugar,” he told her and his eyes followed Harry’s movement across the floor where he stopped and talked to a waiter who nodded and went to the kitchen. A few minutes later he came out with a silver tray and approached their table.
“I have for your pleasure history’s equivalent to green butter and bottled dressings,” he announced and handed Violet and Gloria bottles of fake liquid butter that had been a staple in the colonist supplies when they first landed and three different kinds of bottled salad dressings. All the people at their table laughed.
“Oh, my God, I remember that stuff, how dreadful it was and how much Steve complained about it, how much Max complained about it,” Linda said and giggled. All the women giggled. Gloria looked furious. She looked at the waiter.
“I want butter, real white milk butter, not this liquid crap and not green butter,” she demanded. David looked embarrassed.
“Now, princess, we didn’t have real butter in forty-eight, all we had was green butter or the fake stuff,” he told her. She glared at him and stood up.
“I’m talking to Harry, this is ridiculous,” she declared and walked away. They saw her approach Harry who took her into the back. Several minutes later she returned and walked back to the table and sat down. They all looked at her. She shrugged.
“Just for tonight, the green will be alright,” Gloria said calmly. David smiled and hugged her. She smiled and kissed him. Everyone wondered what Harry had said to her but Gloria wasn’t saying a word. Violet stood up.
“I don’t care what he said to you, but I’m not taking this crap,” she declared and walked over to where Harry was standing. He didn’t say a word but opened the door and she walked through. Before she could say a word he held up his hand.
“I’ll tell you the same thing I told your friend, this is the Centennial celebration that should have happened on the Hundredth Anniversary but you bitches ruined it for everyone. Now you can just sit up and shut up or you can leave and I don’t particularly care what you do and in your case, Violet, I really don’t care if you stay or leave so either go back to your table and enjoy the party or get the hell out. But if you leave tonight, don’t bother showing up tomorrow for the wedding because you won’t be let in the door and you know I mean it,” he spoke calmly and firmly and she knew he meant it. She turned around but at the door she paused.
“I hate your guts you stupid little faggot,” she snapped. He shrugged.
“Fake tittie bitch,” he called her back and she flushed. Then he walked past her and out of the room, when he got outside he wore a big smile. She pasted a big one on her face and walked back to the table. Everyone looked at her and she smiled and picked up the fake liquid butter.
“This stuff will be fine,” she said calmly. Jake held his napkin up to his mouth and grinned. He didn’t know what Harry said but he was sure it was something Violet hadn’t liked.
Dinner was fabulous, everyone raved about the bacon wrapped filets and the lobsters served with drawn butter. Violet ate hers without because the fake butter was dreadful. The rolls were crispy and light, the potatoes were served with bacon bits and green sour cream and green butter and were fantastic. Everyone ate like it was going out of style. And for dessert there was cheesecake, chocolate cake and homemade yogurt. When Jake heard that choice his eyes lit up.
“What kind of yogurt?” he asked. The waiter smiled.
“Blueberry, cherry and strawberry-mango,” he informed him, and added, “And they were all made by the host Harry Talbert.” Everyone looked impressed. Jake could have kissed him. Harry always made the best yogurt and strawberry-mango was his favorite. He asked for that and had two servings.
After dessert and the dishes were cleared away, Harry gave everyone a little break and let them get a drink from the bar and go to the rest room and then he cleared the room of all the alterian waiters and he took the stage. He had a beer in his hand and everyone cheered and clapped their hands. He took a little bow and began to speak.
“I was having the most lovely dream,” he began, and the whole room went crazy. Kids began stomping on the tables and hollering and cheering and Harry grinned looking very much like his old self. Jake wanted to rush the stage and kiss him. He had gotten rid of that ridiculous mustache and his mouth was back to its perfect cupid bow. Harry continued.
“I was running through a field of high yellow-green grass,” he said and took them all back a hundred and twenty-five years ago when he had just been a boy of fourteen on his way to Galileo with his mothers on board the Federation Colony Ship the Eleanor Roosevelt. Everyone was silent as he took them wakeup and they laughed when he told about two-head alien space spiders and waking up his mother Kate and going down on her. Kate laughed and her face got really red while Barb giggled.
Then they went to the Crew’s Lounge and found the dead crewmen and then through the ship and finally engineering where they found the accident and realized how long they had been asleep. Then up to the Bridge and finding the planet and Harry launching the probes and then waking up the first family, the Jackson’s. Dr. Jackson beamed and then frowned when Harry shouted like he had. All of his kids giggled because Harry sounded just like their dad. When Harry mentioned shaking hands with Jake for the first time, when he had always said it was love at first sight that had made their hands spark, now he laughed.
“Now that I think about it, with all that dust and the vacuum running, it was probably static electricity,” he said and everyone laughed. Jake was stunned. He wanted to jump to his feet and shout.
“No, it was love, Harry, God damn-it, we were in love, that meant something to me, to us, don’t laugh it away; we were in love.”
Instead he pasted a smile on his face so no one would see the pain he was feeling inside and Violet’s big laugh made him want to smash her face in. The story took a couple hours to tell and like before everyone jumped up and told their wakeup story and it was a great evening. No one noticed that Jake didn’t get up.
“Now tomorrow’s the big event so be sure to drink a glass of warm green milk before you go to sleep tonight so you don’t wake up with a hang-over and in case you don’t have a glass of green milk to drink, don’t worry, we’re going to give you one as you leave,” Harry informed them all and wished them all a goodnight. They all stood and cheered and clapped and the evening was over. Everyone gushed about the great food and the great time they had had and no one noticed how quiet Jake was. He was silent on the way home.
“That was the most boring party in my life, I can’t believe Harry had the nerve to tell me to shut up and sit down or I couldn’t come to the wedding, Jake I want you to have a few words with him, he can’t talk to me that way, I’m your wife, I deserve some respect,” Violet went on and on, all the way home and Jake nodded but he didn’t hear a word he said. And of course she refused to drink green milk before she went to bed so the next morning she woke up with the worst headache and snapped at him all morning.
Harry stayed and made sure everything was cleaned up and ready for the next day before he left. It had been a tiring day and he was exhausted and there was still a wedding to get through and he was regretting like hell that he had promised his kids that he wouldn’t run back to Mykonos to hide, that’s all he wanted to do. Instead he went to bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time before drifting off to sleep.
The next morning was the big day and everyone woke up and decided to be happy and joyous. The house was filled with people rushing back and forth and Fran and he put the final touches to the cake and the boys carried it to the center and promised not to drop it. All the girls got dressed, the boys put on their Armani tuxes and they all left for the church on time. Harry got everyone organized like a drill sergeant and moved things along quite smoothly. The caterer was at the Center with the food and drinks were being served and ice was delivered on time. There was even a beautiful ice sculpture of a swan carved by an alterian artist on display. It was perfect.
The grooms were walked down the aisle by both of their parents and Jake walked on the left side while Harry walked on the right side. Then they took seats together on the right side of the church. Violet sat on Jake’s left away from Harry and Chan who was Harry’s escort sat on his left. Jake wondered if they were dating but then the ceremony began and he was too caught up in it to wonder anymore.
Reverend Phillip did the ceremony and he beamed as he preformed the beautiful ceremony. Danny wore a white tux as his father had done before him and Martin looked splendid in black and when they exchanged the same rings that Harry and Jake had worn and they were inscribed with the same words: my heart, your heart, one heart forever, Harry couldn’t help but cry. A lot of the women in the audience got weepy along with him. Jake smiled and reached for his handkerchief and was startled as hell when Harry took one out of his pocket and took out his own to wipe his eyes. When did Harry start carrying a handkerchief? Jake was hurt and confused by it. It had always been his job to supply Harry with a hankie to wipe his eyes and now it looked as if Harry didn’t need him anymore. He glanced at his wife and Violet’s eyes were calm and clear, she hadn’t been affected by the exchange of vows at all. He sighed and watched the rest of the ceremony and wondered when in the world had his life gotten so screwed up.
After the ceremony everyone rushed to the main room for dinner and dancing. Everything was served buffet style and there were mountains of food and plenty to drink. The cake was the centerpiece on display and everyone moved around talking and chatting like they hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Jake and Violet were at the head table with the two grooms and Harry and his date along with the other parents, Synta and Joon who beamed with pride. Violet looked down her nose at the alien couple which embarrassed Jake tremendously especially when she said in a loud voice that she wanted to sit at the table with David and Gloria.
“Well, fine then, you go and sit with your friends, I’m sitting here with my son,” he told her firmly and she pouted but remained in her seat. Joon lifted her eyebrow and grinned at Jake who grinned back. Then the happy couple took to the dance floor for the first official dance as husband and husband and everyone cheered and clapped. Violet made a face.
“It’s not like they’re a real married couple,” Violet whispered to Jake who frowned at her.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean, they’re a real married couple, they just got married,” he snapped and looked like he wanted to slap her. She rolled her eyes but before she could say anything the announcer then asked for the parents of the grooms to join them on the dance floor. Everyone at the head table got up and walked to the floor. Harry’s kids rushed in and grabbed Violet and Chan.
“This dance is only for parents of the grooms and you’re not a parent,” Emma told Violet firmly and led her back to the table. Violet looked shocked as her husband took Harry into his arms. Harry laughed and looked up at Jake who laughed and looked down.
“I think our kids want us to dance together,” Harry teased as he felt those familiar arms come around him. He wanted to lean in and lay his head on Jake’s shoulder but refrained out of pride. Jake sighed and wanted to hold on as tight as he could but refrained out of pride.
“I guess they do, you look great, Harry; did you just get your hair cut?” he asked and Harry giggled.
“Yes just last week, how can you tell?” he asked. Jake smiled and spun him around, they always moved together so well, he hardly had to make any effort.
“It’s so curly, it was always so curly when you first got it cut,” he told him. Harry smiled.
“Oh, yeah, so, you’re looking good,” he lied and Jake knew it. He shook his head.
“Too many parties, not enough exercise, too much drinking, I need to start running again, maybe I’ll start taking the dogs to the beach in the mornings, you’d let me do that wouldn’t you?” he asked and Harry nodded.
“Of course, Jake, they’d love to see you, I know they miss you,” he said. Jake sighed.
“I used to watch your travel show just so I could see Gertie and Bo, they love to fly, they always had big grins,” he said and Harry laughed.
“How’s work?” he asked and Jake shrugged.
“Too much paperwork, you know my Dad, he hates to do paperwork so I end up doing his as well as my own,” he told him. Harry nodded.
“You should tell him to do his own damned paperwork,” he said firmly. Jake nodded.
“Then he wouldn’t do it and they’d shut us down,” he said sadly. Harry grinned.
“You look like you could use a vacation and you could spend it building your own Clinic, I’ve got one over in Sherwood you could have,” he teased and Jake laughed.
“Oh, Dad would love that,” he remarked. Then the song ended and Harry stepped back and out of Jake’s arms. They looked at one another.
“It was nice dancing with you, Jake Jackson, see you around,” Harry said cheerfully even though he felt like his heart was breaking and he turned around and walked back to the table. Jake felt like crying and running after him. Instead he turned around and walked to the bar. He asked for a scotch and took a big sip. Violet walked up to him.
“You and old Harry looked pretty chummy on the dance floor, what were you talking about?” she asked in a sharp tone. He shrugged.
“The dogs,” he replied. She made a face.
“You’re not bringing those filthy animals into my house, Jake Jackson, so forget about it, anyway I’m allergic, remember?” she said sweetly and he nodded. He asked for another scotch and returned to the table. For the rest of the night he drank and watched Harry dance with Chan and then with Mike and Davy, all of his sons and daughters, Kathleen, Joon and even Shelley. Jake danced with his wife once and then went outside for a long time and hated his life. His kids noticed.
“Boy, Jake seems to be having a rough time, he’s only danced with Violet once,” Ryan remarked to Sean and they both grinned.
“Did you see the look on his face when Dad stepped away from him, I bet he wishes he could go home,” Sean said. Ryan whistled.
“Wouldn’t that be a kick in the ass, he leaves Dad for thirty years and then goes back, I wonder if Dad would take him back,” he said. Sean nodded.
“Did you see his face, of course he would, he still loves him, I’d bet a million bucks on it,” he declared and Ryan sighed.
“If James ever left me I don’t know if I’d pine away for thirty years like that,” he said and Sean nodded.
“I love Georgie but I don’t know, thirty years is a long time,” he said and they went back inside to their loves.
After the cake was cut the happy couple went on their two week honeymoon to Hawaii and everyone danced and then went home. Harry stayed behind to supervise the cleanup and then paid everyone off very generously and then drove home himself avoiding Chan and his suggestion of bedroom fun. He just wasn’t up to the boy’s antics. He walked into his living room and took one look at the damned statue of the lovers on the coffee table and fell apart.
He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around the statue and lifted it off the table and onto the floor, hugging it tight to his body and cried for hours. Gertie and Bo whined and licked his face but he didn’t feel or hear them, he was in agony. He had been in Jake’s arms for the first time in thirty years and it had been so wonderful and much too brief. He lied on the floor all night.
Adam found him there the next morning. He had come to milk his brother’s cow and noticed that his dad didn’t come to milk Bessie and thought that was strange so he milked her and carried the milk into the house. Bo and Gertie met him at the back door whining and barked for him to follow them. He eyed Harry lying on the floor; his arms still wrapped around the statue and almost cried himself. He put the milk down and helped his dad up.
“Come on, Dad, let’s get you to bed, you’ve been here all night,” he said softly and Harry shivered. He held onto his son tight and when he saw the bed so cold and different he pointed to the bathroom.
“I’m sorry, Adam, but I have to pee,” Harry whispered. Adam took him to the bathroom and helped him undress and stood by while he peed and brushed his teeth and put him to bed. He brushed the hair from his forehead with gentle hands. Tears came to Harry’s eyes.
“He’s never coming home, Adam, I’ve cried for thirty years and he’s never going to love me again, I’m so tired, I’ll be better later, I promise,” he said and closed his eyes.
“You’ll be fine, Dad,” Adam cooed. He went and feed the animals and ran the milk and put it in the fridge and went home to his love Billy and told him what he had found. The two men hugged one another and swore they would never leave each other and stay together forever.
Harry woke up in the afternoon and felt like crap wondering how he got to bed and then remembered Adam putting him there. He felt foolish and swore that would be the last time he would fall apart and let one of his kids see him like that. He went out to the living room and put the damned statue in the dining room on top of the sideboard and covered it with a cloth so he wouldn’t have to look at it. Then he hung up his tux and cleaned the house, that always made him feel better, to have a clean environment. Then he sat down and took stock of his life and tried to figure out what his next step should be.
All of the stores were empty and there was no way he was going to fill them, he had only about four hundred stores left and if he filled everyone’s stores it would take up most of those and the Alterians would have all of the human’s goods. That wouldn’t be good if they had to abandon Eden for Sherwood at any time, they would have nothing for themselves. Harry couldn’t risk that so he had to keep all of the remaining four hundred and nineteen stores plus the fifteen factories that he had. It was going to hard enough moving the Coke Plant and the other factories when the time came and they had to have the Coke Plant, there was no way they were going to go without sodas.
Of course, Harry still had a thousand personal bins and six hundred houses left and he could play around with those. The houses needed to be saved, they would need houses over in Sherwood but he could play with some of the personal bins. He thought about it for a while and came up with what he thought of as the perfect solution. He would build four giant mall-type warehouse stores out of petrified wood like giant log barns that could be moved to Sherwood when they needed to be and put the stuff from the personal bins in them. One would be filled with clothing, men’s, women’s, children’s and infants. A second with appliances, small ones like hair rollers and crap like that, make up, jewelry, shoes. Then a third could hold all the games, puzzles and bikes and stuff like that, camping equipment while a fourth could hold washers, dyers and stuff like that. They’d even have food in them and he could put that in the second one and people would eat that up and he could keep all the good stuff for them like he had before. And of course all the gold he’d keep and do something special that he’d always wanted to do, he’d make himself a gold toilet seat.
“This sounds perfect Bo, Gertie, what do you think?” he asked and they both grinned so he knew they thought he was very clever. He brought out the architect’s computer and designed one that would be the design for all of them
That night the two cats got frisky and tore up the living room while they mated and Harry lied in bed and giggled because he got rock hard and masturbated for the first time in years and felt dirty because he did it to cats mating. But then what the hell, why look a gift horse in the mouth, he slept like a lamb. The next morning he was smiling as he milked his cow. Adam was came in to milk Kelly was surprised to see his dad grinning.
“You look better this morning,” he observed. Harry laughed.
“You should see my living room, those damned cats tore it up mating last night, it’s all wrecked,” he told him. Adam nodded as if he were crazy. Harry giggled.
“I guess you had to be there, thanks for picking me up yesterday, don’t worry, you won’t be doing that again,” he told him. Adam shrugged.
“I understand, Dad, its okay,” he said. Harry nodded.
“Why don’t you kids come and see me later, bring your honeys, I’ve got a proposition for you,” he told him. Adam grinned.
