Part 5A

Hanging up the phone, he turned to me, and said "You just heard what I told your dad. Me and Paula, we're going to pay for you a place to stay off campus. I know you, Mike, and I know that you're not going to stay in some place where it's parties all the time. I know you'll be looking for fun, too, but I trust you not to let it get in the way of your schooling."

I nodded, and he went on "You're closer to being a man than most your age. There ain't a doubt in my mind that you're going to do right good at school, given a decent chance. And like you heard me tell your dad, me and Paula are going to make sure you get it - you AND Holly. Both of you kids have done us some kind of proud, and like I told your dad, we think of you like you were our OWN kids. You didn't know this, but it's in your dad's will that if anything happened to him and your mom, WE were the ones to take care of you. He didn't have to ask us to, we TOLD him we would."

He went on to say "You aren't going to tell your dad this, but we'll also be sending you a little extra money to make sure that you can have a little fun, too. Paula and I both went to college, and know a body needs to have something to do besides study all the time. Like I said, it won't be enough to be throwing any parties or going on any trips, but if you have the time to go to a movie or something, we're going to make sure you have the money for it, too."

I thanked him, and he told me "That's all right. Like I said, your Aunt Paula and I have both been to college, and know what it's like. And that's why you're welcome to come here any time you want a good meal, too. That school you're going to isn't but an hour away, so if you need a meal or some fresh groceries, you know where to find us. As a matter of fact, I think Paula and I would BOTH feel better if you'd come here for Sunday dinner once or twice a month. We went to that school, and unless they've had some major improvements, the student cafeteria isn't fit to feed my hogs."

I assured him that I'd be happy to wrap myself around some of Aunt Paula's cooking, and he smiled at me before telling me "I figured. Okay, now that we got all that settled, let's head back to the kitchen and see what the women have been up to."

I got up, and together we found out that Aunt Paula and the girls had been making apple pies. So of course, we all had to sit down and 'test' one of them - with scoops of fresh ice cream to do it properly.

The rest of our time with them went by pretty much as usual. It was only on the day before we were supposed to leave that Uncle Jack asked me to go someplace with him. Of course I didn't hesitate, figuring that he needed some help with one of the animals or something. I got into the truck with him, but instead of heading toward some part of the farm, he headed toward town. As he was driving, I flexed my muscles a little bit, trying to loosen up for the carrying and hauling I expected to be doing - surely, we were going to be loading the truck with something.

Instead of the store or grain silo, though, he pulled into one of the few garages in town, being there primarily to serve the farmers. He got out, and I quickly followed him. As he approached the owner, Bill, he asked "She ready?", and got a nod in response. Uncle Jack headed over toward where a few of the local farmers were bunched around a pickup truck, looking it over. It was a few years old, and had obviously seen some use, but was in surprisingly good condition - even to having received a new paint job: a bright, BRIGHT red.

When we got close to it, Uncle Jack asked me "Well, what do you think of her, Mike?"

I walked around it, looking it over - like I said, it was obviously used, but in even better shape than I'd first thought: no obvious nicks, dings, dents, or other body damage. New tires, new shocks (I bounced on the front bumper to check them), clean under the hood and in the cab. I asked "How long has she been sitting here?", and got the answer "Oh, couple of days" from one of the farmers. I knelt down and looked under the engine - not a fresh drop of oil or anything else to be seen: no leaks of any of the engine fluids.

"She looks pretty good." I admitted, "but how's the engine?"

One of the farmers told me "Rebuilt a couple weeks ago. She's been drove enough to break her in, but that's it."

Another tossed me a set of keys, and said "Go ahead, start 'er up."

I climbed into the cab - the door closed with a satisfying dull 'thunk' - and fired up the engine, which purred like a kitten. No smoke or anything else came out of the exhaust when I started it, or when I revved the engine a bit - which surprised me by how quickly it responded. Four-speed transmission, stick on the floor, proper gauges instead of idiot lights, the odometer showed a little over 80,000 miles. Yeah, it had been worked hard - but with the engine rebuilt, it was good for that many more, easily.

I shut the engine off, and climbed out, telling them "Sounds pretty good, too. Right nice."

The farmers all got grins on their faces, and Uncle Jack told me "Glad you like her, Mike. She's yours."

I stared at him, dumbfounded, as the grins got even wider.

Uncle Jack openly laughed at the expression on my face before telling me "Close your mouth, Mike, before a fly gets in!"

