The Picnic, part three
Sunday July 25th @ 4:30 AM - The
King House.
Jean was thinking that this really was a fun time! She had
felt a
little trepidation about leaving her boy there originally, but once she
got to know them she realized they were the kind of people she could
understand, and trust. She had been so worried about Bill, it hurt to
see how much he was hurting. And this was better than Topeka for now.
There were no reminders. It was as if he was starting fresh. He could at
least heal awhile before he had to come back. It's not that things
would be easy on him here. After all, she had a long talk with Virg,
while the two of them got the supper ready. Virg had told her all about
the incidents involving Zack and Steve.
Jean also listened to what wasn't being said. Mark and Steve
alone
and unloved was something Virg just couldn't allow. Betty was intensely
worried about her son and she saw in Bill something that was missing
from TK's life. From looking at Bill and TK together, you could hardly
believe that Virg said Todd was a loner, without many friends. That he
just didn't let people get close until just recently. Then there were
Ted and Gary, she could sense a kind of tension or a feeling of
disappointment when they talked that wasn't evident when you saw them
looking at each other. When Gary offered to bring Bill back to Topeka on
the eighth, he was obviously in some sort of pain., he had looked so
grim.
Jean was impressed with her daughter, Gina. She seemed to be
completely at home here. It was obvious from the way she and Shelley
talked that there was a real friendship building there. And then Jenny,
seemed to be in her glory. The somewhat awkward thirteen year old was
being treated as one of the girls when she was with Shelley and Gina.
They didn't talk down to her, and actually seemed to be listening to
her. It was a little hard on Jenny growing up on a farm with two older
brothers. Too young to drive, and parent's not having the time to
chauffeur her around, no one close by and a father who thought wasting
time on the phone was sinful.
But it was Will and Bart who seemed to be the most carefree. Jean
figured that for Will, it was being freed from the straight jacket his
father had wanted to wrap him in. He was free. He was in love, his eyes
almost sparkled each time he looked at Bart. Sheri had said that they
have been inseparable since 1st grade. They finished off each others
sentences, and were like one person with two bodies. Their laughter was
infectious. It was all together a wonderful day.
But the day was coming to a close, Jean knew that if they
expected
to be home by 7:00, she and Gina would have to leaving now. But she
wanted to talk to Bill first. "Bill could you please come here?" When
she saw TK coming along also, she said, "You can leave your shadow there
for just a moment. ... Honest TK, I'm still planning to leave him
here." Bill turned to TK and whispered something to TK that stopped him
in tracks and produced this big grin on his face. When he joined his
Aunt, she said, "What was that all about?" He turned red, and stammered,
"O, ... oh ... nothing." Knowing that she wasn't going to get him to
say, she said, "Let's take a walk, okay?" This was suddenly a bit more
serious.
They walked out back along the old tree line. "Bill, I just
want to
talk to you about ... about you and TK. You two have to be careful."
Bill was a a fire engine red. "Bill ... have you and TK, ... ever ...
you know?" He emphatically shakes his head back and forth, "No, I never
... with anyone." "What about TK?" Hesitantly Bill answers, "I
don't
think so."
"Well, I know boys what with Ryan, Jon and CJ.
... Now I don't
want you to think that I necessarily approve, ... but ... " It's now
Jean's turn to blush, "I just want you to have ... these." Out of her
purse she pulls a little pharmacy bag. Bill takes it from her and looks
inside and there are a couple dozen condoms. "Aunt Jean!!! ... I .. We
... Not ... you ... shouldn't!!!" This was the last thing he expected to
be talking about with his Aunt. "Bill, it may sound like a cliché but it
is better to be safe than to be sorry. ..." She smiled at him and added,
while poking him in the ribs, "You don't HAVE to use them all."
About an hour later, Bill and TK are walking near the line of
trees
that serves as a wind breaker TK's eyes open wide, "She what!!!" "My
aunt gave me a bag full of rubbers. " "Holy shit!!!" "Yeah, I couldn't
fucking believe it. What do you say? ... Thanks, but this won't be
enough. ... My Aunt!!!! ...She asked if we had ever ... you know? ... I
told her no, then she asked me if I had and I told her I had never been
with anyone." A nervous Bill, looked at TK, "She asked about you, ...
and I said that I didn't think so. ..." "Well, you're right, you're the
only person I even touched." Bill looked at TK, "You know it would be a
shame to waste all of these ... You ever put one of these on?"
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back to "stray e-mail, part two"