“Okay, sounds good and its not like we’ve got anything to do,” he said. They said goodbye and Harry went in for breakfast and to straighten up his house.
“These is the design for my new store, actually my new stores, I want to build four of these log building all in a row in that big field out back,” Harry told the ten men and two women who had gathered in his living room later that day. They all had copies of his building design and all looked impressed by the size and layout of it.
“Four of these, Harry these are really enormous stores,” DJ remarked. Harry grinned.
“I plan to put a lot of shit in them,” he informed them.
“Why?” Emma asked. He shrugged.
“Why not?” Harry asked. They all laughed. He continued.
“Contrary to popular belief, we’re not going to be able to live among the Alterians forever. In fact, we’re not going to be able to live here in Eden for not much longer. I’d say within the next five or ten years or sooner, we’re all going to have to make the move to Sherwood and it just might be a sudden move,” he told them. They all looked shocked.
“Why do you say that, Dad?” Jackson asked. Harry shook his head.
“Good-old Dr. George, Blake and Dennis really screwed the pooch when they told that alterian Dr. Bentley that humans have a lifespan of five hundred years, they really shouldn’t have done that,” he said firmly. They all looked confused.
“Now Dr. Bentley was about thirty when they arrived and Dr. George was thirty-seven and it was fine the two of them working side-by-side,” Harry explained. “Then Dr. Bentley turned forty and things were still okay, but then Dr. Bentley turned fifty and suddenly Dr. George’s thirty-seven is looking really good and it’s unfair to the alterian that this human is still in his thirties and he’s getting old. Now look at him, he’s sixty and old age is creeping up on him and good-old Dr. George and his fellow humans are still young men. That’s gotta piss Dr. Bentley off to no end. He’s got to think that’s pretty damned unfair. And seventy is coming in ten years and after that death and he knows that and its got to be worrying him and his fellow alterians who flew down with him.”
“My God, Harry, you’re right,” DJ said and stood up. Everyone looked shocked.
“What are we going to do, Dad?” Emma asked, her face looking scared. Harry shrugged.
“What we need to do is call a meeting of the town and find out from the good old doctors exactly what the alterians have asked for and when and then we can decide on what action we need to take if any,” he said firmly. “If they haven’t asked for any blood or tissue samples then we’re panicking for nothing, but if they have, then we need to find out what they want to know and then we need to decide if we want to stick around and wait for them to make the first move or if we just want to high-tail it out of Dodge.” DJ grinned.
“I bet you have a plan for that, don’t you?” he said and Harry nodded.
“Of course,” he said and they all laughed. He pulled up a map of Sherwood and showed them the four valleys and the four cities he had made up and how he had divided everyone. They looked surprised to find that he didn’t have them all in one big town like Edenville.
“You’re splitting us up?” Cassie asked. Harry nodded.
“We’re going to be in Sherwood for the rest of our lives maybe and I’m not spending the next thirty thousand years listening to Max and them calling me that ‘little fishy freak fagola’ and your granddad calling you kids ‘fishy freaks’. I’m putting all of those people in their own town where they can be miserable together and I won’t have to bother with them,” he explained and they all grinned. He continued.
“Carl and them have been okay but they’ve hardly been supportive through the years,” Harry told them. “Not one of them from Farm Two or Three called me or sent me an email thanking me for filling their damned stores three times so they can have their own town and build their own crap. Let them be rude together.” Cassie giggled.
“Sounds like you’re getting even with everyone in one swoop,” she said. Harry shook his head.
“Not getting even, just that I’m only letting nice happy people live in Talbertville, the rest can live in Rudeville and Miserabletown, only we’ll call them Glory and Prescott,” he declared and they all laughed.
“Now all the kids aren’t going to want to live with their parents so I’m putting them here in St. Ives,” Harry said and pointed out the town. “It’s a nice town and I’m sure they’ll be happy.” Everyone agreed that sounded nice. Then he showed them all the folks he was letting live with him in his town Talbertville and they were all relieved to find their names on the list.
“I see grandmom’s on the list,” Ryan observed. Harry laughed.
“Yeah, well I was going to put her in Miserbletown but Jan, Joy and Barb deserved to live with us so we’re stuck with her,” he informed them and they all laughed.
“Oh, Dad, you’re so mean,” Emma declared and he giggled.
“Well, Emma, I’m sorry you feel that way, I was going to start giving you kids flying lessons on the Elizabeth but if you think I’m mean, maybe you don’t want them,” he teased. All the kids looked shocked. The two girls got up and attacked him, hugging and kissing him.
“Flying lessons on the Elizabeth, oh, my God, do you mean it, Daddy?” Cassie squealed and Harry nodded. The boys cheered. Harry stood up and pointed to his eldest son.
“You’re first, Jackson, let’s go chop down some trees,” he declared and Jackson grinned.
“Let’s do that,” he said and they walked out to the ship.
“Why does he go first, because he’s the oldest, that’s a crap reason,” Sean declared. Adam stuck his tongue out.
The first thing Harry told his kids about flying the Engineering ship was to ignore the pilot’s Eject button.
“If you hit the button going two thousand miles an hour, you’re dead,” he informed them. “Instantly, the minute your body hits the atmosphere, you’re dead, it’s a glorified suicide button. And if you hit it when you’re flying slower, you lose your ship and you’ll never get it back. So don’t ever hit it, it’s better to burn up with the ship or go out the door, at least that way you have a chance of survival.” He didn’t tell them that he had disconnected it a hundred years ago and it didn’t work.
By the time Danny and Martin returned from their honeymoon all of the kids could fly and chop down trees and were loving it. None of the boyfriends were allowed to fly and were told, “If you marry my kid, I’ll give you flying lessons too, until then, shut up and sit in the copilot’s seat.” Martin got flying lessons along with his husband and all the boyfriends booed and hissed but Harry remained firm. If they weren’t married they didn’t get to fly the Elizabeth. DJ called it emotional blackmail but Harry laughed and called it reality.
“That ship is part of my family and face it, buddy, you’re not, you’re just the man boinking my daughter,” he declared and Emma giggled and blushed.
“Really, Dad, that’s rude,” she said and DJ laughed.
“I’ll just have to marry you, darling,” he teased and she hit him.
“You’ll marry me because you love me, you ass, not because you want to fly the damned ship,” she told him and he agreed.
The Sunday after the kids got home Harry called a town meeting and grudgingly everyone came in hopes that he would fill their stores. Instead he gave them the same speech he had given the kids about their time living among the alterians coming to an end and wanting answers from the three doctors. Sarek stood up and demanded the same answers. Dr. George and his fellow doctors walked to the front of the room and looked extremely uncomfortable, a sign Harry didn’t like at all. Dr. George held up his hands for silence.
“Harry, as usual, you’re blowing things way out of proportion, things are not that bad and they’re not liable to get that bad. Dr. Bentley is a very reasonable man,” he insisted. Harry shook his head.
“Why don’t you tell us what he’s asked for and let us be the judge of how reasonable we think he is,” he told him. Dr. George sighed.
“He’s asked for blood samples and tissue samples yes but that’s all,” he informed them. Everyone gasped and looked frightened. Dr. George sighed.
“See, this kind of panic is what we’ve been trying to avoid, Harry, you’re just trying to frighten everyone, for what reason I don’t know,” he said in his pompous tone.
“What kind of tissue samples, George; they wouldn’t have been liver samples now would they?” Harry asked and everyone looked confused except for a few. Carl stood up.
“Why would they want liver samples, Harry?” he asked. Kate stood up.
“Because your liver is the only organ in your body that regenerates itself, you can slice a piece of it off and it will actually grow back,” she informed them. They all gasped. Sarek stood up.
“If they have asked for liver samples then they have asked for brain scans and body scans, have they?” he asked solemnly. Dr. George nodded. Lily stood up.
“What are they looking for?” she asked. Kate stood up.
“They’re looking for the reason we live five hundred years so that they can develop some kind of magic pill or liquid that they can drink to expand their own lives. If they can find the part of our bodies that controls our aging process, the gland or cells, then they can figure out a way to transfer it to their own bodies and they can live longer,” she explained. Everyone looked horrified. Cindy stood up.
“But there is no part of our bodies that does this, we don’t know why we live longer,” she protested. Harry nodded.
“That’s why we stressed when the alterians arrived that it was important not to tell them anything until we knew whether or not the planet affected them the same way it did us. If their aging process slowed down like ours, we wouldn’t have this problem but it didn’t and who knows why, do you, Dr. George?” he asked him. Dr. George sighed.
“The nearest thing I can figure is that we and Sarek and his family share a common bond,” he explained. “You see, even though we look different on the outside, on the inside we’re very much the same, our DNA is the same, and we each have a double-strand helix. The alterians however, their DNA is completely different, they have a triple-strand helix. There is no way they would ever be able to develop any kind of magic elixir even if they could identify a gland for our aging process.” Harry sighed.
“Do they know about the different DNA strands?” he asked and Dr. George nodded.
“They’re very frustrated about that actually and Dr. Bentley wanted to know if there were a dead body he could exhume to examine but I told him that none of us had died and we probably wouldn’t for many years, that seemed to frustrate him a great deal,” he admitted. Jenna stood up.
“That’s enough for me, I want to move to Sherwood,” she said and a lot of people seemed to agree with her. Gloria stood up.
“What, because Harry says move to Sherwood, we should all move, why, he’s been in Mykonos for the past twenty years, what does he know, we’ve all lived here with the alterians, have we ever felt threatened? Frightened before he brought all this up?” she asked. “No, I say let’s stay here and be careful, so what if Dr. Bentley has asked for some samples, Dr. George and the other doctors will watch him carefully and let us know when to panic. This is all just a bunch of crap. I say the most important thing to ask Harry is when is he going to fill our stores again?” she said sweetly. Everyone looked at Harry. Linda stood up.
“Yeah, Harry, when are you going to fill our stores, I’m empty and I’ve nothing to sell,” she demanded and everyone nodded. Harry sighed. He raised his hands for silence. They all got quiet.
“Has it ever occurred to any of you that the reason Harry hasn’t filled your stores is because Harry doesn’t have any more stores?” he asked them calmly. They all gasped. His mother stood up.
“You mean to tell us you haven’t got any more stores, Henry?” she asked. He shook his head.
“I’m all out of stores to fill your stores, Mother,” he informed them. They all looked shocked. “It was bound to happen eventually, I only brought down so many. There wasn’t enough time to bring them all. I could have brought down more if you had let me bring you down first like I wanted to, but Max and Charles insisted that I do things their way and so I could only bring down what I could in the time I had.” Everyone looked at the two men who shrugged.
“Don’t blame it on us, the little brat was a smart-ass, you all agreed to the way we said,” Max defended his stance. Charles nodded.
“What are we going to do then?” June asked. Harry shrugged.
“Get a hobby, I took up sculpting and found it very relaxing,” he suggested and a lot of people laughed. Lily stood up.
“You’ve been cutting down a lot of trees, Harry, what are you building?” she asked.
“I’m building four huge petrified log warehouse stores,” he informed everyone. They all looked shocked. Linda stood up.
“But I thought you said you didn’t have anymore stores, what are you going to put into these stores that you’re building?” she demanded to know. Some people looked angry.
“If you must know I brought down some personal bins and I’m going to pull everything from them and put them into the stores, that’s why I’m calling them warehouse stores,” he explained. Myra stood up.
“That’s not fair, you get to have stores and we don’t,” she snapped. A lot of people looked angry, most of them the original sixty-seven. Harry shrugged.
“I’ve filled all of your stores three times, during which time I’ve done nothing for myself. I’ve done the travel show and I’ve been on Mykonos, now you tell me it’s unfair that I finally do something for myself, that’s a bit greedy don’t you think?” he asked softly. A few look sheepish. The people of Farm One did not. They still looked angry.
“Who cares about you, you haven’t filled my stores,” Violet stood up, her face flushed with anger. Harry laughed.
“Oh, who cares about you, you fake-tittied husband stealing little slut, sit down and shut up, no ones speaking to you,” he declared and everyone burst into laughter. She turned to her husband.
“Are you going to just sit there and let him speak to me that way?” she demanded. Jake shrugged.
“Well, sugar, I didn’t hear him lie, did you?” he asked and she screamed and sat down. Everyone laughed. Kate stood up.
“You know, Henry, those personal bins you brought down belong to the whole community, at least to the original sixty-seven of us,” she informed him in a smug tone. He grinned.
“And I suppose you figure that out because you were all on the Roosevelt and that entitles you to my bins,” he said and everyone nodded. He shook his head.
“I handed out computers with the list of all the stores and all the houses and personal bins and except for the little kids like Eric and Lucy and them who were much too young, the rest of you all had the same chance to select all the bins and stores that you wanted. You could have all picked fifty houses, a hundred stores, five hundred personal bins. You could have picked five hundred stores and a hundred houses, you could have picked a thousand stores and I could have brought down a hell of a lot more than I did. I made trips with half the stuff that ship could have handled simply because you all didn’t tell me to bring down more,” Harry explained. “We were coming down to a planet that had nothing and we had a ship full of everything and all of you adults didn’t tell a fourteen year-old boy to bring you down more than one house and six stores. Hindsight is a bitch ain’t it? And David Marshall, please don’t say you wanted more bins because everyone here knows your sorry ass waited until the ship was breaking up to ask and by then it was too late.”
“Fine, Henry, be selfish, I thought I raised you better than this,” Kate said and sat down. Harry grinned.
“Sorry, Mother, guilt isn’t going to work, but I’ll tell you all what, to show I’m not completely heartless, I’ll give everyone here three personal bins to do with whatever they like except of course for Jake and Violet,” he said. “Sorry Jake, only because I know you’ll give yours to Violet and she’s never getting anything from me. I don’t give things to fake-tittied, husband stealing little sluts,” he declared and everyone laughed. Jake grinned and Violet screamed and walked from the room.
“That’s very generous, Harry, thank you,” Carl stood up and said. Everyone cheered and Harry finally got his thanks. He took a bow and left the room.
He took his kids with him to Sherwood and let them fly and they arranged the bins on the grass and he made them unlock them and remove the gold telling them he had a plan for it and that everyone had already made enough gold from him and they didn’t need anymore. Then being on Sherwood reminding him of flying so he informed all of his sons and Cassie too, just in case she got it too because she did have the extra lobe in her brain that they had better start drinking some serious green milk because he had something incredibly wonderful to show them and once they saw what they could do they would never want to drink white milk again. Jackson looked at him like he was crazy. Harry grabbed his arm and looked him right in his purple eyes that were just like his.
“Jackson, trust me, Son, if you don’t drink your green milk and you see what your brothers and maybe Cassie can do and you won’t be able to do, then you’re going to be very sad and very angry with yourself,” he said solemnly. Jackson nodded.
“Okay, Dad, but it had better be good,” he told him. Harry grinned.
“Oh, it’s better than good, it’s magical,” he said and they were all mystified but that’s all he would say except to tell him when their telekinesis was working. They all agreed to drink a gallon of green milk a day because they were intrigued.
Once the bins were delivered they began work on the buildings and they had a lot of trees to chop down. All of Harry’s siblings joined the project and Jake’s siblings except for Abby and they had a full crew of forty because they all had partners who wanted to help and Harry thought that wonderful. He always loved being surrounded by young people and some of the partners were his old friends.
DJ was in love with his daughter Emma and his friend Mike was with his daughter Cassie. Carl was happy as hell that he was going to be related to Harry. Dr. George’s son Georgie was Sean’s partner and one of the Patterson twins Billy was Adam’s partner. Sarek’s twin son John was Jackson’s partner and James Campbell was Ryan’s partner and in a twist, he was Harry’s son with Cindy Campbell so that was pretty neat. Ryan only had a little of Harry’s DNA and he did have his purple eyes and James had his purple eyes so the two men looked a little like brothers instead of lovers and more than a few people thought they shouldn’t be that but Harry thought those people should mind their own business and leave the men alone. Love wasn’t always planned it just happened and it had happened to those two.
The other Patterson twin Bobby was partners with Harry’s youngest sister Karen and his friend Davy Marshall was his sister Allison’s boyfriend. His sister Tracey was partnered with Frederick von Helsing and his brother Travis was in love with Hope, Sarek and Myla’s daughter. His brother Alex was in love with Irene, DJ and Grace’s daughter and his brother Kent was partners with Hans and Nyla’s daughter Ruth.
In the Jackson family, Monroe was in love with Jasmine White which made Dr. Jackson angry, he didn’t want his sons marrying white girls and he hated the fact that his son was living with the daughter of Jan and Joy the two lesbians he had hated for years. Then his third son Dwight embarrassed him by living with a man, Calvin Carbonari, a white man like Jake did and Dr. Jackson threatened to disown him too but Dwight ignored him like Jake did and the older man was very frustrated but at least this son couldn’t give him fishy freaks for grandchildren.
Then Pearl moved in with Susie and continued to live with her for over a hundred years and nothing anyone could say to her would change her mind. Susie’s mom Edna loved the two girls and had them over for dinner all the time. Sissy was jealous of the other women’s close relationship with her daughter and wondered why she couldn’t have the same. She never got it that all of the lectures and when are you going to marry a nice boy talks drove her daughter to Edna who loved her and welcomed her as a daughter and didn’t ask stupid questions like that.