I picked my jaw up off the ground, and Uncle Jack told me "You heard me tell your dad, that was a right good turn you did us with that hay idea. It was my idea to give you a truck for your graduation; I figured that clunker you have is fine for around town, but didn't think it was something to take on the road" - I'd had the same thoughts - "and the boys here decided to dress it up some after you made the Ag paper."

As he was talking, the farmers moved around the truck so that they were generally lined up, facing me. Uncle Jack went on to tell me "Fred, there" - he took a step forward, and I shook his hand, thanking him - "put the tires on it. Gus" - another stepped forward, and I thanked him the same way - "covered the whorehouse paint job." - they all laughed at that - "Andy" - another farmer that I thanked - "came up with the engine and Al" - I shook his hand, too - "took care of getting it rebuilt. Tommy Smithers" - absent from the group - "chipped in by paying for getting the mechanical cleaned up and fixed. Bill, over there, spent some of his free time taking care of the bodywork. The title is in the glove box, and you've got the keys. She's all yours, Mike."

I looked all of them in the eyes before telling them "Thank you. Thank you very much."

It was Andy that told me "It's us thankin' you, Mike. We haven't had a single hay fire since we all took up your idea; and we'd usually have had a couple or more by now. Seems the stock is a little happier with it, too. Last winter, my milk cows output went up even more they have before, and I reckon it was the better fodder." The others were nodding as he was talking, letting me know that he was speaking for all of them.

A few moment went by, and Al spoke up, saying "I'm glad you like 'er, Mike. I'm glad I could get in for this, and glad to have met you again. But I'm sorry to say that I still got chores."

I quickly moved to shake his hand again; then as the others told us they had to go, too, with them as well. In each case, they looked at me in a way to let me know that they were thinking of me as more than just a high school kid - that I was one of them, after a fashion.

When they'd all left, I went over to thank Bill, too - who told me "Glad to do it, Mike. You do those folks a good turn, you're helping all of us here in town, too."

As Uncle Jack and I headed back to where his - and my! - trucks were parked, he clapped me on the shoulder, and said "I told you, Mike. You're a bunch more grown up that most your age. Those boys saw it, too. There isn't a one of them that wouldn't be happy to have you working on their farm, or sitting at their table. Now we'd best be getting back before your Aunt Paula starts getting worried, and so you can show the girls your new toy!"

I got in and started the engine again, letting it warm up a little before carefully putting it in gear to follow Uncle Jack back to the farm - with a grin plastered to my face the whole drive. When we pulled into the area where Uncle Jack and Aunt Paula parked their vehicles, Holly and Diane came out of the house to see who was with us - and shrieked their joy for me when Uncle Jack told them what had happened. While both of them were hugging me, I looked over to where Uncle Jack and Aunt Paula were both looking at me with obvious pride and affection.

The next day, they saw us off as we headed back home in MY truck. Before we left, they loaded us up with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables - and the admonition to be careful. Diane and Holly took turns sitting next to me during the drive, my arm around their shoulders and my hand over a breast - at their insistence - as the three of us sang along with the radio in the truck.

A couple of days after we got back, Dad told me that he thought we should find me a place near college in the next few days. I said that it sounded like a good idea, and we made arrangements to do it that following Friday.

During the drive, Dad and I had a chance to talk some more; I learned that he still wasn't happy about Uncle Jack's help, but had come to realize that it made sense. Then he did something that absolutely amazed me: he told me how proud he was of me. I always knew that he and Mom loved us and all that, and he'd even congratulated me when I did well in school. He even helped me with some of my school projects when he could - but he'd never come out and said anything like THAT to me.

He told me "Mike, I know I've never told you this before, but I'm proud of you, son. Real proud. You've always done well in school, and you've never caused me or your mother any worry - at least, nothing that ANY parent of a teenager doesn't worry about!" - that part with a wry grin - "You're not great at sports, but you've been good enough to make the teams, and I could see that you always gave it your best shot. I worried about you going out with girls, but you've been smarter and more careful than I had any right to hope for: I don't think for a minute that you're still a virgin, but there haven't been any pregnancies or angry parents calling me up. I don't know how close you've gotten with Diane - but she seems happy enough, and she still comes over, so I'm not going to worry about it. She's a good person, and I think you could do a lot worse than having her as a girlfriend, if it comes to that. I don't know - and don't WANT to know! - about you and Holly. You're only a couple of years apart, and you both live in the same house. God knows, your mother and I have left you alone often enough. But I trust you, Mike - I trust you, and Holly, enough to believe that nothing has happened that would hurt either one of you. I think you've both got enough good sense not to get involved with anything really wrong. I heard about that kid that tried to rape Holly, and I heard that you did SOMETHING to him. I don't know what it was, and doubt that I ever will - but it proves to me that you wouldn't do anything to hurt her yourself, either.

