The Summer of 1981, Part 7: The Waiting

[Padraig]

For those of you who would like to catch up, here are links to the earlier chapters:

Part 1, The Best of Times: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16216
Part 2, Wasn't That A Party: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16225
Part 3, The Boy From New York City: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16229
Part 4, The Voice: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16235
Part 5, Feels So Right: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16238
Part 6, Sausalito Summernight: http://www.musclegrowth.org/forum/sh...ad.php?t=16258


Any feedback is very much appreciated - I would love to hear from those of you who have been reading. Thanks!!

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After dropping Jay off, Tug returned home and parked his car in its usual spot. He walked into the house and could smell his mother’s cooking from the front door.

“Hi, Mom,” he said as he sauntered into the kitchen.

His mom was busy tending to the stove, but she turned her head as Tug walked up to her. “Hi, Sweetie. Did you have a good time with Jay?”

“Yeah, we went to the mall for a while.”

“Did you buy anything?”

“I didn’t, but Jay did. He needed supplies for his trip.”

“Oh, that’s right. I’m been so busy helping to get your brother ready that I forget that some of your friends are leaving as well. When does he take off?”

“In a few days. It’ll be another quiet summer on the island.”

“Well, what about Kathy’s nephew? Did he come by this morning?”

“Yeah, he was looking for a place to work out this summer. But with the high school being remodeled and Vince’s so far away, I wasn’t able to help him much.”

His mom stopped all her activities and turned to face her son. She had a look of disappointment that only a mother could give.

“What?” asked Tug.

“Well, what about your brother’s workout equipment in our basement? Why didn’t you let him use it?”

Tug tried to come up with an answer, but one wasn’t coming. “I guess it never occurred to me that he would want to work out in a stranger’s basement. Or that we would want a stranger working out in our basement.”

“I was thinking more like you could take some of it over to Kathy’s house and set it up there for the summer. Then he could use it whenever he wanted.”

“Good idea, Mom. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.”

“Why don’t you call him up right now and invite him over to dinner? Then, if he wants, you and your father can help him load up the truck with the equipment afterward.”

“Will do, Mom.”

Tug walked over to the phone all called Kathy’s number.

“Hello,” said the voice on the other end.

“Hey, Ben. This is Tug from down the street.”

“Hi, Tug. What’s up?”

“I wanted to invite you over for dinner tonight, if you’re free, and also to find out if you would be interested in borrowing my brother’s weights for the summer?”

“Wow, really? You guys have a weight set?” asked Ben. The excitement in his voice was unmistakable.

“Yeah, it’s my brother’s, but he’s not going to need it this summer. My mom thought we could take it to your aunt’s house and set it up in the basement.”

“Oh, that would be so awesome! I’d really appreciate it a lot!”

“Cool. So would you like to come to dinner, too?

“I would love to. What time do you eat?”

Tug didn’t have to even ask. Since his father took the ferry back from his job, he was home at the same time every evening, and he liked to eat dinner right away. “It’ll be at six, Ben.”

“I’ll be there!”

They said their goodbyes and hung up, and Tug relayed to his mother that Ben would be coming over. He went upstairs to use the bathroom, and then came back down to the living room to read this afternoon’s Seattle Times.

Just before six, Tug heard a knock on the front door. He rose from his chair, walked to the foyer, and opened the door.

Ben’s big physique filled up the door frame, but the even bigger smile on his face wiped away any chance of him looking imposing. His hair had been wetted and combed, so it no longer seemed curly and blond, but rather wavy and a little richer in color. Ben was dressed in a long-sleeved yellow and green plaid shirt and tan slacks, but they were not enough to camouflage his well-developed muscles. Even from a distance, Tug was sure that anyone could see he worked out a lot.

Tug invited Ben into the house and led him into kitchen.

“Hello again, Ben,” said Tug’s mother. “Thank you for coming.”

Ben smiled. “I can’t thank you enough for asking me over. This summer will give me a lot of opportunities to improve my cooking skills, but I’m afraid right now they don’t go much beyond making toast.”

“Well, tonight you will getting lasagna, if that’s OK.”

“Perfect, Mrs. Yates!”

“Great. Why don’t you two boys go ahead and sit down in the dining room. Dinner will be ready in just a sec.”