Charlotte was involved with another White, Jason White and Mabel was living with Cameron, Kathleen and Steve’s youngest. Yvonne and CJ were a couple while her twin Yvette was living with Isaac DJ and Grace’s son. None of the Jackson children were with any of the Emery children a fact that frustrated the two men and irritated their mothers. But what could they do, all of the children insisted that they had slept with each other and while it had been fun and they liked it, they didn’t fall in love and they weren’t going to marry people they weren’t in love with. They did promise to have at least one black child for the gene pool and their parents had to be satisfied with that.


Chapter Ten

Harry had his early mornings free during construction of the warehouse stores. None of the kids were used to getting up that early except for the few who still had cows to milk, the rest of the them bought their milk from the alterian dairy so he had a couple of free hours in the morning. So Harry did what he and Jake had loved to do with their dogs, he took them to the beach and ran with them.
The first couple of days he did this, he had no troubles; they ran along the shore and had a marvelous time. He did notice, however, that his favorite beach had been taken over by the alterians but his kids had marked it clearly with a big sign reading: Harry Talbert Beach. He didn’t mind sharing and it looked like they kept things very neat and tidy with lots of trash cans, several bathrooms and showers plus refreshment stands and a nice boardwalk so he was happy with his beach.
The problem came the fourth morning when a patrol car came and stopped him. Two policemen wanted to know what he was doing on his beach. When he informed them he was going to run with his dogs, they pointed out a big sign that read: No dogs allowed on beach.
“Yes, I understand that, but I’m Harry Talbert. This is my beach and if I want to run with my dogs on my beach then I can,” Harry reasoned with them. They didn’t look impressed.
“Do you have any I.D.?” one of them asked. Harry was shocked because, of course, he didn’t, everyone knew who he was. He shook his head.
“We’re going to have to ask you to leave, mister,” the other policeman said and Harry sighed and took his dogs with him. Then he hopped back in his helo and flew home and drove to City Hall to get some I.D.
There a snooty David Marshall informed him that if he wanted a driver’s license he would have to get Carl or Frank to give him the test and sign off on the report. Harry was shocked.
“You’ve got to be kidding, David, I’ve been driving for a hundred and twenty-six years, this is ridiculous,” he said as calmly as he could. David shrugged.
“Those are the rules,” he informed him smugly. Harry sighed and took the report and found Carl in his store and handed him the report to sign off of. Carl looked at him and judged his mood incorrectly.
“You know, Harry, I’ve got a free hour, I can easily give you the driving test right now,” he offered generously. Harry stared at him like he was insane.
“Carl, I’ve been driving for a hundred and twenty-six years and I can fly the Elizabeth in space. Sign off the damned thing before I lift you off you feet and you wake up next Tuesday with the biggest headache I’ll ever heal,” he informed him. Carl raised an eyebrow and signed the report. Harry turned around the walked out of the store and returned to City Hall. David was on break and he had to wait an hour for him to return which only irritated him more.
“Fine, that’ll be twenty dollars,” David said as he stamped the report and typed into the computer. Harry sighed and reached into his wallet. David frowned and tapped the window where a little sign read: Checks only, no cash. Harry was astonished. David grinned.
“It’s easier to keep track of the money if it’s in check form, we only take checks,” he informed him smugly. Harry turned around and walked out to his car. He drove home and got a million dollars from his supply and drove to the bank. Of course he’d have to open another checking account since he hadn’t gotten around to doing that after the divorce.
Brian at the bank laughed at the bad day his boss was having and opened the account for him. Then he remembered a package that had been dropped off for him thirty years ago and went into the office and dragged it over to the desk.
“Jake dropped this off for you about thirty years ago, it’s real heavy,” he told him. Harry opened it and grinned. It was gold and he suspected it was a million dollars, his share of their two million dollar checking account. They counted it and he was right.
“I knew Jake wouldn’t steal from me,” Harry sighed with relief. Brian grinned.
“You want to put this in your new account?” he asked and Harry nodded.
“Might as well since it’s already here,” he decided. They set everything up and Harry picked out cute checks with kittens on them which both he and Brian thought were damned cute. Then he took his ten temporary checks and returned to City Hall for the last time or what he hoped would be the last time. David smirked when he saw him.
“These checks don’t have your name and address on them, how can I be sure you’re really who you say you are, you don’t have I.D.?” he snickered. Harry shrugged.
“Well, since you say you don’t know me then when I reach in there and beat the crap out of you then you won’t be able to identify me to the police as your assailant, will you?” he sneered and David got pale. He stamped the check angrily and glared at Harry.
“You think you’re such a smarty-pants don’t you,” he sneered back. Then he handed Harry his forms and told him to take them to Doug for his picture card. Harry checked everything carefully and started to turn away. David called him back.
“You didn’t have to fire me from the bank, I really liked my job there and it wasn’t my fault Jake left you for Violet,” he whined. Harry shrugged.
“It was your fault that you told Jake to close out our joint checking account like I was going to leave him broke and penniless if he didn’t,” he informed him calmly. “That was cute, David, and cute doesn’t belong in a bank. Cute belongs in a video store or an arcade or any other store but it doesn’t belong in a bank where so much money is involved and it doesn’t belong where people use their personal vendettas to interferer with their professional lives. You should have never let your wife convince you to use your job at the bank to get even with me, that was wrong and you knew it. As a lawyer you should have known you were crossing the line, but you did it anyway and that proved to me that you couldn’t be trusted with everyone’s money. People are very protective of their money and if you did it to me, what’s to say you wouldn’t have done it to the rest of the customers? I couldn’t take the chance. It wasn’t personal, it was business. You have a nice day now.”
Harry turned and walked away leaving David to think about what he said. But the man just sneered at him, he didn’t think about a thing, not that Harry expected him to, men like David Marshall tended to blame their mistakes on others. They seldom took responsibility for their own actions.
Harry went to Doug’s store and the two men went to his studio and Harry finally got his photo driver’s license so he was finally legal to drive in the town of Edenville.
“Great picture, Harry, the camera really loves your face,” Doug admired his work and handed Harry the finished card. Harry grinned and admired his face on the white plastic.
“You do good work, Doug,” he told the man who beamed. Everyone like hearing their work was appreciated. He left the studio and finally showed up on the work site. Everyone teased him of course, they were all smart-asses and he had raised most of them.
“Look who finally showed up, get enough sleep, Sleeping Beauty?” Sean taunted him. Harry grinned. Then he told them all about his miserable day starting with the two policemen this morning and smug David Marshall at City Hall. They all got a big laugh out of everything.
“Oh, man, pencil pushers are the worse, I’ll buy you a beer later, Dad,” Adam told him. Harry patted him on the back.
“And I’ll let you do that, Son,” he said. Jackson grinned.
“I’m glad to hear that Jake paid you back,” he said solemnly and all the kids nodded, they had really liked that part of the story a lot. Harry had liked telling them that part too.
“Me too, I think I’ll send him an email and tell him I appreciate his honesty,” Harry said almost to himself and continued to work. All the kids grinned and looked at one another. They really liked that idea.
Harry wrote the email when the got home and rewrote it six or seven times before he gave up and just was himself. Dear Jake, he wrote, I had the worse day today. It started this morning when I took Gertie and Bo to the beach to run with them and two alterian policemen informed me I couldn’t run with the dogs on my own beach because I couldn’t prove I was the Harry Talbert who owned the damned beach. In fact, I couldn’t prove I was Harry Talbert at all because I didn’t have a driver’s license. So I went to City Hall to get one and that pencil pusher David Marshall informed me I needed a damned report signed by Carl or Frank.
I took the report to Carl, who, could you believe actually wanted to give me a damned driving test to prove that I could drive. I told him where he could shove his driving test and he signed the paper and I took it back to City Hall. The license cost twenty dollars and I was reaching for my wallet to pay for the damned thing when David pointed to a damned sign that read: No cash, checks only. This really made my perfect day even grander. So I had to run home, grab a million dollars and run to the bank to open a damned checking account so that I write a damned check for twenty dollars for the license. That’s when Brian informed me that you had left a package at the bank for me some thirty years ago and we both opened it to find the million dollars you left for me. Thank you very much, Jake, I’m so glad that you were honest enough to return the money you took from our checking account.
I returned to City Hall with my temporary checks and that stupid imbecile David insisted that he didn’t want to take the damned thing because how did he know who I was because there was no name or address printed on it and how did he know who I was? I told him I was going to beat the shit out of him and since he didn’t know who I was he couldn’t have me arrested for assault. He took the check. And I was handed the correct forms to take to Doug to get the actual license. Then David whined and complained about me firing him from the bank.
I told him that the reason I fired him from the bank had nothing to do with him and me personally but had everything to do with business. If he was going to play with me and my money because he didn’t like me and wanted revenge, what was going to stop him from doing the same to other customers and their money? Banks were not the places for people to play around being cute; people didn’t appreciate cute in a bank. Of course all of this went clear over his stupid little head as usual and he pouted as I left.
I took the forms to Doug who took my picture and after five hours and much frustration, and treats of bodily harm to two people; I finally had my driver’s license. Now all I have to do is remember to carry the damned thing everywhere I go, especially in the morning when I take Gertie and Bo for their run on the beach. I hope your day went better than mine. Harry.
Jake read the email a dozen times laughing each time and grinning like a damned fool. He could just picture the whole day for his ex. And he could just see every scene as Harry had described it. He could have told Harry that he hadn’t closed his checking account in the first place, he didn’t even think of it. David had done it for him and just presented him with the gold and told him what he had done. Jake had been appalled but the other three had been so convinced that it had been so necessary that he had gone along with it and felt so foolish when he had found the sixty-four million in gold in the bin on the porch. Of course Harry would have divided the money up fairly, he was like that, even when his heart was breaking, he wouldn’t have thought of revenge or being mean and spiteful.
His day wasn’t going any better than Harry’s. The woman they hired for his dad had quit again and run out before Jake could grab her and offer her more money and the damned inspectors had come in and they had failed their sixth inspection. And to make matters worse, his dad had yelled at the inspectors and they closed them down for the week. A whole week and they couldn’t see patients. Jake didn’t know whether to be sad or happy because this closed week gave him time to catch up on his paperwork and clean the damned clinic. His dad’s side was a complete disaster which is why they closed them down. When the fool yelled at them, they stayed longer and searched for crap and boy did they find violations. His draws were jammed packed full of unused supplies and unopened supplies and his files were a disgrace. The inspectors were coming back in a week and if things weren’t better, they were going to close them down for six months. Dr. Jackson had yelled at Jake like it was his fault.
“Jake, you idiot boy, this is all your fault, you should be in here every day straightening up my files and cleaning up my office,” he yelled as the inspections were leaving. Jake looked at his dad like he was insane, he certainly looked insane, with his face all getting red with anger like it used to get. He got angry back.
“Oh, yeah, old man, how is this my fault, they’re your files and your damned office, you clean up your own mess like I do, you don’t see my files and my office like that,” he shouted back. Dr. Jackson looked shocked and wagged his finger at him.
“Don’t you yell at me, I’m your father, you’ll respect me by God,” he shouted at the top of his lungs. Jake laughed.
“Oh, really, it’s okay for you to yell at me but I can’t yell at you, that makes perfect sense, you stupid old fool,” he sneered and his dad had looked shocked. Their receptionist Miriam got her stuff and went home for the week. Jake sighed and looked at his dad.
“You’d better use this week to straighten out your files and clean out your drawers and get your office into tiptop condition so we can reopen, Dad,” he told him. Dr. Jackson glared at him.
“Why do I have to be the one to do all the work, why can’t you do it?” he yelled. Jake glared at him.
“Because it’s your mess, old man, why should I clean up your mess?” he yelled back. Dr. Jackson waved his finger at his son.
“Listen to me, you idiot boy, you’re not even a real Vet like me, you never went to Veterinarian College like I did, you just studied at home. You should be grateful I let you practice with me, now you clean up those files! That’s all you’re good for anyway. I’ll come back in a week so we can reopen,” he yelled and turned around and walked out of the clinic. Jake had been shocked and appalled and he knew his dad wouldn’t come back to do any work. He would leave it all to him. He felt like crying.
He sat in his nice clean and passed inspection office and reread Harry’s email and knew what Harry would have said to his father’s ultimatum. He would have told Jake to just pack up his stuff and leave the office just like it was and come home. Then he would have looked at his list of stores and found Jake his own Veterinarian Clinic over in Sherwood and all of the kids would have helped them build it and Jake would have gone into practice for himself and let his old man sink on his own.
“I should call Harry and ask him for a clinic and tell my Dad to go to hell,” Jake muttered as he looked around his office. And while he was asking for a clinic he should ask for a house and get the hell out of that miserable place he was living with that hag Violet. They could share custody of the dogs and maybe even date and eventually maybe they could get back together, that would be fantastic. Jake dreamed about that for a few minutes and then with a sigh put the email into his drawer and walked into the mess that was his father’s office and started to work. It was just a stupid dream.
The work on the four buildings went on smoothly. Everyone was experienced builders and they all had a great time, with forty-one, twenty-one year-old people working on them, they were going up like crazy. Harry did more supervising than building but he still had fun, especially now that he could run on the beach every morning. The first morning after he got his license he was stopped, he swore those bastards were lying in wait for him. He showed them his license and they grudgingly let him take the dogs on the beach for their run. After that it became a sort of game between him and the cops and a couple of times he forgot his wallet and had to fly home for it. This pissed him off and caused them extreme laughter because by now they knew who he was and yet they continued to ask every morning for the damned thing.
This pissed Harry off so he went to Doug’s with Gertie and Bo and had their picture taken. This he took it to his mom’s printing store and had it blown up to seven feet and incased in plastic and glass and he then mounted it in a steel frame. He took this with supplies to the beach. The two cops watched with interest as Harry brought all the tools and supplies and right under the sign that read: Harry Talbert Beach, he dug two holes and put two steel poles in cement-steel. When they harden, he welded the steel picture frame; the picture was covered so they couldn’t see what it was. Next he welded the black steel letters above the picture, they read: Harry Talbert with Gertie and Bo. The cops smiled because now they had a clue as to what the picture was. Harry uncovered the seven foot picture and the cops burst into laughter. Harry grinned at them and cleaned up his mess. Under the sign of Harry Talbert Beach was a seven foot picture of Harry Talbert and his two golden retrievers Gertie and Bo. Harry would never have to flash his damned driver’s license for the cops again.
“Have a nice day,” Harry called to the cops and he and his friends ran up the shore line. The two cops laughed and admired the picture. Jake, who was watching the whole scene from his helo a half mile away through binoculars, wondered what Harry had just put up and why the cops were laughing. He waiting until everyone left and flew down to see. Then he laughed until tears came to his eyes. It was such a typical Harry thing to do. He had seen the cops harassing him every morning asking for his driver’s license and he knew it irritated the hell out of his ex and wondered how long it would take for Harry to figure out some way to stop it and now he had.
Jake ran home and got the camera someone had given him and Violet for a wedding present and came back and took several pictures of the picture and printed them out on the tiny printer that came with the camera at his office so Violet wouldn’t see. He put one in his wallet in the back and one in his desk drawer so he could look at it between patients. He missed his dogs so much his heart ached and he missed Harry so damned much. He took a picture home and hid it under the mattress of the spare bed in the room he slept in; he knew Violet would never lift the bed to look there. Sometimes he would look at it and kiss Harry’s perfect smiling mouth.
The buildings were all finished at the end of April and all the kids insisted that their telekinesis was ready for whatever Harry had to show them. He made them all demonstrate their powers and was pleased that Cassie was able to lift him off the ground. He grinned and took his children, their better halves and his moms to Sherwood for the great unveiling along with tables, chairs and food. He also brought his animals because he took them with him everywhere. Everyone seemed excited and wondered what the great secret was.
“Okay, we all know how telekinesis works” Harry began as he addressed his family. He had his hat in his back pocket and his goggles in his front. They all sat on chairs in front of him and grinned. He waved his finger to Emma who stood up and grinned at him. He lifted her off the ground and everyone laughed. Then he lifted her to him and kissed her on her cheek and lifted her back. Everyone laughed again.
“Now, let me tell you a little story,” Harry declared and pointed to the mountains in back of him.
“I was climbing that peak there with Gertie and Bo and we were almost to the top, when I was finished filming my show for the day. Now in order to put the camera back in my backpack I had to unhook my harness, take it off; put it in; put the pack back on and the hook the harness on,” he explained. Danny frowned.
“That sounds dangerous to do when you’re climbing alone, Dad,” he told him. Harry nodded.
“It is, Danny and I had done it a million times and nothing had happened,” he said. “Except for this time, a big, purple eagle had a nest nearby and she didn’t like me climbing so close to it.” All the kids gasped and his mothers looked worried.
“She swooped down and attacked me just as I was putting the pack back on and I slipped and fell from the cliff and, of course, right off the edge,” Harry told them. Everyone looked shocked. Kate stood up.