"I know how much Paula and Jack love you, and how proud of you they are. Jack told me that he was going to give you a truck for graduation; what I didn't know was how good it was going to be. If he, and those other farmers, were so impressed with what you did that they're willing to go that far with it, I've got to figure that what you did was really something. Jack sent me a copy of the article about you from that magazine or newsletter he gets; and your idea really made an impression on some people.

He sighed, and went on "I guess the bottom line is that I know Jack was right. You're a good kid - no, young MAN - and you've got a good head on your shoulders. I can afford to send you and Holly to college. But I have to admit that Jack's help will make the difference between the two of you just going, and doing it RIGHT. And I'm proud enough of you - your good sense, your smarts, your character - to be willing to accept his help to make sure you get the best chance possible. I kind of knew it before, but didn't really SEE it until Jack told it to me: given half a chance, you're going to make us ALL proud - even prouder than we already are."

It was one long speech, coming from Dad - all I could do was say "Uh, thanks, Dad. I won't let you down."

He looked over at me and smiled, telling me "I know, Mike. I know.", his confidence and trust in me clear in his voice.

We got to the college around mid-morning. I didn't know it, but Dad had gotten some of the newspapers for the area and done a little research. We spent the morning looking at places, but neither one of us was really satisfied with any of them by the time we took a break for lunch. It was the second place we tried that afternoon that we hit pay dirt: a smallish 3-bedroom house a couple miles from school. The previous years, it had been home to a series of guys going to school - when one graduated, the ones left behind would find a replacement that would stay there until THEY graduated. It resulted in a certain degree of continuity with the landlord, who gave them a little bit of a break on the rent - and was quicker to respond to the very infrequent problem. Because of the continuity, and the fact that they behaved themselves, the neighbors were surprisingly tolerant of having a bunch of college students living there - it was actually a residential neighborhood. The previous year, there had been three of them, of course: a math major, a chemistry major, and an English major. The English major had graduated, so they were looking for someone to take his place; next to leave would be the chemist. They were initially a little hesitant about taking in a freshman, preferring sophomores - until they learned that I was there on a scholarship. Any last fears they had were calmed when Dad gave them his business card, and told them "I know there aren't going to be any problems. But if you have ANY questions or want to say ANYTHING to me about him being here, you can call me - collect, if you want. Whatever it is, I'll make it right. I know Mike is here to study, not party, but if it would make you feel better, I'll give you a blank check right now, to guarantee you don't get stuck for rent or anything like that."

His willingness to 'put it on the line' like that reassured them that I was a good risk, and we quickly settled on the details: I was to pay one third of the rent and utilities, including local phone. Long distance was separate; groceries were my own problem. The rules were pretty simple: everybody pretty much knew what they brought in to eat, but putting initials on things was a guarantee that it wouldn't be molested. Quiet hours were from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM - but excessive noise at other times was still discouraged. I'd have the smallest bedroom (sparsely furnished, like the rest of the house), to start. As people graduated, the custom was that those left behind got to 'move up' to the next larger room. Everyone chipped in to clean the place on Saturday afternoons; the cleaning tasks were assigned by seniority - they showed me the list (used long enough that they'd had it laminated!) and people were identified only as A, B, and C. As new guy - C - I got the crud jobs, like cleaning toilets; but nothing I hadn't done at home. It was still expected for everyone to clean up after themselves - whether dishes, meals, or anything else - so none of the jobs was particularly tough or demeaning. The new guy was on probation for half of a term. To ensure we all followed the rules, it had been established that if someone violated them, that person would receive a written notice. 3 such notices and the person was out. But because the two left behind would have to pick up the additional rent and utilities, there was reason for them not to abuse their nominal power. No drugs, no booze - not even beer. Girls were a gray area: as long as they didn't violate the rules, or cause other problems, it was up to the individual - but the clear implication was that anything more than an occasional sleep- over was frowned on.