Before the boys could answer, however, Tug’s father walked in from the garage. Like his sons, Mr. Yates was well over six feet tall and had a very large frame. He had played sports in high school and college, and through regular lunchtime workouts at his club, he had retained his strong physique, which was now clad in a perfectly-tailored, dark blue suit.

Unlike his boys, however, Mr. Yates’s head was shorn of the wavy, brown locks that he had as a young adult – he was now completely bald. But rather than make him look less masculine, his shaved head made him look tougher and had aggrandized his bull-like persona.

Combined with his strong business acumen, he had used this personal power effectively to build a very successful company that had supported him and his family well. Even as a professional football player, it would take Tim many years until he would be able to out-earn his father.

“Hello, dear,” chimed Tug’s mother. “We have a special guest for dinner this evening. This is Ben, Kathy’s nephew. Ben, this is my husband, Dan Yates.”

Tug’s father reached out to shake Ben’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

“Likewise. You’re the one staying in her house this summer?”

“Yes, sir,” Ben replied.

“She’s a wonderful woman, your aunt. If you need anything, you just let us know.”

“Well, dear, Ben is looking for a place to work out. I suggested that he borrow Tim’s weight set for the summer.”

“Excellent idea. You look like a serious lifter.”

“That I am, sir. I think I would go crazy if I couldn’t work out all summer.”

“You sound like our other son, Tim. That boy was always lifting something.”

“OK, boys, now all of you scoot into the dining room, Tug’s mother interrupted. “Dinner is ready.”

The group adjourned to the dining room and continued their conversation. Like Tug, Ben had just graduated from high school and would be attending college in the fall. Although he had excelled in numerous sports, his passion had always been baseball, and he had been recruited to play for several universities.

“So what do your parents do?” asked Tug’s mother.

“Well, my mom works for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And my dad owns some car lots.”

“What kinds of cars does he sell?” asked Tug’s father.

“Mostly Cadillacs, but Lincolns, too. Also Mercurys and Subarus.”

“What’s it like to live in Manhattan?” asked Tug. “It must be very different from life on this island.”

“That it is. In the city, there are people everywhere. You never have a chance to be alone, really. And there is always something to do – everything seems to stay open 24 hours. When I first got here, I really missed the noise and the buzz of everything going on.”

“It really must seem quiet here in comparison,” said Tug’s mother.

“Yeah, it does. Especially the day after Aunt Kathy left, I felt like I had nothing to do and all day to do it.”

“A little too much time on your hands?” asked Tug's father.

“On that day, definitely,” replied Ben.

“Well, let me tell you, son, summers on the island are really what you make of them. With so many people gone, it’s a great place to explore.”

“And who knows,” added Tug’s mother, “maybe during your exploration, you will meet the girl of your dreams and never want to leave.”

“I think Kitty Baker already has designs on him,” said Tug.

“I thought Kitty was dating Linda Coe’s son, Jessie.”

“She was Jessie’s girl, but they had broken for good just an hour before Kitty saw Ben at the market. And apparently she was more than ready to move on.”

Ben smiled. “Well, with all my different sports, I’ve never really had the time to commit to a relationship. Maybe the slower pace of the island will help in that department. By the way, this was the best lasagna I have ever had.”

Tug's mother looked over and was surprised to see that Ben had completely finished his large helping. "My goodness, you must have been starving."

"I was a little hungry, yes. But I've always been pretty good at eating."

"Would you like so me more? There's plenty."

"Thank you," Ben replied.

Tug's mother reached for the pan of lasagna and handed it to Ben. “You are most welcome, Ben. Anytime you want to come over, we will be glad to have you.”

The conversation continued through dinner and dessert. Afterward, Tug’s mother cleaned up the dining room and the kitchen, and the men went downstairs to load the weight set into Tug’s father’s truck.

“With all the stuff in the cab, boys, I think you may have to take Tug's car down to Kathy's house.”

“Or we can just walk, suggested Ben. "It's not that far.”

Tug was a little pooped from hauling the weights, but reluctantly agreed with his new friend. "Yeah, Dad, we can just walk. Just give us a few minutes head start before you leave.”

Tug and Ben set off through the garage and headed for Ben’s aunt’s house. The evening was cooling quickly thanks to a slight breeze coming off the water. As they rounded a small curve in the road, Kathy dickerson's big beach house came into view.