“You mean to tell us, Henry, that you fell off the mountain,” she asked weakly. Harry nodded. He flipped his body so he was lying in the air and they all gasped with surprise. He grinned at them.
“There I was falling a hundred feet a second, approximately, of course,” he added. Adam laughed.
“Of course, Dad,” he remarked and they all laughed.
“And just for a moment, and only a few seconds mind you, I was relieved. I thought to myself, at least if I died this way, it would be an accident and I wouldn’t hurt or miss Jake anymore,” he confessed and he could see that they understood. Then he grinned and looked at the two grinning dogs.
“But then I thought of poor Gertie and Bo stuck up there on that ledge and they would die up there without me so I had to find someway to save myself so I pushed with my mind and stopped myself from falling and I found myself just like this about a hundred feet off the ground,” he explained and they all looked shocked again.
“You came that close to dying, good heavens, Henry,” Kate exclaimed. Both of his daughters had tears in their eyes. Harry smiled.
“Now, of course, I have to figure out a way to get back up to the dogs before they tried to get down off that ledge to find me,” Harry explained his next move. He reached behind him and put on his crazy looking hat and goggles. Everyone looked confused.
“Now, I figured that if I could stop myself from going down, what was to prevent me from going up, so I pushed with my mind and went up a few inches,” Harry said and he went up a few inches and they all gasped and a few of the boys, Danny and Adam who were brighter than the rest got it first and giggled. Then Harry put himself in a standing position, off the ground, waved at them and took off for the sky, very quickly as they all watched with amazement. They all stood up and gasped.
“Holy crap, Dad’s flying,” Jackson shouted. Everyone started cheering and clapping, waving and hollering, everyone starting hugging one another. The dogs started barking and jumping on people and Kate’s mouth was wide open in shock. Harry flew around them, did some acrobatic moves and flips and then gracefully landed in front of him. They all rushed him and hugged him. He laughed and grabbed at them.
“Dad, you rascal, why didn’t you tell us you could fly,” Emma demanded, her forehead making that little wrinkle when she was mad. He laughed and kissed her.
“Emma, darling, you wouldn’t have believed it unless you saw it,” he told her.
“Do you think we’ll be able to fly?” Adam asked him. Harry nodded.
“I don’t see why not, you’ve all be drinking your green milk haven’t you?” he asked and they all grinned. Harry passed out hats and goggles. Sean, the fashion conscious frowned and Harry smacked him on his arm.
“The wind will dry your eyes out and tear your eardrums up without protection, so don’t even think about flying without these,” he warned him. Ryan laughed at his brother.
“Get over it, Ace, just put the damned things on and learn how to do your Peter Pan impression,” he advised him. Sean laughed and put the damned things on. Then Harry smiled at Emma and held out his hand.
“So, Emma, darling, how would you like to take a little spin with your old man?” he asked her and she nodded and grabbed his hand.
“You bet your fine ass I would,” she retorted and everyone laughed.
“How do we do this?” Jackson asked. Harry shrugged.
“Just push up and see how it goes, bend your knees a little, that helps, and jump,” he told them and they all tried. Danny, who had been drinking green milk all of his life was the first to take off and the other boys weren’t going to let their little brother beat them at any thing soon followed.
“Oh, my God, look at them, aren’t they beautiful,” Kate gushed as she watched her Dolphins swim in the sky. Barb hugged her and her eyes filled with tears.
The men came down and took all of their partners for a flight, Harry took both of his mothers and, of course, the dogs barked for a ride and the kids all laughed because the dogs really enjoyed flying. The cats didn’t appreciate the kids trying to fly with them and they hissed at them so laughing and cooing at them, the kids left the felines alone.
“You’d better not let the alterians catch you flying or they might want to burn you at the stake,” Harry warned them as they sat down to lunch and milk shakes made from ice cream made from green milk. They all grinned and gobbled them up, even Jackson who swore he was never drinking white milk again.
“Hey, Dad, Jackson wants you to make him some ca-ca,” Ryan teased his brother who shook his head.
“I didn’t say I was going that far,” he protested and they all laughed. Harry giggled and Kate thought it was the loveliest sound she had ever heard. She was glad to see him back in the land of the living. She smiled across the table at him; he looked so great with his short hair so curly and that stupid mustache gone.
“It’s so nice to see you back among us, Henry, and not hiding out on Mykonos,” she remarked and all the kids rolled their eyes. She would have to bring that up on such a lovely day. Harry rolled his eyes and she made a face.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me, young man, its rude,” she snapped. He winked at the kids.
“So are your comments, Mother, why can’t you just enjoy the day and keep your lectures to yourself for once,” he told her gently and she flushed. Barb giggled.
“Fine, I won’t say another word but,” Kate began. Jackson stood up.
“No buts, Grandmom, you said not another word and we certainly don’t want to hear lecture seven hundred and forty-seven so please drop it,” he said in a loud voice. She flushed and looked offended. All the kids laughed.
“I do not have seven hundred and forty-seven lectures, good God, is that what you all think of me,” she spat. They all nodded. Cassie giggled.
“You do have about a hundred lectures, Grandmom, and we’ve heard them all a million times so hush up. Today we all flew and we want to remember that and not you ragging on poor Dad,” she said. Kate sighed and sipped her soda.
“Fine, fine, gang up on me why don’t you,” she whined. Ryan grinned and wiggled two of his fingers together and held them out for her to see. She looked confused.
“What on earth is that supposed to be,” Kate snapped at him. Sean giggled.
“That’s the planet’s smallest violinist playing hearts and flowers in sympathy for you, Grandmom,” he interpreted for her. Barb giggled while Kate laughed and threw her napkin at her wise ass grandson. Everyone laughed.
“No one loves a smart-ass, Ryan, James, you must leave him immediately,” Kate told him. James grinned and kissed his love.
“I love his ass, smart and all,” he informed everyone and Ryan winked at them. Kate rolled her eyes.
“He’s a smart ass too, they deserve each other,” she declared. They all laughed and talked all the way home.
At the job site the next day all of the kids showed off their new powers to their friends and family and everyone was awed and impressed with the flying Talberts. Word got out and all of Harry’s eighteen other children visited the work site to see for themselves and he told them all if they drank their green milk, about a half gallon a day in about three or four weeks, they should all be flying too and he promised to take them to Sherwood for their own flying lessons. They all begged for their own green cows and he took them to the field to pick them up. He was very proud of them. Flying would make their brain lobes larger which would make their healing powers more powerful, and that was a good thing. Already some of the kids were able to heal small cuts and bruises and soon they would all be able to bring people back from the dead like he could.
Once the buildings were finished Harry began bringing bins from Sherwood to fill the stores. He let the kids do most of the flying and they brought thirty the first time and unloaded them. It was a lot of work to separate and hang up all the clothes and figure out which store each item belonged. It was a lot of fun too. It was during this phase that Harry accepted a dinner invitation from Chan and went out with him.
“I’ve been calling you for weeks, what made you come tonight?” Chan teased as he held out the chair for Harry in the Italian restaurant he had chosen. Harry laughed.
“I didn’t feel like cooking tonight to be honest,” he teased back and Chan laughed as he took his seat. The waiter poured the alterian red wine which was really sweet but rather good and they ordered.
Chan found Harry a delightful companion, he didn’t glance around a lot at the other customers or leer at other men, he seemed to hang on every word he said and laughed at his silly jokes. And he made real conversation and was charming. They had a really good time and when they returned to his house, he kissed him and Harry discovered the other man to be an adequate kisser. He invited him in for coffee and a tour of the house which included the bedroom and that led to the bed where he found the slightly younger man an adequate but lazy lover who made him do more than his fair share of the work.
But it was his first time having sex with someone other than Jake and it was nice to have a male body in the bed next to him. In the morning Harry performed fellatio on Chan and drove the man out of his skin by the way he was screaming and wiggling on the bed sheets. After he swore Harry was the most incredible lover he had ever been with and they took a shower together where he gave Harry the vastness of his experience and Harry insisted he was fantastic himself but Harry once again found him adequate.
He fed him breakfast and sent him on his way and cried when he left because Jake was a much better lover and now he was never going to make love with him again and that was the saddest thing of all. Then he went to work because due to Chan he had missed his run on the beach and sighed, he would have rather had his run.
Harry continued to see Chan because at least he was getting laid and when word got around to the kids they were slightly shocked and a little appalled.
“Dad and Chan, he’s really not his type is he?” Cassie asked and they all shook their heads. Ryan snorted.
“Chan’s been bragging to everyone that Dad’s the most incredible lover he’s ever had and how he does fellatio better than anyone,” he told them. They all looked horrified.
“That little son-of-a-bitch, I should punch his lights out,” Adam declared. Jackson shook his head.
“Dad would kill you if you did, the best thing we can do is just ignore him, he’s the rebound man and he’ll be out of the picture soon,” he informed them. Emma grinned.
“What we need to do is find Dad someone nicer than that sleaze Chan to go out with,” she decided and they all agreed to set their Dad up with someone they knew to be interested. And that was easy, once word got out that Harry was dating again; he got more calls for dinner and movie dates than he knew what to do with. He accepted a few and decided, what the hell, he was young and single; he might as well get out there and see what all the other kids were doing. Thirty years was a long time to go without sex and adequate Chan was not going to do it.
Harry’s next date was a movie date with Phillip and Stuart’s son Eric and he took him to the movies and Chinese. They had fun and Eric obviously wanted to make it an all night date so he took him home and took him to bed. They had a great time and Eric was more than adequate and Harry was quite satisfied until they got to the bathroom and Eric wanted him to pee on his feet. Harry didn’t know what to do, so he stood in the bathtub and peed on his feet and Eric peed on his and they had another great sex session and Harry teased him into a shower because frankly he didn’t want to take pissy feet into his bed. He decided never to invite the young man home again. What if the feet were only the first step in a long road of pissing and sex? He just wasn’t into that kind of thing.
When Chan found out that Harry was seeing other people he was not pleased but what could he do? Harry was a free agent and could see anyone he wanted but he persisted in calling so Harry went out with him again and again because he didn’t want to hurt his feelings and didn’t know how to tell him gently he wasn’t interested. He had never dated before like the kids had and had no dating etiquette to fall back on and was too embarrassed to ask his kids for help.
It took a hundred and twenty bins to fill all of the stores and three extra stores, Harry couldn’t open without a toy store and more clothes and shoes so he brought over a few extra stores. He had plenty of them so he figured they wouldn’t be missed. He took some of the gold and his giant rose crystal and had a jeweler make them into a big throne and made himself a fancy robe and had another jeweler make him a gold crown with gems from his canyon, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, rubies and topazes and it looked spectacular as well as the throne, that looked fantastic. Then he had flyers printed up with him standing next to the throne wearing the robe and crown proclaiming that he was King Harry, the bargain king and his prices couldn’t be beat. So come on down to King Harry’s bargain warehouses for the best prices in Edenville and every customer would receive a free blue Savannah orange with no purchase necessary.
They opened on June first and everyone in Edenville giggled all the way to the store as well as hundreds of alterians and they all picked up their blue oranges on the way in the store and bought stuff on their way out. King Harry’s Bargain Warehouses were a success.
“Can you believe this throne, it must be worth millions,” Gloria said as she eyed the gold and crystal throne. Violet sighed and wished she could sit on it.
“I wished he had found the damned caves before Jake and he split up, that crystal could be mine,” she muttered. Gloria grinned.
“If you had just waited one more year,” she said snidely. Violet glared at her.
“He never would have gone exploring without Jake leaving him,” she informed her smugly. Gloria shrugged.
“His stores were empty and he didn’t have anything to do. I think he would have gone exploring anyway, but you’re right, Jake wouldn’t have gone with him and old Harry might have taken years to find the cave. Jake would have divorced him long before he found the cave, maybe,” she added the last word when Violet began to look as if she felt better. Gloria giggled and walked away, she’d had enough of the bargain stores; she liked high quality stores herself, like Macys. This town just wasn’t the same without Macys she thought to herself.
July twenty-seven came and Harry threw himself a big birthday bash on the beach like he used to and invited the whole town except for the people of Farm One who didn’t hear about it until the day of the event when they saw all the stores closed and wondered why. They started calling people and were offended when they realized that the whole town was having a party without them.
“He’s got a lot of fucking nerve inviting everyone except for us,” Linda fumed as she paced her living room. June shrugged.
“We don’t like him anyway, why would we want to go to his stupid birthday party?” she asked her. Max shrugged.
“Because he’s serving lobster and free booze that’s why,” he told her and everyone sighed thinking of all that free booze and wonderful food they were missing. Plus all of their kids would be there and they were missing seeing them. It seemed they could hardly get the kids to come over for dinner these days. They all begged off with excuses about their busy lives. This really sucked. Violet shrugged.
“We should have our own beach party and invite everyone except for Harry and his family,” she snipped. Jake looked at her.
“Not invite my children, you forget those are my children too and I’m not having a party without inviting my children,” he told her firmly. She pouted.
“Well, they didn’t invite you to their party,” she said. He shrugged.
“It’s not their party, its Harry’s party and since it’s his party, he can invite anyone he wants and all of you people have always hated him and always called him names so I don’t know why you’re surprised when he doesn’t invite you to his party or takes you on a tour of his crystal cave. I’m surprised you would think he would,” he said and they all shrugged.
“He always invited us before,” June declared. Jake laughed and got up to leave.
“Maybe he’s had enough of your shit,” he said and left. Max glared at the closing door.
“He’s getting to be a real pain in the ass Violet, it might be time to get rid of him, so what if he has a big dick,” he stated. Violet laughed.
“That’s not what you were saying last week,” she teased and he laughed.
“Fine, but keep him away from our dinners then, let’s just invite him to the parties,” he suggested and they all agreed.
One day Harry was in his office at the main store, the one with the clothes and toys when Danny came in with a couple and a young girl. He looked sheepish when he realized that he had disturbed his dad’s lunch but he marched the alterians in anyway.
“Dad, I want you to meet John, Mary and their daughter Megan, I found them in the doll department looking at Barbie Dolls and I knew you would want to meet Megan so I brought them to meet my father, King Harry,” Danny said cheerfully. Harry took one look at Megan’s scared eyes and blind gaze and moved his lunch to his desk drawers. Her mother saw this and protested.
“Oh, we didn’t mean to interrupt you lunch, King Harry, please forgive us,” she stammered. Harry grinned and held out his hand. He shook both of their hands. The man looked at him and then at Danny and obviously saw they were related.
“You are his father?” he asked suspiciously. Harry smiled and put his arm around Danny’s shoulder.
“Yes, this is my son and I’m his father,” he declared and the parents both nodded.
“Hello, Megan, I’m Harry; how are you today?” Harry asked the little girl who looked about nine who giggled.
“Hi, Harry, you smell nice,” she said. Harry laughed and directed her to his chair; he put her mother in the chair next to her. Her dad stood leaning against the desk and Danny smiled and leaned against the door.
“So you like Barbie Dolls, do you, my daughters loved Barbie when they were little girls,” he told her. She nodded.
“I love Barbie, tomorrow is my birthday and Mom promised me Malibu Barbie,” she informed him. He smiled.
“That sounds lovely, I love Malibu Barbie myself, she’s so tanned and beautiful, so, what happened to your eyes, have you been blind a long time?” he asked gently. Megan shook her head.
“No, only for three years or so, a drunk driver ran a stop sign and crashed into me and I hit the window, the doctors couldn’t save my eyesight, I’m used to it and they’re getting me a dog soon, you have dogs in here, I can hear them,” she said and her parents beamed with pride. Harry laughed.
“Yes, I have Gertie and Bo with me, I take them with me everywhere, you can meet them in a minute, but first I want to try a little experiment,” he said softly. He looked at her parents.
“You may not know it Megan but as well as being Danny’s father, I’m also a healer and I want to put my hands over your eyes and heal them, does that sound okay to you?” he asked her and held her hands. She nodded.
“Sure, Harry, but the doctors said my eyes can’t ever be healed, they did two surgeries and nothing helped,” Megan informed him. Harry shook his head thinking of the unnecessary pain that must have caused her.
“I’m not a doctor, Megan, so I don’t know what they said, I’m a healer and that’s different,” he told her. “Now I want you to hold your mother’s hands now,” he said and placed her hands in her mother’s. He stood behind her and rubbed his hands together.
“Now, Megan, my hands are going to be a little warm and I’m going to place them over your eyes gently now and I want you to tell us everything that you remember that was blue, can you remember the color blue?” he asked her and she smiled.
“Sure, Harry, the sky is blue and the ocean, wow, your hands are warm and they tickle,” she said and laughed. Harry closed his eyes and he searched her eyes and found disconnected nerves and reconnected them and healed her. Megan kept listing all the blue things she could remember. Then Harry took his hands off and her parents gasped because all of the scars were gone. Then Harry sat down and rolled Megan around to face him.
“Okay, Megan, open your eyes and look at me, can you see me?” he asked and she smiled and nodded. Her parents looked shocked and as if they didn’t believe her. He smiled.
