Simply Red

Max’s Perspective

 It was Saturday morning and I was lying in bed fast asleep when my dreams turned a little strange. Suddenly, my dreams went from bees and candle making to sex (I rarely had sex dreams). I was dreaming that someone was sucking on my cock… the feeling was so real, I was just starting to get into it and the imagery was starting to get vivid when my alarm went off. I reached over and turned it off. It took a few seconds to register that the sensation on my cock didn’t stop. I looked down and there was my adorable husband with my cock buried deep down his throat. He looked up at me when he felt me stir, took my manhood out of his mouth for just a second to say, “Mornin’ sunshine” then went back to work on me. Holy shit! What a way to wake up.

I groggily moaned “you’re the best fucking alarm clock ever.” Brody laughed with his mouth still working my shaft. The sensations were amazing as he moved his mouth up and down on me, swirling his tongue as he did. His right hand moved up and down my saliva slickened shaft as his left hand cupped and massaged my warm, tender, low-hanging balls. I fought the urge to push his head down and instead put my hands behind my head and just laid there enjoying the attention the love of my life was giving me. Each stroke and movement of his tongue was greeted with an appreciative moan. For the first time that I could remember, I just laid there and did nothing in bed while someone else did all the work and pleasured me, it was so relaxing. An unexpected moment of total pampering. Brody continued to give me an amazing blowjob and I quietly warned him that I was going to cum. He just quickened his pace a little bit and kept doing what he was doing. As he was massaging my balls he tapped my hole with his index finger, then breached the opening just slightly... that did it. With my hands still behind my head, I pushed my hips up. Brody opened his throat and took me all the way down, smashing his nose into my red pubes; I shot right into his gullet. Goddammit, he was amazing. Let other guys have a million partners, but for me… having someone who knew my body, understood what turned me on, and knew how to push all the right buttons at just the perfect moment; THAT was the best sex possible. And that’s exactly what I had with Brody. 

He took every drop I gave him then cleaned my cock with his tongue before moving up beside me. I kissed him good morning and could taste myself on his morning breath. It was dirty and sweet at the same time; the perfect way to wake up. We laid there in silence for a while. Zoey slept through the entire scene… he had gotten used to us having sex in front of him. We got up, showered together, and got ready to face our day.

 The week had been grueling but exciting as hell. Brody got a job offer that excited him and allowed us to stay on BroMax Farm. But of course, his current employer was making his life a living hell for the remainder of his employment. The BroMax candle studio was in full production mode and banging out candles left and right for The Resort and our little team was gelling. If I’m being honest, I didn’t really believe we could pull this off, but we were doing it… and ahead of schedule. We were going to exceed deadlines for our first three rollouts without a problem, and if we kept up our current pace we’d have all locations ready to roll about two months ahead of schedule… but the reality is that candle production would have to slow down drastically once school was back in session. Ricky and Gina agreed to come after school and on the weekends until we were past the rollout, and my goal was to crank out as much as possible in the next two weeks.

 On top of all that, it was pickling season and I had several shitloads of cucumbers, pickles, peppers, and green beans to pickle. BA was coming over on Sunday for our second annual pickling day. This year Gina was joining us too and I assumed there’d be moonshine too. My expanded garden was giving me enough yield for the farmer’s market and pickling, plus leaving us a little extra for our use. My herbs were doing great too. I had grown enough to last me for a couple more months of candles, but I’d probably have to experiment with essential oils and other scents for the winter. I was turning into a freaking farmer!

 Anyway, I was so happy to be back at the farmers market, I hadn’t talked to Mrs. J all week and we had so much to catch up on. While we talked and set up our booths, Zoey was holding court and being the center of attention as usual, she’d become a staple at the market. Since our gardens were in full force, we both had more produce than any previous week. I figured I had about another month of strong yields from the garden, then my booth would be candles, pickles, and apples for the rest of the season. Just a year ago I had no idea what to do with my free time, now I had so much going on between the farm and candle making and no clue how I was going to keep up once school started again, but I was happy as a pig in shit! I’ll take being busy over boredom any day. We had this down to a science and it only took a few minutes to set-up our booths.

 We were both ready to roll when Gina showed up. She was in an extremely great mood as she danced her way over to the booths. “Good morning, ladies” Gina sang. “Wow, you guys have a lot of stuff this week” she said as she theatrically brushed her hair back with her left hand and rested it on her forehead for a moment with a big smile on her face. Frankly, it seemed a little weird. She came into the booth and helped me fill the display crates with produce. She kept getting in my way, it was almost like she was purposefully invading my space with her left hand. Finally, after about a million not-so-subtle hints, I took notice of the beautiful rock on her finger.

 “OH MY GOD!!!!!” I yelled so loud that the entire place heard me and half the people looked our way. “He finally fucking asked you??!!!” I said as I grabbed her hand to look at the beautiful ring. I was so excited for her… damn those two were so good for each other, and now she’d officially be family (not that I didn’t already consider her family). It’s a great feeling when two people you love fall in love with each other. They both deserved the best and found it. I think I was more excited than her.

 “We’re gonna be related” she said with a smile that was bigger than her beautiful face. Mrs. J came running over to congratulate her with a big hug.

 “Shit, wait until BA finds out” I said with a laugh.

 “She already knows, she helped pick out the ring”

 “Did he propose after dinner last night?” I asked.