“You’re so lucky to be staying at your aunt's place,” said Tug. “She has the best beach access on the entire island, in my opinion.”

“Really? Why is that?”

“Well most of the houses have some beachfront access. But Kathy’s is by far the biggest, and because of the cliffs on the south end and the hills on the north end, it’s cut off from the rest of the island. Add in the fact that the shoreline curves around her land so that you cannot even see the rest of the island from it and you basically have your own private beach.”

“It is a pretty amazing piece of property. My parents had told me stories about it, and I have seen a few pictures, but nothing prepared me for how huge it is. I can see why she asked me to watch it for her while she is gone.”

“Yeah, our island has a bit of a reputation. Big houses owned by rich families that are unoccupied most of the summer. A few years ago a string of homes were robbed, so most folks are pretty careful.”

“Does your family travel much?” asked Ben.

“My parents did a lot when they were first married, but they prefer to stay on the island most of the summer. They like the quiet and the solitude more than the excitement of seeing new places.”

“That’s cool. Well, here we are” said Ben as he and Tug stopped in front of Kathy’s house. They each took a chair on the front porch and rocked back and forth, letting the cool breeze blow against them, as they waited for Tug’s father to arrive in the truck.

“Do you mind if I turn on the radio while we wait?” asked Tug.

“Please do. As long as it’s not ‘Feels So Right,” I think I can handle it,” replied Ben, laughing as he said it.

Tug laughed back, then reached over and flipped on the transistor radio on the little table next to his chair. The music of Tom Petty was just starting to play:

Oh, baby
Don’t it feel like heaven right now
Don’t it feel like something from a dream
Yeah, I’ve never known nothing quite like this

Don’t it feel like tonight might never be again
Baby, we know better
Than to try and pretend
No one could have ever told me ‘bout this

I said, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

The waiting is the hardest part
Everyday you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

Both boys smiled as they rocked in their chairs and waited for Tug’s father to arrive. Ben, especially, was overjoyed to have found out that his new neighbors were so incredibly friendly and giving, and he was thrilled to have found a way to pump iron for the next three months. Now he just hoped his plan to get himself a workout partner would be successful...

Tug was also excited - it had been so boring on the island the last two summers, so the possibility of spending some time with Ben was very uplifting. But when he heard Tom Petty start singing, it reminded him of another Tom, the Assistant Manager at Sears, and his ultra-beefy body squeezed into the tightest clothes he had ever seen.

[philat99]

It's a wonderful read. Looks like tug may be ready for some sexual, as well as muscular, self-discovery with Ben's help!!!
Mike

[omelissokomos]

Been away for a while, but now that I've caught up with this story, I'd just like to say how much I'm enjoying it and looking forward to the growth.

[Padraig]

Thanks to both of you - I'm glad you're enjoying the story! It's been a labor of love, and writing it has given me a much stronger appreciation for all of the other authors who have contributed their work to this board.

It has also spurred me to consider other potential stories that I want to write, so I don't think I will go six years between stories again. I hope to have another tale ready by the fall or winter.

[michaelv2]

I finally caught up with the story today, and I'm enjoying it immensely. I was raised in the Puget Sound area, so the little details sure bring the memories back. The baseball strike? That's great! I'm guessing Tug lives on either Bainbridge or Vashon?

[Padraig]

You will definitely find elements of Vashon and Bainbridge in there, but really it's more of a combination of Whidbey Island and Hat Island near Everett. I live north of Seattle myself, so I have visited those two more frequently and it was they that inspired my vision of a summer island hideaway.

As for the 1981 strike, one of my best friends was so upset about losing the second half of the baseball season. I vividly remember how mad he was when school let out and he wasn't going to be able to spend the summer watching it on TV. Needless to say, it was this friend who inspired the character of Jay.

Thanks for your comments!!

[therealm1]

I'm continuing to love this story. The setting is different than the hustle and bustle of a city environment and the plot is well-paced. I'm so accustomed to seeing stories reach a climax too early in its beginning; while those stories have their place, yours is a breath of fresh air. This series has me saying, "I must read more!"

[Padraig]

More coming very soon. I am about to post the next chapter.