“Now what color is the shirt I’m wearing?” Harry asked. She looked down and grinned.
“Blue,” she said and her parents gasped. Then Harry rolled her around.
“Now what color is the blouse your mother is wearing?” he asked and she grinned.
“Yellow, that’s my favorite color,” Megan declared and her mother began to cry. She held out her hands and Megan rushed into her arms. “I can see, Mom, Father Harry healed my eyes,” she told her. Both of her parents hugged and kissed her. They hugged Harry and her mother kissed his cheek. Her father reached for his wallet. Harry waved him away.
“Healing is always free in my store,” he told him. Then he looked at Megan who was beaming. “Now Danny is going to take you back to the dolls and I want you to pick out the Barbie you want and it’s on me because it’s your birthday,” he told her and she hugged him.
“You don’t have to do that,” her mother protested. Harry held up his hands.
“Oh, please let me, I love children, I have seven of my own,” he told them and they looked shocked that a man his age would have seven children. He looked at Megan again and bent down to speak softly.
“Now I want you to pick out five outfits for your Barbie doll and I bet when Danny’s not looking you could probably sneak a sixth outfit in and he won’t even know it,” he whispered loudly and she giggled and nodded. Danny grinned.
“Oh, thank you, Father Harry,” John gushed as they left the room. Mary hugged him.
“I will bake you a chocolate cake, Father Harry,” she promised. Harry smiled and kissed her cheek.
“See you later, Father Harry,” Danny said loudly and they left. Harry grinned and finished his lunch; this had been a great day.
A few weeks later John brought his neighbor Mrs. Erwin to see Father Harry because her knees were bad and she had serve joint pain and couldn’t walk very well. Harry took her in the back office where he and the girls had set up an exam table, some nice chairs and Cassie had hung a pretty picture of a large daisy with the word Nirvana on it and Emma put some plants.
“Now, Mrs. Erwin, I’m just going to put my hands on your knees and they’re going to feel a little warm okay?” he told her. The old woman nodded and then giggled when he put his hands on her knees. John laughed.
“I bet a man hasn’t done that in years huh, Doris?” he teased and she blushed. Harry smiled. Then he took his hands away. He looked at the thick glasses she was wearing.
“Why don’t we have a look at your eyes too, darling?” he asked. She nodded.
“I haven’t been able to read for years, Father Harry, if you could give me back my books, I would be eternally grateful,” she told him. He nodded and walked behind her and removed her glasses. He rubbed his hands together and placed them over her eyes and healed them; then he did her ears too.
“Let’s give your heart a tune-up too since you’re already here,” Harry suggested and she giggled.
“I can see perfectly, you’re a miracle worker,” she gushed and John beamed.
“I told you Father Harry would fix you right up, Doris,” he said proudly. Harry tune-up her heart, lungs, liver and kidneys and she was ready to go. She handed him her walker with a big grin.
“Give this to someone who needs it, Father Harry, I certainly don’t,” Mrs. Erwin said firmly. Harry grinned and hugged her.
“No, you don’t, darling,” he told her and put the walker in the corner. He gave her a coupon for a pair of walking sneakers and John took her down to the shoe department. Harry laughed and walked back to his desk.
Mary, who had come in the week after he healed her daughter with a chocolate cake for Father Harry and brought her neighbor Henry who was having surgery on his heart and who was really having trouble hearing. They wanted him to heal his ears so his son could explain his surgery to him. The son yelled at the old man and looked helplessly at Harry who smiled and took the old man into his office and healed his ears, his heart and his liver which was also going. The son met them afterwards and yelled as usual at his dad.
“How do you feel, Dad?” he yelled and the old man looked surprised and smiled at him.
“There’s no need to yell, Son, I can hear you perfectly,” he told him. The son was amazed. He looked at Harry with wonder and shook his hand.
“Thanks, Father Harry, you’re a miracle working,” he said. Harry grinned.
“I also gave his heart and liver a tune up so he won’t be needing that surgery and I worked on his knee joints too so he can get some exercise and do a little walking,” he informed the son who looked shocked. Henry handed Harry his cane with a big grin.
“Give this to someone who needs it, Son,” he told him and Harry grinned and they hugged.
When the alterian doctors wanted to schedule Henry for his surgery his son informed them that he had taken his dad to a healer and the old man felt terrific. They said that was ridiculous and insisted he bring him in for a scan. They were amazed that his leaky heart valve had repaired itself, the liver damage was fixed, his knees had grown new cartilage and his ears were remarkably healed. They were so excited they called the head of the hospital Dr. Bentley to come down and look at the old man.
“What did you say happened?” he asked the son solemnly. The son answered just as solemnly.
“I took my father to see Father Harry at his bargain warehouse store and he healed him, he’s a wonderful young man and he didn’t charge me a penny,” he boasted. All of the doctors looked shocked.
“Who is this Father Harry?” Dr. Bentley snapped at Dr. George who had been called down for consultation. Dr. George looked uncomfortable.
“Father Harry is a Catholic Priest who sometimes has a healing power but he’s a bit of a flake so we don’t use him often, he’s a Dolphin,” he informed him. Dr. Bentley looked intrigued.
“What is a Dolphin?” he asked. Dr. George grinned. He loved showing the alterian doctor new stuff.
“A Dolphin is a man who can bear live children. Harry and his five sons have a uterine sack and an ovary with five eggs, although Harry has used his eggs to have his five children,” he informed him. All three doctors looked amazed.
“We must have them in right away to scan them, this is fascinating,” Dr. Bentley gushed. Dr. George nodded and said he would send Father Harry an email right away and asked him and his sons to come in.
The emails were sent and all five men rushed to Harry’s to discuss the scans and they all agreed when Harry said he’d go in for a scan because it would give him a chance to see this Dr. Bentley up close and personal and judge for himself the man’s character. Jackson, Sean and Ryan decided they didn’t want to be scanned but Danny and Adam thought it would be interesting.
“Of course if Dad thinks it was good idea, you know Danny’s going to do it,” Jackson remarked and all the boys began to make sucking noises. Danny just gave them the finger and they all laughed. The three men flew over to Medford the next morning which was safer than driving there because the alterians were horrible drivers. Having been warned by Dr. George that Dr. Bentley expected to see a Roman Catholic priest, Harry borrowed a costume from Kathleen’s store and wore it and the boys had the best time teasing him.
“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned,” Adam intoned and Harry sighed.
“I’m going to bless your ass if you act up in the hospital,” he warned him and both boys looked sheepish. Danny rolled his eyes.
“Okay, Dad, I mean, Father, we’ll behave,” he panned and they both giggled. Harry sighed.
“I guess I should be grateful Ryan and Sean didn’t volunteer for this little duty,” he said and they all laughed thinking of the jokes those two clowns would have told. Dr. George was waiting for them and rolled his eyes at Harry’s get up.
“Where in the hell did the alterians get the idea you were a Catholic priest?” he asked Harry as they walked into the hospital. Harry shrugged.
“Actually Danny just introduced me as his father and before we knew it everyone was calling me Father Harry,” he explained. “You’re the idiot who told them I was a priest,” he said. Dr. George sighed. Then he introduced the three men to the team of doctors who were going to be examining them and they took off their clothes and got to work. They were fascinated with the uterine sack and ovary and took tons of pictures and Dr. George and Harry described labor and the delivery of the baby in detail. Then one of the doctors looked at Harry and frowned.
“I thought you said you used the five eggs that you had in your ovary, Father,” he said and both Harry and Dr. George nodded.
“I had five eggs and I had five sons,” Harry informed him. The doctor pointed to the screen.
“Then what are those in your ovary?” he asked solemnly. Everyone looked. Harry gasped as he saw five eggs in his ovary. Dr. George gasped too.
“Oh, my God, Harry, your eggs have grown back,” the older man exclaimed. Harry felt tears come to his eyes and he touched them on the screen in wonder.
“I must have healed myself one of those times when I rubbed my belly,” he said softly. Both of his sons hugged him.
“Wow, Dad, now you can have five more sons; think of all the Dolphins and the new DNA we can have,” Adam boasted. Dr. George grinned.
“All of your sons can have brothers, if these are the same eggs you had before, this is a wonderful miracle, this is marvelous,” he gushed and they all smiled. Dr. Bentley nodded.
“You didn’t expect this to happen?” he asked and both Harry and Dr. George shook their heads.
“This is new to us, but this is fantastic,” Dr. George said with delight. “Harry is the most valuable man on the planet, well, he can,” Harry put his hand over the older man’s mouth to prevent him from saying too much.
“Dr. George, please you’re embarrassing me,” he teased him and the older man laughed and got it. Both of his sons got it and laughed. The alterians looked disappointed; they had wanted to know what Father Harry could do. The three men completed their exams and left very excited and Harry was extremely happy, he wasn’t the barren empty shell he had thought he was. Now he could have more children, maybe not with Jake but with someone, not right now, but some day and that was more than he thought could ever happen.
“What do you mean your eggs grew back, eggs don’t grow back after you use them, Henry,” his mother Kate declared when he told her the exciting news. He grinned and hugged her. Barb burst into tears and he hugged her too.
“Oh, Mouse, that’s terrific,” she said and wiped her eyes. Kate was amazed but he showed her the scan the doctor had given him and sure enough, there were five eggs in his ovary.
“I must have healed myself one day. This means there’s no end to how many children I can have. Once I have the five, I can just heal myself and five more eggs will pop back in,” Harry boasted and they both looked surprised and then laughed.
“Think of all the Dolphins you could make, we could fill this planet with men who can have children, old Max would piss himself blue,” Kate giggled at the thought. Harry giggled too.
The kids all got together and discussed how they thought this news would affect their other dad.
“Jake wouldn’t like Harry having children with another man, not at all,” Adam informed them. They all agreed. Emma sighed.
“But how do we tell him about it, we just can’t call him up and tell him,” she said and they all agreed on that too. Jackson grinned.
“I know, Danny and Adam can tell him about the scans and mention it to him really casual like,” he said and they all agreed that was a good plan. Sean laughed.
“And if they did it in front of old Violet that would even be better,” he declared and they all agreed that would be even better. But how could they do that? Then Cassie giggled.
“I’ve got it, we all need to be invited over to the grandparents for dinner and the boys can tell them all at the same time,” she said and they all thought that was the best plan they ever heard and then they all looked at Jackson who sighed.
“Why does everyone all look at me when we talk about the grandparents?” he complained. Adam reached over and pinched his cheek.
“Because you’re grandmom’s little precious boy, that’s why, angel,” he teased and everyone laughed while Jackson rolled his eyes. He took out his cell phone and held up his hand for silence, he put it on speaker phone so they could all hear. Sissy picked up the phone on the other end.
“Well, Jackson, angel, how wonderful to hear your voice, how are you, angel?” she seemed so glad to hear his voice he felt guilty for not calling her more. It must have shown on his face because Emma patted his hand.
“Hi, Grandmom, I’m fine, busy with the stores but I’m free Friday night and I was wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner, my treat,” he asked cheerfully. Sissy laughed.
“I’ve got a better idea, why don’t you and your brothers and sisters come over here Friday night and I’ll invite your Dad and we’ll have a nice family dinner, won’t that be lovely, I’ll make a nice roast beef, that’s your favorite,” she said as he knew she would.
“Oh, Grandmom, you don’t have to cook for all of us, that’s too much work, we can eat out,” he said and she made a clicking noise.
“No, we cannot, not when I can just make us something nice here, now I won’t take no for an answer, angel, so I’ll see all of you at six on Friday and tell your sisters to wear a pretty dress, they look so nice in dresses,” she declared and they said their goodbyes and hung up. Cassie stuck her tongue out at the phone.
“I should wear overalls and hiking boots for that, you old bag,” she retorted and Adam took her hand and kissed it.
“Now, Cassie, we want them in a good mood, so you’re wearing a pretty little dress and behave,” he warned her and she stuck her tongue out at him but grudgingly agreed. Emma giggled.
“Does Mike know what you do with that tongue, Cas?” she teased her. Cassie made a rude noise.
“He not only knows, he likes it,” she declared and all the boys groaned.
“Oh, man, we didn’t need to know that,” Ryan said and they all laughed.
Friday night came and Violet came home from the store tired and in a bad mood, she wanted to go out and have a drink and was surprised to find Jake putting on a fresh shirt and tie.
“Oh, good, you’re getting dressed, where are you taking your lovely wife for dinner tonight?” she gushed and freshened up by spraying on some perfume. He made a face behind her back.
“We’re going to my Mom’s house, the kids are coming over, remember?” he asked her and she pouted.
“I’m tired Jake and I’ve had a hard day, I’m really not in the mood for dinner with your folks and your freaky children,” she snapped. He shrugged.
“So don’t come, call David and Gloria and go out with them,” he told her. “I’m going to my folks and have dinner with my family.” He walked out of the bedroom whistling and leaving her slightly shocked. He didn’t even try to convince her to go with him and that wasn’t like him at all, usually he pleaded and bribed her with promises of presents and treats. She was mystified. Violet walked into the living room where he was taping the ball game. She tapped her heels so he would turn around to look at her.
“I mean it, Jake, I don’t want to go,” she repeated. He shrugged again and that irritated the hell out of her.
“I heard you the first time, Violet, so don’t go, I’m not forcing you, go out with your friends. I’ll sleep in the spare room so you won’t wake me up when you come in later,” he said and she fumed.
“Fine, I’ll go with you but you’re going to owe me big time for this,” Violet snapped. He sighed.
“Fine, but don’t do me any favors, I’m not forcing you to go,” he said firmly and they walked over to his parents house barely talking. Once they got there though, she was all sweetness and nice, a completely different woman and he wondered if she didn’t think he wouldn’t notice the change and wonder about it. She was as fake as her boobs.
Then all of the kids arrived, all of them so tall and stunning, dressed up and the boys so handsome and the girls very beautiful and Violet felt like a shrimp standing next to them. She was only five foot four inches high and three inches higher in heels and Cassie and Emma were both five feet nine and both had the nerve to wear three inch heels making them six feet tall, they were outrageous. All of the men were six feet and taller and even Sissy was five seven and then had the nerve to wear two inch heels. Violet was the shortest person in the room and usually she felt petite and feminine but surrounded by these stunning creatures she just felt short.
“Violet, I love your suit; did you wear that to work today?” Cassie asked sweetly, scoring a point and Violet flushed, she should have changed her clothes, she thought but she smiled sweetly instead.
“Yes I did, Jake rushed me over here so fast I didn’t have time to change, he wanted to see his kids, you never come to the house and he misses you all so much,” she said and scored her own point. All the kids smiled but instantly felt guilty, they were over at Harry’s all the time but avoided Jake’s simply because they all hated Violet. Jackson served his sisters their drinks and everyone talked until Sissy declared dinner was served.
Seated at the dinner table Violet didn’t feel like such a shrimp and easily handled the conversation. They all talked about their stores and laughed and had a good time and then Jackson nudged his brother and Adam laughed and they all looked at him. He turned to look at his granddad who smiled at him.
“You would love this, Granddad,” he informed him. Dr. Jackson nodded. Adam continued. “Dr. George sent us all emails the other day inviting us to come down to the alterian hospital because he had told them about Dolphins and they wanted to see some for themselves.” Sissy gasped.
“You didn’t go down did you?” she asked him. Adam grinned.
“Why not, Harry went and Danny but Jackson, Sean and Ryan decided that three were enough and they didn’t go,” he told them. Dr. Jackson nodded and wagged his finger at him.
“Your father should have taken you boys to that hospital, that was wrong,” he declared. Jackson shook his head.
“Dad wanted to get a close look at Dr. Bentley and judge for himself how dangerous the man really was,” he informed them. Jake nodded. Violet giggled.
“I guess old Harry doesn’t trust the judgment of Dr. George and the others, I wonder why,” she cooed. All the kids smiled at them. Danny grinned and looked smug.
“Dad learned an interesting thing when they did the scan of him,” he told them. Violet sighed and sipped her wine.
“We’re really not interesting in what Harry learned Danny,” she said sweetly. Sissy shook her head and patted her grandson’s hand; he was seated at her right.
“Go on with your story, angel, I’d like to know what Harry learned,” she said and glared at Violet who sighed and sipped her wine again. Jake grinned and reached for his. Danny continued.
“When the doctors did their scan of Harry’s ovary they found out that his five eggs had grown back,” he informed them. The four Jacksons looked confused.
“Grown back, what the hell does that mean?” Dr. Jackson snapped. Jackson laughed and picked up his wine and sipped it.
“It means, Granddad, that Harry can have five more children, he’s not barren,” he told them. The two women gasped and Jake’s hand which had been reaching for his wine slipped and the glass tipped over the crashed into the butter dish and smashed spilling wine all over the tablecloth.
“Oh, shit, Mom, I’m sorry, your new tablecloth,” he apologized. She stood up and reached for the kitchen towel.
“Its okay, Son, just wipe it up,” she said. “Danny, get some club soda,” she instructed. Dr. Jackson’s face got red.