They even had all this typed up, and handed me a copy of it before we (okay, Dad) gave them a check for the first month's rent. With that done, they gave me a key to the place, and we worked out when I'd move in. At their suggestion, I agreed to move in a little over a week before registration - it would help me beat most of the rush, and would give me some time to get used to the area. Both of them offered to help guide when they could, and said they'd give me some tips to make registration faster and easier, too. They brightened considerably when I asked where I should park - both rode bicycles when the weather permitted, and riding a bus or catching a ride with a friend when they had to. Reassured that the vehicle was in good repair (specifically, a working muffler so the neighbors wouldn't be disturbed), they let me know that the driveway next to the house was fine - that they'd never had any trouble with vandalism or anything like that.

When we'd left the house, our next stop was a bank, where Dad helped get me set up with an account. The bank had something new - Automatic Teller Machines - that I could use to get money any time I needed. With that as an option, I decided to pass on actual checks: I didn't want even the temptation of overdrawing my account, and having just the ATM card would prevent that from happening. Dad seemed pleased at my reasoning.

Now that I had a place to stay and a bank to use, all that was left was for me to make sure I could find my way around. When Dad stopped at a gas station to fill up, I went inside and bought maps of the area to go along with the ones the college had sent me. To my surprise, Dad suggested that we drive around for a little while, so I could get an idea of where things were in relation to each other - I'd thought about doing that, but didn't want to bother him with it. I quickly agreed, and we spent the next couple of hours just finding our way around. I got a pretty good idea of where the nearest grocery and convenience stores were, where I could do my laundry, and where the libraries, parks, and so on were located.

As we drove, Dad and I talked. Not just about school, but about him, me, Holly, Diane, Mom, and anything else we thought of. Every so often, Dad would quiz me about where we were, and how to get to someplace else; after a couple of hours, it became clear that I wouldn't have any real problems finding my way around - at least, in a general sense. Apparently satisfied that I wouldn't run out of gas and die of starvation in the middle of an urban environment, Dad finally pointed the car toward home. Even on the drive back, we continued our conversation - by the time we pulled into the driveway, I felt even closer to him than I had before.

The last couple of weeks before I was to move, things were busy; even hectic at times. But there was never any real sense of 'out of control', either. Mom took me on a shopping spree for the stuff that I'd need: bed linens (the bed in the house was a different size than what I had at home), some basic cooking utensils, school supplies, clothes, and so on. Somehow, I managed to keep her from breaking the budget by pointing out, wherever I could, the things that I already had, and could take with me: towels, nearly all my clothing, my shelf-top stereo, the small TV in my room, my alarm clock, and so on. It was only by refusing to use it that I convinced her not to buy me a miniature fridge for my bedroom - she was worried that the other guys would eat everything I brought home, leaving me to starve. She finally gave in when I told her "Mom! This is COLLEGE - nobody's going to beat me up and take my lunch money, okay?"

Dad did his own part: handing me a couple of gas station credit cards, he told me "Here, Mike, I want you to have these. Don't be afraid to use them, either: I know you're not going to be driving all over for the fun of it, and if someone offers to give you a couple bucks for taking them somewhere, I trust you to accept it. But there are other things you'll probably need them for, too, like oil and that kind of thing. And here's a card for our phone. You call us with that any time you want; it guarantees the cheapest rate, and gets billed here. You know how your mother will get if you don't call her often enough - and I'll want to hear from you, too."

A couple of days later, he brought home a new computer. Not the top-of- the-line model, but not missing it by much, either. He told me "This is yours, Mike. If anyone in this house can put it to use, you can. If there's anything you need to go with it, let me know."

I was busy doing my own thing, too. Holly got the keys and title to my car - she'd been hinting at Dad that she'd like one, and it got Dad off the hook: I knew he had enough other things to worry about. She knew about its few quirks, and would never be far from help if she needed it.

I really didn't have anything to give Diane - except me. Every moment I could spare was given to her, and to a lesser extent, Holly. Both of them understood, and neither of them asked for more than what they got. On several occasions, I made the time to be with Diane.

On the last one - a couple days before I was to leave - Diane and I were sitting in the yard by the pool, her in my lap and my arms around her. My hands were inside the light robe she was wearing, cupping her breasts, and neither of us noticed when Dad came out - until he cleared his throat. Both of us looked up at him in surprise, and Diane gave out a small squeak. Pointedly not looking at her, he told me "Mike, I've got something else for you - one of my credit cards. It's for emergencies, and I trust you to know what constitutes an 'emergency'. Use it if you need it, then let me know, okay?", and stuck his hand out. In it, I could see the card that he hardly used, referring to it as his 'gotta have it' card - meaning that he kept it in reserve for emergencies or for when he HAD to have something and didn't want to risk going over the limit on his other cards. He was meticulous about keeping a zero balance on THIS one.