“Jake, you idiot boy, look at what you’ve done, you careless boy, you’ve ruined your mother’s best tablecloth, why don’t you watch what you’re doing?” he shouted. Cassie stood up.
“Don’t you call my father an idiot boy, you stupid old man, who the hell do you think you are?” she yelled to defend her father. Dr. Jackson stood up.
“Who the hell do you think you are calling me stupid, who invited you anyway, you’re not really my grandchild, you’re Harry’s and that bird women’s kid,” he yelled. Adam stood up.
“Don’t you dare talk to my twin sister like that, you stupid old man, she’s right you are stupid,” he yelled. Sissy sighed. Violet sipped her wine and giggled. This night was turning out to be fun after all, she loved it when the old man went crazy and he and the kids fought. Then she noticed that Danny was looking at her with this smug look on his face and wondered; what the hell did he have to look so smug about? She turned to her husband who was staring off into space and not joining in on the yelling like he usually did and thought, what the hell is wrong with him? But Sissy settled everyone down and they resumed their dinner and had dessert and everyone was fine.
“I have a headache, I’m taking an aspirin and sleeping in the spare room,” Jake announced as soon as they walked in the door. Violet was humming and very excited from the fight. She didn’t pay him any attention and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Let’s get in the hot tub, honey, and then smoke some grass and make love all night long,” she said and he pulled away from her and glared at her.
“Didn’t you hear what I just said, Violet, for God’s sake woman, I have a damned headache from all that shouting and yelling at my folks, I’m taking an aspirin and lying down,” he said firmly and walked towards the spare room. She looked amazed.
“But I’m horny, what am I supposed to do?” she called out. He turned around at the door.
“Use your vibrator, you’ve got several. Go see David and Gloria or call the Bird Cage and have them send over a stud. I’m your husband not a piece of meat,” he told her and walked in the room and closed the door and she heard the click of the lock.
“Go to hell, you son-of-a-bitch,” she yelled and threw her shoes at the door. He heard it and sighed.
“I’m already there,” Jake muttered and walked to the window and opened it. He sat on the chair and stared off into the night. Harry’s eggs came back, that was so wonderful he thought and he was so happy for him. He knew how empty the other man had felt when he couldn’t have anymore children and how useless he had felt for years. Now he could have children again so he must feel like a million bucks. Jake sighed and took off his clothes and sat on the bed and stared at the smiling face of Harry and his dogs.
“Oh, God, how did I fuck up my life so badly?” he asked himself and he knew exactly how it had happened. He had done it to himself and he had no one by himself to blame. It was his own fault. He had let himself be duped by Violet and her sweet smiles and her lies and followed her down the road to hell. Living with her was a hell he felt he deserved but he was going to get out of here soon, maybe by the end of the year. Her old house, the one she and Susie had lived in was empty and Jake thought that would do him just fine and it would be worth half of his sixty-four million dollars to get rid of her and she could keep the beach house, this house and the store if she wanted them. Just as long as he got that house and visitation with his dogs, that’s all he wanted. And a second chance with Harry if that was possible. If not, then he was going to look around for another man to love, fuck these women and their nasty lying selves, he was sick of women.
And Harry was going to have children with another man. That hurt so bad Jake felt his stomach tense and it actually ached. The thought of another man doing that with Harry; making love in that special way and Harry wrapping his arms around another man’s neck and whispering in his ears, “Give me a baby, I want a son.” Jake wanted to die; it hurt so badly. He touched his cheeks and felt moisture and realized that he was crying and wondered if this was how Harry had cried when he left him. Jake buried his face in the pillow and cried deep silent sobs so Violet couldn’t hear. Harry was going to have babies with some other man; it was almost too much to bear.

Summer ended and it was time for the harvest. Harry went to the orchard to pick fruit and was surprised to find alterians picking the fruit. His mothers and the others weren’t surprised. They told him about Max and Charles selling permits to pick fruit. Harry informed all the alterians they had to leave the orchard until the humans were finished and they all got angry but left. He marched to City Hall and yelled at Charles and Max.
“God damn-it, you’re not allowed to sell our fruit to the alterians, that’s our fruit and not theirs, who the hell do you think you are?” he shouted. Max shrugged.
“No one but a few pick that fruit and most of it rots on the ground, why shouldn’t we sell our share to the alterians and make a profit?” Charles informed him smugly. Harry sighed.
“Fine, they can pick it, but not until after we pick what we need first, no alterians until we leave the orchards and I mean it, if we see one alterian before we finish, I’m coming back here and shoving an apple right up both of your asses,” he declared and they both nodded. He marched out of City Hall and went back to the orchard. Jan laughed when he told them what he said.
Once all the food was harvested, Harry made all of his soups and sauces and things were settled in for the winter. He was in such a good mood he accepted Chan’s invitation to the Halloween party they were throwing at the Center and sewed himself a costume. Chan laughed when he saw Harry’s costume. He held the car door open and bowed.
“Your Highness, your chariot has arrived,” he panned and Harry lifted his scepter and pretended to knight him.
“Arise, Sir Chan, and prepare to dance the night away, King Harry has his dancing shoes on,” he declared and they both laughed. Harry, of course, brought too much food and they loaded it up.
At the Center everyone gushed at Harry’s costume and they all had a good laugh calling him King Harry and teasing him. Jake and Violet came with the others from their farm dressed as Lancelot and Guinevere. They made a striking couple. He spied Harry immediately and laughed.
“Look over there, its King Harry, the King of Bargains,” he retorted and everyone laughed. Max snorted.
“Don’t you mean the King of the Freaks,” he declared and they all laughed again. Jake sighed. You would have thought that after a hundred and forty some years they would have found someone else to hate but they continued to pick on poor Harry. He ignored them as he usually did and headed for the bar. Violet frowned at him.
“Don’t get too drunk, Jake, I want you to be able to perform later,” she told him. He glared at her and ignored her as usual too. Perform, what the hell was he, a trained seal, he thought. He met Sean at the bar and they laughed because they were both knights.
“I’m Lancelot who are you?” he asked his son.
“I’m Galahad and Georgie is Lancelot too, we’re gay Knights of the Round Table,” Sean told him and they both laughed. They turned around to see Harry dancing with Chan. Both men didn’t like that.
“I don’t know what dad sees in that sleaze ball,” Sean muttered. Jake grinned. So his kids didn’t like Chan; that was good. Cassie walked up to them and waved her head to the dancing couple.
“I set dad up with a really nice man and he ends up with that creep,” she said and Jake grinned and kissed her cheek.
“Who did you set dad up with?” Sean asked.
“Eric Jones, why are you shaking your head?” she asked her brother. He leaned closer so no one would hear their conversation. Jake leaned in so he could hear better.
“Eric pissed on dad’s feet and made him piss on his,” Sean told them. Cassie’s eyes got round and she shoved her brother. Jake laughed.
“No, he did not, you’re making that up,” she declared. Sean shook his head and crossed his heart.
“No, I am not; ask dad about it, he made them take a shower after they had sex because he didn’t want them taking pissy feet back to his nice sheets,” he informed them. They all laughed. Cassie giggled.
“Okay, now that sounds like something dad would do,” she said. “My God, just when you think you know someone.” Then she looked at Jake. “This is all your fault you know, if you’d just go home where you belong poor dad wouldn’t be forced to date freaks and weirdos like Chan and Eric Jones,” she told him. Jake felt like the breath had been knocked out of him.
“Your father wouldn’t take me back,” he said weakly. Sean put his arm around him and patted his back.
“Dad would take you back in a heart beat, Jake, just go home and stop being miserable with Violet and tell Harry you still love him,” he advised. Then Violet walked up and took her drink from Jake’s hand.
“If I waited for you to bring this to me, I’d die of thirst,” she said and looked at his two kids. “Don’t you two look nice, Cassie honey, didn’t you wear that same costume three or four years ago?” she asked. Cassie rolled her eyes.
“No, I didn’t, Violet, but thanks for asking, bye, Jake, see you later and Sean was right, you should do what he said,” she said firmly and kissed his cheek. He nodded and went back to his side of the room. Violet looked at him.
“What did Sean advise you to do?” she asked suspiciously. He shrugged.
“He thinks maybe he can heal you of your allergic reaction to dogs so I can have my dogs back,” he told her. She frowned.
“I’ve never heard of that, I don’t like your kids playing around with my body like that, I don’t think that’s such a good idea, sweetie,” she said sweetly and he almost laughed. He had figured out years ago that she wasn’t allergic to dogs; she just didn’t want his big dogs in her precious house. She was around David and Gloria’s little dog all the time and didn’t sneeze or sniffle once, she was as fake as her boobs and he was getting so tired of her.
Harry woke up the next morning next to Chan and couldn’t sleep so got out of bed and walked into the kitchen. It was a little too early to milk the cows but he turned on the coffeemaker and eyed a bowl of very ripe bananas and thought to himself, what the heck. He could not make banana nut bread for the rest of his life just because Jake wasn’t here to eat it; so he got out the bowls and soon had four loaves baking in the oven.
“What are you doing up so early, come back to bed,” Chan spoke from the doorway. Harry smiled as he opened the oven door and peeked in.
“These are almost done, why don’t you run and milk the cow and we can have fresh milk to go with our banana nut bread,” he suggested with a sly look that Chan had grown to love. He grinned and rushed for his pants. He hummed all the way to the barn. He was milking Bessie when Danny walked in and saw him. He paused and looked around and then said hello and began to milk his cow Kelly. Chan finished and stopped by to talk with him.
“Your father is so wonderful, Danny, you wouldn’t believe what he did this morning,” he bragged. Danny rolled his eyes.
“Chan, I don’t need to hear about my Dad’s sexual prowess,” he declared. Chan laughed and he patted the other man on his shoulder.
“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” he said laughing. “No, he did something wonderful. He sneaked out of bed this morning and made me banana nut bread, isn’t that wonderful for him to do, he’s such a wonderful man. I’m so lucky to have him in my life. See you later, we are going to have some with fresh milk and go back to bed,” he said with a leer. Then he laughed and whistled out of the barn leaving Danny staring at his back wearing a horrified look. He finished his milking and rushed into the house.
Martin looked at his husband and noticed at once the panicked expression on his handsome face. He stood up and took the pail from him.
“Danny, what’s wrong?” he asked. Danny frowned and rushed to the phone. He quickly dialed Emma’s number and she picked up on the fifth ring. They could see her lying in bed, her long blonde hair all tossed and sexy looking. When she saw her brother she frowned.
“Someone had better be dead or bleeding, its five-forty-five, for Christ’s sake, Danny,” she muttered. He nodded.
“Guess who was in the barn milking Dad’s cow this morning?” he asked in lieu of a greeting. She frowned and quickly sat up exposing her beautiful body and gasping when she realized this and wrapping a sheet around her. DJ laughed and sat up, they could see him in the background.
“Who?” she demanded to know.
“Chan,” Danny informed her. Then he continued. “And guess what Dad was doing in the kitchen while Chan was milking the cow?” he asked. She shook her head.
“What was he doing?” she asked.
“Taking four loaves of banana nut bread out of the oven, that’s what he was doing. Dad made banana nut bread for that sleazy bastard,” Danny’s voice rose almost hysterically. Emma gasped with shock.
“My God, no, he did not, we have to call Cassie, hold on,” she snapped and soon their sleepy sister was on the phone, yawing and looking at the clock.
“Christ, Emma, Danny do you have any idea what time it is,” she muttered.
“What’s so special about banana nut bread?” DJ asked and Cassie sat up.
“Who’s baking banana nut bread?” she yelled. Mike sat up.
“What’s banana nut bread?” he asked.
“Shut up, Mike,” the three siblings yelled at him. He threw his hands up.
“Sorry,” he muttered and put his head back down on the pillow. DJ laughed.
“Dad’s making banana nut bread and guess whose he’s making it for today,” Emma asked her sister. Cassie frowned.
“Who?” she asked weakly as if she was afraid to know the answer.
“Chan,” Danny told her. Cassie closed her eyes as if in pain.
“We have to call the others,” Emma said and the other two agreed.
“I’ll call Adam, you call Jackson, Danny you call the two boys, we’ll meet at Emma’s, Danny bring some donuts,” Cassie ordered and they all nodded.
“What’s so special about banana nut bread?” DJ asked when the fourteen were all together. Of course all of the partners of the seven siblings had to come to such an important meeting. The seven all giggled.
“We don’t really know but when we were growing up dad would get this look in his eyes and he would make four loaves of it and Jake would grin and they’d take two loaves of it into the bedroom and we wouldn’t see them for hours,” Jackson informed them. Sean laughed.
“Yeah and you’d always hear them yelling and shouting like they were killing each other and we knew they were having some wild crazy ass sex in there and all because of the damned banana nut bread,” he said. They all laughed. DJ grinned.
“A food fetish, I seem to remember this,” he declared. Emma smiled.
“Dad would always bake it for one of us as a special pick-me-up if he knew we were feeling low or down and it was always special,” she reminiscence. They all smiled.
“And now Harry’s making it for Chan, this can’t be a good thing,” Mike remarked and they all frowned.
“This is a very bad thing, dad can’t be serious about this guy, he isn’t his type, he’s not at all like Jake,” Danny protested. Martin took his hand.
“Maybe that’s the attraction, Harry might be turning to Chan because he doesn’t remind him of Jake at all,” he informed them. This made them all sad.
“What can we do?” Cassie asked. Adam snorted.
“We can march into Jake’s office and snatch his stupid ass and make him go to Harry’s and tell him how he really feels and beg his forgiveness and ask to come home, that’s what we can do,” he said. Jackson laughed.
“That’s a real good plan and after we do that, why don’t we sell him a bridge,” he taunted. Adam flushed.
“Well, do you have a better plan?” he asked sarcastically. Jackson sighed.
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t,” he admitted. They all looked at one another; no one had a better plan.
“Well, let’s not panic, no one’s done anything that we need to panic yet, let’s stay calm,” Martin said and they agreed that was the best solution for now.
For Thanksgiving, Harry decided to have his whole family over and there wasn’t enough room in his dining room for seven children, one husband, six boyfriends, and his mothers so he decided to have it in the main room at the Center. And, of course, word got out to all the kids that Harry was having Thanksgiving Dinner at the Center so everyone naturally wanted to come. Harry decided to have an old-fashion dinner and invited everyone, even Farm One and told them he would supply the turkeys if they supplied the rest. They all got excited and began planning their tables and he took his kids and the lesbians hunting.
They found the turkeys in the same spot they always found them and killed enough for three or four dinners. Everyone split up the extras and Harry passed out his famous recipe to his children and his mother finally got the secret recipe which made her enormously happy. They all cooked two birds and Harry cooked four and everyone made different stuffing so they’d have a variety to choose from. When the day arrived Harry instructed his son Jackson to deliver two of his birds to his dad’s table.
“Jackson, make sure your dad’s table gets two of my turkeys,” he told his son as they were handing out the birds. Jackson grinned and delivered the turkeys and big pans of stuffing with a grand gesture. Both Dr. Jackson and Jake eyed the brown birds with greedy eyes, they were both hungry. Violet made a face at them; she hated these family dinners and wanted to sit with David and Gloria who were stuck sitting with Dr. George and their family. Here she was stuck at this enormous table with all of the Jackson’s and Emery’s and bored out of her mind. She glanced over at Harry who was sitting at a big table with his children and wanted to kill the little faggot; this was all his fault. Then she heard Jackson announce the delivery of the turkeys.
“Here you go ladies and gentlemen, Harry’s delicious whiskey soaked turkey with cornbread stuffing,” he said and placed the items on the table. Both Dr. Jackson and Jake looked at each other and grinned.
“Cornbread stuffing, oh, my God, we haven’t had this in years,” Dr. Jackson exclaimed and he dipped the spoon in and began to pile it on his plate. Jake reached for the turkey. Sissy and Sarah laughed at them and Reverend Milo grinned. Violet turned to Jackson who was walking away.
“Jackson, hold on, we don’t want cornbread stuffing, we want the chestnut stuffing,” she called out but he just kept walking. Then she turned to complain to Jake but he was helping himself to the stuffing and it was too late to take it back. She fumed.
“I don’t want to eat Harry’s lousy stuffing, I want chestnut stuffing,” Violet informed the table. Sissy sighed, she hated when the younger girl became difficult.
“Harry makes the best turkey and stuffing we’ve ever tasted, Violet, why don’t you try it before you complain about it,” she suggested gently. Sarah nodded.
“Really, Violet, how can you complain about food you’ve never even tasted,” she said, “That’s plain silly,” she added. Violet wanted to stand up and start screaming. Her brother Ben grinned and winked at her and helped himself to a big serving of each. Everyone gushed about the food and Violet was out-voted. She picked at the turkey, passed up on the hated stuffing and ate mostly salad; she did have a figure to maintain.
“Oh, man, this is the best turkey we’ve had in years,” Jake said to his father who grinned and put his arm around him. The two men had been laughing and joking with each other through out the meal. All the men at the table had been talking and having a good time.
Across the room Harry saw all of the Jackson and Emery men smiling and having a good time and saw Jake interacting with his dad and it finally hit him; Jake was happy with his life. He had moved on with his life and he was never coming home to him. Harry had been living in a fantasy world if he expected that door bell to ring and open the door to see Jake standing on the porch with his suitcase in his hand begging for his forgiveness and asking to come home. It was never going to happen. Jake had his new life with his wife and it was time for Harry to make a new life without him. A tear fell from his eye and down his cheek and he turned his head so no one would see it. Emma did just as she had seen her dad watching Jake from across the room and she turned around to see the happy laughing table and felt sorry for Harry. Then Harry smiled and the moment was over.
A few days later Harry called his kids into his office at the store and announced that he had to fly to Mykonos for a week but that he would be back, there was something there that he had to do. They were all curious but left the room to only Danny who they were sure would get the reason out of him and tell them. Harry laughed at their obvious ploy and was honest with his son.
“Seeing your dad at Thanksgiving, Danny, made me realize that he’s happy with his life, he’s moved on and I haven’t yet. I’m still stuck here waiting for him to come home to me and that’s never going to happen. I’ve finally realized that, it’s taken thirty years but it’s finally sunk in, Jake is never coming home and its time for me to make a new life for myself,” he explained. Danny nodded. Harry continued.
“When I was on Mykonos I did a few sculptures of Jake, more than a few I did hundreds, trying to work his memory out of my system. Before I can move on, I need to go there and destroy all of those statues so that no one will ever see how really pathetic I was. It will be a sort of cleansing of my soul and once I do that, then Jake Jackson will be truly out of my system and I will be ready to love again,” he said firmly. Danny hugged him.
“You deserve to be happy, Dad, you truly do,” he whispered. Harry nodded.
“Thanks, Son, I’ll be leaving on Sunday morning and I’ll come back the next Sunday morning, promise,” he said. Danny nodded.
“Martin and I can come with you,” he offered. Harry shook his head.
“Nah, I think I can do this on my own,” he told him. Danny nodded. Then Harry grinned. “Now go out and tell your brothers and sisters, they’re probably hiding down the hall waiting for you,” he teased and they both laughed.
Harry went home and thought about it and knew it was a good idea. Then the phone rang and it was Chan asking him to dinner Saturday night.
“I’m flying to Mykonos Sunday, Chan, I don’t think I’m up for dinner the night before,” he told him. Chan laughed.
“Why don’t I come to dinner, sleep over and fly to Mykonos with you, we will have a wonderful time, moonlight walks on the shore, swimming in the lake, you don’t want to be alone do you?” he asked softly and suddenly Harry really didn’t want to be alone.
“No, you’re right, why don’t you come with me,” he offered and Chan was delighted. They made arrangements for him to come to dinner at six and Harry hung up. This might be fun. Chan was adequate in bed but he was fun to be with and he didn’t take a lot of concentration so Harry could smash Jake out of his life and deal with Chan at the same time.
Danny told his siblings what their dad had said and they all agreed it was bad news.
“Is it time for Adam’s plan yet?” Cassie asked half seriously. Emma giggled.
“Almost,” she joked, half seriously.
That Friday night they had a big sale and Emma had the jewelry counter, of course, because she was the expert on jewelry. She was surprised to see Chan walking up and greeted him as warmly as she could, after all, this was her big chance to find out all she could about his and her dad’s relationship and how it was going. She didn’t even have to pump him for information the man was boasting like mad.
“Emma, darling I have something special planned for your father and I need your help,” he said in his charming manner. She smiled and said she’d be willing to help of course. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar looking ring and showed it to her. She gasped when she realized what it was.
“That’s my dad’s wedding ring, where did you get that?” she asked in an angry tone. He laughed and leaned forward so no one would overhear them.
“I swiped it from his drawer, don’t worry, I’ll put it back tonight when I take him home,” he promised. She nodded. “I needed it for his ring size, I want to buy him a special ring today and you can help me pick it out,” he said. She showed him the rings they had but none of them suited him.
“I want a diamond, Emma, something that says; I love you, will you be mine?” he gushed. “Your father is taking me to Mykonos with him on Sunday and I want to ask him to marry me. Picture us on a blanket having a moonlight picnic and I hide the ring in a glass of champagne. Harry will be so surprised, it will be so wonderful, so romantic, how could he possible say no, he cannot,” Chan gushed on and on until she wanted to kill him but she helped him pick out a splendid round diamond men’s ring that she had cut herself and he wrote a check and she put it in a box and he left to take her dad home.
Then she rushed to find her siblings to tell them the news, it was the time to panic.
Harry let Chan follow him home and invited him in, the man insisted in coming in and he insisted on using the bathroom in the master bedroom saying that he thought he left his cufflinks in there. Harry could have told him he hadn’t because he had cleaned in there but he let him look because he wouldn’t have left if he hadn’t. He turned down the offer of sex because he wasn’t in the mood to do all the work tonight and he had a lot of house cleaning to do to prepare for their trip so Chan reluctantly left to come back the next night for dinner and to sleep over and Harry to his supreme relief was left alone to feed his animals, eat dinner and clean out his refrigerator which was his exciting plans for his Friday night.
Violet had exciting plans for Friday night too. David was throwing Gloria a birthday party and invited everyone to the Bird Cage which was closed to everyone except for them for the whole night. It was going to be the bash of the year and she was very excited. She rushed home from work and took a shower, shaving every part of her body that had to be shaved and put on a slinky dress. She laid out a tux for her husband and waited patiently for him to come home.
Jake had plans for his Friday night also. He and his Dad had a big fight about Dr. Jackson firing his assistant for the fifth time and this time the man was refusing to come back no matter how much money Jake threw at him. So Jake wanted nothing more than a cold beer, a hot pizza and his football game. He stopped at the liquor store and bought a six-pack of beer and the Pizza Hut which was now run by some alterians and bought a large with everything and drove home, happy as can be. His wife took one look at the pizza and the brown bag and screamed.
“God damn-it, Jake, you forgot about the party didn’t you?” Violet screeched as he set the pizza down on the table and put the beer in the fridge. He looked confused.
“What party, oh, don’t tell me we have another damned party to go to?” he said and she tapped her heels on the kitchen floor. She nodded.
“Yes we do, now I lain out your tux, hurry up and get ready, we want to get there before Gloria gets there,” she gushed and Jake frowned.
“This is a party for Gloria, didn’t we already have a party for Gloria?” he asked suspiciously. She laughed.
“What’s the big deal, David is throwing this one at the Bird Cage, they’ve closed the whole place down just for us and everyone will be there and they’ll be lots of go-go boys and drinks and dancing just for us, won’t that be fun,” Violet’s eyes were all gleaming. He shook his head and headed for the bathroom and started to get undressed. She laughed thinking that he was going along with her plan. When he stepped into jeans and pulled on an old sweat shirt she got worried.
“What the hell are you putting that old stuff on for, Jake, I swear if you don’t put your tux on right now, I’m leaving without you,” she yelled. He grinned and reached for his slippers.
“Good, go without me, I’m staying here with my pizza and my beer and I’m watching the football game on my view-screen and that’s final,” Jake declared and she screamed.
“God-damned you, Jake Jackson, I don’t know why Harry put up with you for ninety-three years if this is the way you behaved! God knows why I put up with you,” she shouted. He grinned and walked into the kitchen. She stomped after him. He got out a beer and opened it and took the pizza box into the other room and sat in his chair and turned on the view-screen and put on the game. She stared at him for the longest time and he ignored her so she turned around and slammed the door on her way out. He heard the car drive away and laughed.
“Maybe after the New Year, sugar, you won’t have to put up with me any longer,” he declared to the empty room and laughed. He took a big bite of pizza and settled in to watch the game.
Across town his kids decided that Adam’s plan was their only solution so they got into two cars and raced over to Jake and Violet’s house to kidnap their dad.
“What will we do if Violet’s home?” Cassie asked. Sean snorted.
“You and Emma can sit on the bitch,” he told her. She grinned, she liked that idea. They pulled to a stop in the driveway.
“Her car isn’t her, she’s not home. Emma frowned and looked disappointed.
“Let me do the talking, Emma, don’t blurt things out like you tend to do,” Jackson warned her. She glared at him.
“I won’t don’t worry,” she said sweetly.
Jake was on his third slice was the doorbell rang. He frowned and was going to ignore it when it kept ringing and with a sigh he got up and opened the door. With surprise all of his kids marched in the room.
“Kids, this is a wonderful surprise, do you want some pizza, I’m watching the game, we can all watch it,” he said cheerfully. They all looked serious and he was suddenly afraid. Emma spoke suddenly.
“Dad’s getting married,” she said and Jake felt like someone had punched him in the gut. He gasped and almost fell to the floor and would have if Jackson and Adam hadn’t reached out and caught him. They helped him to his chair. He looked at all of them with disbelief.
“Harry’s getting married?” he asked weakly. Emma nodded but the others shook their heads. Jackson sighed and looked at his twin.
“Emma, I thought I told you not to blurt it out like that,” he said with aspiration. “Besides it’s not true,” he stated. Jake saw red and he jumped out of his chair and waved his finger at his daughter.
“Emma Rose, how could you say that to me, you scared me half-to-death. I ought to put you over my knee and spank you,” he shouted. Cassie giggled but Emma just shrugged.
“It could be true after this weekend, Chan did buy an engagement ring and he’s going to give it to dad this week,” she informed him. Jake felt his knees go weak again and had to sit down. He looked at all of his kids.
“Chan bought an engagement ring for Harry?” he asked and they all nodded. He felt sick to his stomach. Jackson knelt down beside him.
“Jake, do you still love Harry?” he asked him firmly. Jake nodded.
“Do you love Violet and want to stay married to her?” Jackson then asked. Jake shook his head.
“I haven’t loved Violet for twenty years or more,” he confessed. All of his kids wanted to hit him.
“Then why do you stayed married to her?” Danny demanded. Jake shrugged.
“Harry was in Mykonos and I guessed I felt I deserved living in this hell for what I did to him,” he told them. They all sighed and felt sorry for him. Danny knelt on his other side.
“Harry’s leaving for Mykonos on Sunday, Jake, you’ve got to go to him tonight and beg him to forgive you and ask him to let you come home. I know he still loves you and I know he will but this is your last chance. Once he comes back from Mykonos he’ll be over you and it’s going to be a lot harder for you to win him back,” he explained. Jake shook his head.
“I don’t deserve him back,” he said. Jackson shook his head.
“Yes, you do, Dad, you and dad belong together, you both love each other and true love belongs together. Now, stop being a coward and go fight for the man you love,” he shouted the last part and Jake finally got that this was his last chance. He jumped to his feet.
“You’re right, Harry and I belong together, we always have, that was no God-damned static electricity, that was love at first sight,” he shouted and they all cheered. Jake raced to the door but Adam blocked it. Jake looked confused. Emma took his hand.
“Don’t you think you ought to change your clothes and put on some shoes first, Jake, you look like shit,” she declared and everyone laughed. They led him to the bedroom where they saw his tux laid out.
“Were you going somewhere tonight?” Sean asked and Jake snorted.
“Another one of David and Gloria’s boring as shit sex parties,” he told them. They all laughing knowing and he gave them strange looks. Emma grinned.
“We’re all big boys and girls, we’ve been to her parties and you’re right, after the first one or two, they tend to get boring,” she stated and they all laughed. They thought it odd that most of his clothes were in the other bedroom but no one commented on it. They led him out to the car and rushed over to Harry’s. He was really nervous as he walked up the familiar porch.
“Are you kids really sure about this, I mean, what if he says no, I’m going to look foolish,” Jake stammered. Jackson patted his shoulder.
“You won’t look foolish, Jake, you’re going to be fine,” he assured him. They led him into the house and they could hear water running in the kitchen.
“Dad, are you in the kitchen?” Jackson called out.
“Yeah, I’m in here, come on in, don’t mind the mess, I’m cleaning out the fridge,” Harry called out. He was standing at the sink washing out some bowls. He heard the sound of many feet and wondered who was with Jackson.
“I’ve brought you a visitor,” Jackson said. Harry sighed.
“Oh, Jackson, I wished you would have called first, my feet are bare and my hair looks a mess, I’m,” he said and turned around to see Jake standing there surrounding by all of their children. “Jake, I didn’t, I mean, hello, how are you?” Harry asked as politely as he could with his heart racing a million miles an hour. All of his kids were wearing strange hopeful smiles. Jake stepped forward and gave him a tentative smile.
“Hi, Harry, babe, you look great to me, your hair looks fine,” he said and Harry’s hand went up to his hair which he knew must be all sweaty and messy. For some reason he felt like crying and laughing at the same time. Jake Jackson was in his kitchen.
“What are you doing here, Jake?” he asked softly instead. Jake nodded.
“I’m here to tell you that I’m sorry, Harry, for everything that I said the last time we were together here,” he said and Harry nodded. Jake continued.
“You were right, Harry, Violet never loved me, she was only playing a trick on me; she wanted to take me away from you to hurt you, to get revenge on you for not marrying her years ago. She never ever intended to have children with me, she just used me to get back at you and I was stupid enough to fall for it,” he said. Harry didn’t say anything he just nodded. Then Jake continued.
“I was wrong, Harry, what I did to you was wrong,” he said firmly. “I could see that you were unhappy and bored just like I was unhappy and bored years ago when you helped me become a Veterinarian and made up that study program for me. I should have done the same thing for you but I was always used to you being the strong one that when you weren’t strong I didn’t know what to do and I fell apart and let you fall apart and that was wrong,” he explained. “I’m so sorry, Harry, please forgive me. If you give me another chance I’d do anything in the world to make it up to you if you would just let me come home. I want to come home, Harry, I still love you so much and I need you so much, please, Harry, let me come home.”
“You’d do anything to make it up to me?” Harry asked softly. Jake nodded. Harry tilted his head sideways like he always did when he was thinking and all of the kids held their breaths. Then he walked to the refrigerator and opened the door. He pulled out a big orange bowl and set it on the table before Jake. He turned to Cassie.
“Cassie, darling; open that drawer and get a big spoon for your dad would you please,” he asked and curious, she did and carried it over. Jake took it and then Harry opened the lid of the bowl to reveal its contents. All the kids gasped and choked back laughter as they saw it contained green cottage cheese; they all laughingly referred to as ca-ca. Harry nodded to Jake.
“You said you’d do anything,” he reminded him. Jake nodded and he put the spoon in the bowl and pulled out a heaping spoonful and popped it into his mouth. He tried vainly to swallow it whole but he couldn’t so he was forced to chew it trying valiantly not to make a face. All of the boys snickered but Harry glared at them and they stopped and coughed instead. Both girls held their hands to their mouths to hide their grins. When Jake finished his first bite, he bravely went for his second, his gaze never leaving Harry’s. When the spoon reached his mouth Harry’s hand reached up to stop it.
“You’d really eat that whole bowl of ca-ca just for me, honey?” he whispered and tears came to his eyes. Jake nodded.
“I’d do anything, babe, if you’d forgive me and let me come home,” he said firmly.
“You broke my heart when you left me, I couldn’t do that again,” Harry told him. Jake put down the spoon and reached for his love. Harry’s arms came up to his shoulders and held on tight. Jake’s hand went around his waist.
“I know, babe, I promise, I’ll never do that again,” he swore. Harry nodded.
“Now would be a good time to kiss me,” he whispered and Jake’s mouth came down and they kissed. All the kids grinned as the kiss deepened. The kiss went on and on and they all smiled as it got more passionate. Then it seemed as if the old folks had forgotten that they had an audience and they began to pull at each other’s clothes and the kids beat a hasty retreat. Danny rushed back into the kitchen and grabbed the bowl and spoon. Cassie rolled her eyes.
“Just like a man to think of his stomach at a time like this,” she complained. Danny grinned.
“Hey, this is really good ca-ca,” he insisted. All the kids laughed and they locked the door behind them.
When they reached the bed in the bedroom Jake looked at it and hesitated, Harry immediately knew what he was thinking.
“The spare room,” he said and they rushed into the other room that used to be Fran’s old room. They fell on the bed and grabbed out for one another and it was like the first time they had made love. They explored each other’s body like they had never felt them before and used only their hands and mouths the first time and it was wonderful. Harry laughed and felt complete. Jake laughed and felt like a real man, this is where he belonged and who he belonged with; there was no doubt in his mind.
The second time was slower more tender and they both did things that they knew the other liked. Jake nuzzled Harry’s neck and drove him wild licking and sucking on his perfectly round nipples and Harry made Jake insane by scratching the inside of his thighs with his fingernails. It was the best sex either one of them had had in years and they collapsed on the bed and grinned and Jake felt like singing when he saw that glazed look in his love’s purple eyes. He wrapped his arms around him and held him as close as he could and wished that he could crawl inside Harry and spend the next thirty thousand years there.
“Harry, I love you so much, I swear, babe, I’m never leaving you again,” Jake whispered. Harry smiled and traced those lips he loved so much.
“Good because the next time you tell me you’re leaving me, I’m going to knock you over your head and tie you to the bed and make love to you until you change your mind,” he warned him. Jake laughed and kissed him hard.
“You have my permission to do that,” he said and they kissed again. They kissed all night and talked and laughed and Jake looked around about four in the morning and realized something was missing.
“Harry, where are Gertie and Bo?” he asked. Harry giggled.
“There at my mom’s, Mom is trying to mate Bo with one of those yum-yum dogs,” he explained. Jake nodded.
“That explains why Bo is there, by why is Gertie there?” he wondered. Harry laughed softly.
“You know we can’t separate the dogs, honey, they’ve been together too long,” he said and Jake nodded. “Don’t worry, we’ll go get them in the morning and take them for a run on the beach, they’ll love that,” Harry said. Jake grinned and patted his thick belly.
“I need a run on the beach,” he declared then he frowned. “Its November, we can’t run on the beach in November.” Harry giggled.
“So we’ll fly to Hawaii and run, silly goose,” he said and Jake laughed and they made love again and fell asleep.
The next morning Danny milked the cow and brought the milk in and quietly sneaked out and the two lovers didn’t wake up until after nine which made them laugh. Then Harry made a big breakfast and they drove down to his mother’s for the dog. Jake looked curiously at the spray bottle of cleaner and rag that the other man carried. Harry laughed.
“You know Bo’s going to be so happy to see you that he’ll pee himself,” he gently reminded him of the dog’s habit. Jake grinned and kissed him.
“Oh, yeah, the silly dog,” he said and Harry rang the doorbell. Barb opened the door and gasped with surprise.
“It’s Harry and Jake, oh, my God, its Harry and Jake together again,” she yelled and the other three women of the house came running and saw their happy faces. The two men entered the house and Kate frowned when she saw the cleaner her son was carrying. She pointed towards the sliding glass doors that led to the outside.
“They’re in the backyard, greet them outside, I won’t have that dog peeing on my carpets,” she declared and they walked over and walked outside. Jake could see red and gold over by the back fence and grinned.
“Gertie, Bo, come here guys,” he shouted and two flashes raced towards him at lightening speed. They both crashed into him and knocked him to his knees both of them whining and crying excitingly and licking and jumping all over him. And Bo, of course, got so excited he did pee himself but he did it on the grass and a little on Jake’s jeans but the man didn’t care, he was so happy, he felt like singing.
“Gertie, Bo, oh man I love you, I love you, girl, look at you, you are so beautiful, I love you, Bo, you’re the man, yes, you are,” he kept cooing over and over as they licked him and whined. It was a love fest that continued for a half an hour. Kate watched with amusement.
“You do know that if you ever leave them again, they’ll die of a broken heart,” she informed him. Jake shook his head and pulled Harry down to join in on the fun. He kissed him hard.
“Oh, no, I’m not going anywhere ever again, this is where I belong with Harry and my dogs,” Jake said firmly. “Isn’t that right, Gertie, right, Bo, oh, I love you too,” he gushed and Harry smiled and hugged his man.
They took Daisy home with them too and the cow looked happy to see Jake too but then Harry was so happy he wanted everyone to be happy. When they put her in the barn with Bessie it actually looked liked the two cows were saying hello. Harry giggled.
“Think of all the barnyard gossip they have to share now,” he declared and Jake grinned. They loaded up the Elizabeth and headed for Hawaii. Jake had to sit in the backseat with the dogs; they didn’t want to let him out of their sight. Harry giggled and they held hands the whole flight.
When he landed in Hawaii, three figures raced down the ramp, Jake and the dogs raced across the sand and down to the shore, Jake pulling off his clothes as he ran. Harry followed at a slower pace and picked them up and removed his. Then he raced and joined them and all four splashed in the surf and had the best time. Jake ran out of breath quicker but he knew that with morning runs he would soon be back in shape. He grabbed Harry and spun him around.
“Let’s come every morning and run,” he said and Harry nodded.
“Okay, honey, we will,” he promised. They took their blanket to the waterfall and swam in the lake and made love in the water, Harry’s purple eyes half-closed and all sexy slanty and driving Jake wild. He felt like a crazy idiot to have left someone so wonderful for that fake booby Violet. It must have shown on his face because Harry laughed and hugged him.
“Let’s not worry about past mistakes and concentrate on being happy now, Jake, we can’t change the past so there’s no since in dragging it behind us like a big ball and chain, let’s just make each other happy now,” he said and Jake kissed him.
“I love you, babe, you’re right, I can’t say I’m sorry enough, so I’ll just try my best to make it up to you,” he promised and Harry kissed him hard and they made love again.
“You know your dad is probably going to be pissed and fire you,” Harry said later while they were eating the food he had packed. Jake shrugged.
“I’m getting sick of doing my Dad’s paperwork anyway, you wouldn’t happen to have a spare clinic over in Sherwood would you?” he asked and Harry grinned.
“I do, you know I do, and I was thinking, what about if we open a half Veterinarian clinic on one side for you and a holistic healing clinic on the other side for me, that way we can work together too,” Harry suggested. Jake grinned and kissed him.
“That’s a wonderful idea, babe, that way you can protect me from large breasted receptionists,” he teased and they both laughed. Then Harry looked at Jake’s watch and gasped.
“Oh, Lord, honey; I have to get home, I have a date,” he said and Jake looked hurt. Harry laughed.
“I’m going to cancel it, of course,” he assured him. Jake laughed and kissed him.
“Of course, you are, babe, and I’ve got to go and get my stuff from Violet’s house and tell her I’m divorcing her to remarry you. We are getting married again aren’t we?” he asked, suddenly worried. Harry grinned.
“You bet your sweet ass we are,” he declared and Jake was relieved. They gathered everything up and flew home. Harry called the kids to come over and help their dad move his stuff and they all got trash bags and a vegetable bin for the gold and drove off. Harry set the table and began cooking and waited for Chan. He was going to call but decided that it was something that had to be done in person.
Violet got home from the party around ten the next morning, she had gone home around four a.m. with David and Gloria and had had the time of her life. Everyone had been disappointed that their black stud hadn’t shown up especially Max who had been looking forward to a good hard one but he settled for a go-go boy instead. She walked in the house determined to have it out with Jake and lay down the law but found the house empty. That pissed her off since his car was in the driveway.
“He’s probably over at his mom’s begging her to feed him,” she muttered and called over there. But to her surprise he wasn’t there and hadn’t been all morning. So she called his kids one by one and all of them swore they hadn’t seen or heard from him. That sounded suspicious but she hung up and looked around the house for clues on where he could have gone but found nothing out of the ordinary. She fumed all day and got worried and called Carl who informed her that a missing person report couldn’t be filed until he had been missing for twenty-four hours and it had only been seven. She hung up on him and called his mom and told her he was missing. Sissy said he was probably at the clinic and why didn’t she try there. Violet called there and didn’t get an answer so she drove over there and banged on the doors, nothing, not an answer. She rushed home and found six strange cars in her driveway and had to park on the street which pissed her off. She rushed into her house and there was Jake with all of his kids, the same kids who swore that they hadn’t seen or heard from him. She started yelling immediately.
“You lying little bitch, you said you hadn’t seen your dad and here you are with him,” she swore at Cassie who just shrugged. Jake smiled at his wife who glared at him.
“Dad, are any of these movies yours?” Emma asked and Jake nodded.
“All of the movies and CD’s are mine, Violet doesn’t watch the view-screen or listen to music,” he told her and Emma began stacking them into a box. Violet watched and was confused. The boys came from the hallway carrying armfuls of clothes.
“We’re not taking the hangers, dad won’t like that cheap crap in his closet,” Sean informed Jake cheerfully. Jake grinned and nodded. They walked past Violet without saying a word. She turned to her husband and glared at him.
“What the hell is going on here, Jake, what are your kids doing with your clothes?” she yelled. He smiled at her.
“They’re helping me pack my things Violet, I’m leaving you and I’m going back to Harry. I love him, I don’t love you and he’s forgiven me and we’re getting married again,” he informed her in a very smug tone and she gasped with shock. Jackson and Adam came up from the basement with a vegetable bin that was covered with a tarp.
“We counted it and there was sixty-four million just like you said,” Jackson said. “We took thirty-two and left thirty-two so that’s fifty-fifty,” he added. He looked at Violet. “Hello, Violet, how are you today?” he asked politely. She nodded and watched as they rolled the bin past her. Jake took her hand and led her to the basement to show her the hidden room where he had kept the gold. She had wondered for thirty years where he hid his gold and now when he was leaving he was finally telling her.
“Jake, you just can’t do it like this, you just can’t come in here after thirty years of marriage and announce out of the blue that you’re leaving me,” she said and grabbed his arm. “That’s not fair, honey; please let’s talk about this, I know, let’s go and see my Dad and we can discuss this. He’ll help you see your true self; you’re not gay like Harry is; you’re just feeling lost and confused.” Jake laughed and pulled her hands off of his arm.
“Violet, for the first time in years I’m seeing clearly, there’s nothing wrong with me and I am like Harry, I’m gay and there’s nothing wrong with being gay. And for your information, I’m doing to you the exact thing I did to Harry and it wasn’t fair to him and I’m really sorry, Violet, I truly am because its not fair to you,” he told her softly. “But what you did to me and Harry wasn’t fair either; you were never in love with me; that was all an act. You pretended to be in love with me so that you could steal me away from Harry and hurt him, and it worked. Together you and I hurt that precious man more than anyone should have been hurt and I’m going to spend the next thirty thousand years of my life trying to make that up to him. You can do whatever you want, but I love Harry and he loves me and we’re going to get married and have more Dolphins and daughters and live happily ever fucking after.” All the kids cheered and clapped while she looked stunned.
“You’ll never marry, Harry, Jake because I’ll never give you a divorce, never,” Violet screamed as he walked out the door and gently closed it behind him. She threw her shoes at the door and cried. Then she walked over to his house to cry for his parents. They were shocked to find out that Jake had left her to go back to Harry and was planning on having more children with him.
“God damn-it Violet, this is all your fault, if you had given my son children he never would have left you for that fishy freak,” Dr. Jackson swore at her making her cry harder. Sissy glared at him.
“Hush now, Jackson, it’s not her fault, its Harry’s fault, that man’s got some kind of evil hold on our poor Jake and he can’t help himself. We need to get the Reverend to talk some sense into him before it’s too late and he makes the same dreadful mistake over again,” she insisted. When Violet got the email informing her to meet Jake at David’s office Monday morning at nine to discuss the divorce, Jake’s parents and hers agreed to go with her to lend their support and talk some sense into him. David suggested that they move the meeting to two in the afternoon so that their side had the advantage. They agreed and Jake agreed and the meeting was changed.
“What’s he doing here, we didn’t invite him,” Gloria sneered when Jake walked into the office with Harry holding his hand. The two dogs followed. David frowned.
“No dogs allowed in my office,” he stated. Harry looked at Poopsie sitting on a chair in the corner. David flushed. “Oh, very well, they’re beautiful dogs,” he said with envy. The two dogs sat between the two men as they sat down. Jake fetched another chair for Harry who sat as far away from the others as possible. The four parents glared at him as if he was the devil and he guessed to them he was. Reverend Milo cleared his throat.
“Now, Jake, do you really think that it’s fair to my daughter that you end a thirty- year marriage without any counseling or any hope of reconciliation?” he asked him solemnly. Jake shrugged.
“You didn’t seem to mind too much when I ended my ninety-three year long marriage to Harry under similar circumstances to marry your daughter,” he said and Reverend Milo nodded. Dr. Jackson glared and wagged his finger at his son.
“If you go through with this, you idiot boy, then consider yourself out of the practice, I won’t have you in the same office, I don’t want to share my practice with one of those people,” he yelled. Jake grinned.
“You mean someone who works hard and does all of your paperwork, you mean those kind of people, Dad,” he said and Dr. Jackson flushed red and started to get up. Sissy put her hand on his hand.
“Hush, Jackson,” she said and she turned to her son. “Jake, can’t you see what this man is doing to our family, to you, Son. He’s ruining your life just as he did when you were a child, turning you against us. Can’t you see him for what he really is? Now, we love our grandchildren, we really do, but please, Son, don’t do this terrible thing again.” She sniffed and wiped her eyes. Jake rolled his eyes and turned to David.
“Can we begin the divorce proceedings now?” he asked and David nodded. Violet shook her head.
“No, we will not, I don’t want a divorce and I won’t give you one, so think about that Jake Jackson,” she informed him smugly. Jake sighed and looked at Harry who nodded.
“Well, I guess Jake will have to get a contested divorce then,” Harry said to David who nodded. Violet gasped.
“He can do that?” she asked. Gloria looked as surprised as her friend. David nodded.
“Yes he can, it will take a year but in one year after he files Jake and you will be divorced,” he informed her. She looked angry and then looked smug.
“Fine, you and Harry can wait a year to get remarried, I don’t care,” Violet declared. Harry smiled at her.
“Fine, if you don’t care then we’re willing to wait a year, but its going to be a long year for you, Violet,” he told her. She looked confused.
“Why do you say that?” she asked. Harry looked at Jake.
“We’re going to need the keys back for the store, I suppose you can get a manager because I don’t want to run it, maybe we can get Monroe and Jasmine to run it,” he told him. “She can stay in the house, of course, and we’ll put her on an allowance for food and clothing, maybe a thousand dollars a month should do it, that’s sounds generous to me,” he stated. Jake nodded.
“That sounds fair to me,” he agreed. Violet snorted and looked at David.
“What in the hell are they talking about?” she demanded. David looked uncomfortable.
“We’re working at the arrangements for the settlement,” Harry informed her. “You see the house and the business are all in Jake’s name along with all of the money and you are only the spouse and therefore we’re going to put you on an allowance until the divorce is final. Then, of course, you’ll get your half of the money and the house and business and you can do what you want but until then, you’re Jake’s responsibility and he doesn’t have to do more than feed, house and clothe you.” Jake grinned and looked smug while Violet looked shocked. Both of the older women nodded when she looked at them but Gloria was as shocked as she was.
“But that’s not fair,” Violet sputtered. Harry shrugged.
“That’s straight law, you didn’t have anything when you married Jake and you didn’t change anything into your name when your married him so legally everything is his,” he informed her. She looked at David who nodded.
“They can do that, put me on an allowance for a whole year?” she asked. David cleared his throat.
“Actually a thousand dollars a month is very generous,” he told her. She looked angry.
“I spend more than that on my hair and nails,” she protested. Gloria giggled.
“I guess you’ll have to start doing your own,” she said and Violet shook her head.
“You’d do that to me, after we were married for thirty years?” she pleaded with Jake who shrugged.
“If you signed the divorce papers today, sugar, you’d have thirty-two million dollars today, plus the house and the business,” he told her and she sighed.
“Fine, I’ll sign the damned papers,” she snapped. David smiled and clicked in the computer.
“First we’ll start with the money, you say you have sixty-four million and you each have half?” he asked and Jake nodded. Violet grinned.
“Why don’t you give me all of it since you want the divorce so bad?” she suggested. Jake laughed.
“I can wait a year, can’t you, Harry?” he asked. Harry grinned and they kissed.
“I’ve waited thirty years for you, honey, another year would be easy, especially with you by my side,” he said and she glared at them.
“There are two houses,” David said. Violet smiled.
“I want them both,” she said firmly. Jake shook his head.
“You can only have one, pick the one you want,” he said just as firm. She glared at him.
“Fine, you can have the stupid beach house, we never go there anyway, it’s boring,” she stated. Harry grinned. He was getting his precious beach house back.
“Now there’s the business,” David said. Violet smiled.
“I want the business,” she said. Jake shrugged.
“You can have it, I’m opening my own practice with Harry,” he told them. Dr. Jackson laughed.
“What kind of practice is that going to be, a Vet’s office and an aquarium?” he retorted and Jake rolled his eyes. David printed out the papers and handed two copies for them both to sign. Violet reluctantly signed hers and Jake quickly signed his. Then it was over, he was a free man. Both sets of parents looked sad.
“Jake this is the worst mistake you could have made, Son, you’re going to regret doing this for the rest of your life,” Reverend Milo told him. Jake shook his head.
“I know you’re not going to believe this but I was planning on moving out the first of the year anyway. I was so miserable living with Violet and I was going to move into that old house that she and Susie used to live and try to convince Harry to date me,” he said and they all looked shocked. Violet glared at them.
“Why didn’t you stay on Mykonos, you little faggot,” she snarled. Reverend Milo looked shocked.
“Violet, there’s no need for that kind of language,” he said and took out his hankie to wipe the sweat from his brow. She shrugged.
“That’s what he is, that’s what they both are, a couple of faggots, you both make me sick,” she sneered. Jake laughed and he and Harry walked from the room. The parents looked appalled at her behavior and walked out without saying a word. Gloria shrugged.
“Well, at least you got thirty-two million from it,” she said and Violet grinned.
“I wonder if Jake remembered to close your joint checking account?” David asked and they rushed to the bank only to find out that he had taken half of it out and she closed it and opened a new one in her old name of Violet Emery. Brian smiled and held his smirk until they left.


To be continue....

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 31.08.2011

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