 “Yup. On the way back to his place he detoured and took me down to the marina. He had a pontoon boat loaded with beer, White Claw, Champagne, twinkle lights, and romantic music ready to go… just the two of us on the water.” She told us the entire story with a sparkle in her eye. Dylan was just a good ole boy, but it sounds like he came through on the romance in his own way.

 “So, when’s the wedding?” Mrs. J asked.

 “No clue. It’s been less than 12 hours” Gina responded as she broke into a diatribe about her daydreams on the wedding, where and when it may be, details, etc. She had already called her mom, but she knew it was coming because Dylan asked her permission; he’s such a traditional guy.

 Mrs. J grabbed Gina’s hand and inspected the ring closely, “well your future mother in-law has good taste. That’s a beautiful ring.” The three of us gushed about it as Gina dreamed out loud about the wedding. Before we knew it, the booth was crowded with people picking through our goods. Sarah, Laura, and some other teachers stopped by throughout the morning and screamed in excitement over Gina’s engagement… she was preoccupied and I didn’t get a lot of help from her that morning, but it was great to see her so excited.

 There was a woman inspecting my candles with a fine-toothed comb while I waited on other customers. She must’ve been there about 10 minutes before I finally got a break in traffic and was able to address her “Do you have any questions I can answer?” I asked.

 “Hi’ she said with a smile “Are you the Chandler?” she asked. I gave her and odd look because I didn’t know what that meant “The artisan who makes these candles.” She said rewording her statement so an idiot like me could understand (chandler/candler is a fancy term for candle maker I found out later when I googled it lol).

 I laughed “Sorry, I never heard that term before” I said. “But yes. That’s me.”

 “Tell me about your candles” she said as she picked up one of my sage-mint candles and sniffed it. “I looked up your website while you were busy with other customers, it’s cute.”

 “Thanks” I said with a smile. “I make the candles in my barn; the scents are created from herbs grown in my garden.”

“So, everything is locally sourced?” she asked with interest.

“Well, scent-wise. Yes. Not the wax.”

 “I see you sell online. Have you thought about selling to regional stores?” She asked.

 “I’m a teacher and had planned on approaching local stores during my summer break but I got sidetracked” then I told her about making the private label candles for The Resort.

 “Listen, I rep a lot of gift-type products. I sell mostly to small boutique shops in The Carolina’s Virginia and Georgia. They would eat this up. Are you interested in representation?” She asked, then held out her hand to give me her card “Oh, I’m Stella by the way” she added.

 I shook her hand “Max” I said. “I hadn’t really thought about it. Until a couple of months ago this was a hobby, but I guess yes… I’d be open to discuss it.” She proceeded to tell me how it would work, her territories, her clientele, commission structure, etc. She seemed to know her shit. I was interested but had a booth to run so I cut her short and agreed to have coffee with her after lunch, then texted Brody to meet us later. He readily accepted.

 Shortly after Stella walked away Ricky showed up with a few other kids… it wasn’t Billy Ray and T-Dog (Timmy… ugh), there were two boys and a girl and they seemed like nice kids. Ricky introduced them to me and Gina and then went over to the candle display and told them what he was doing for me, he was eloquent and seemed proud of his work. An elderly woman started to sniff the candles and Ricky went into sales mode telling her all about the candles and the locally crafted scents, etc. He was a freaking natural. He sold the lady a few candles then said goodbye and went back to goofing around with his friends. About twenty minutes later, Gina tapped me on the shoulder and pointed. Ricky was about four booths down with his friends… T-Dog and Billy Ray were there too and it looked confrontational. I was getting ready to head that way when Gina touched my shoulder stopping me. “Let him fight his own battles” she said, “He’s a tough kid.” So, I did. After a few minutes the two bullies walked away and the others went back to goofing around.

 We did our usual lunch after a very successful day at the market then just talked and laughed. We talked more about Gina’s engagement, Mrs. J had harvested honey earlier that week and was telling us Bee stories (I was kind of bummed I missed that). Then I told Gina and Mrs. J about my conversation with Stella and meeting her for coffee after lunch. “Man, you’re making your mark with those candles” Mrs. J said proudly. “Do you need more help?”

 “Hell, Yes, he does!” Gina answered for me. “We’re busy as hell!”

 I laughed “She aint wrong. Yes. We could use help… it’s a paid position.”

 “Keep your money, I’d rather rack up housesitting favors” Mrs. J replied with a smile before we gave her the rundown of what life was like in the BroMax candle barn. She committed to helping us for a couple of days… at that point I was grateful for any and all help. We were ahead of schedule, but I wanted to get the entire rollout order completed before school started and we were running out of time. Brody showed up just as we were finishing lunch. He greeted Zoey who had been lying silently at our feet, then congratulated his future sister in-law before the two women got up and left (of course his big brother had already called him to give him the big news). As the waitress cleared the table, I filled Brody in on my conversation with Stella, sharing my excitement and concerns. He had some great questions that I hadn’t thought of. He had brought a notebook with him and started jotting down things we needed to address.

 Stella showed up right on time, “Hi Max, good to see you again.”

 “Hi. This is my husband and business partner, Brody” I responded. He stood, said hello, and then they shook hands.

 After Stella ordered a sweet tea, we got right down to business. She gave Brody the same spiel she gave me, then put a contract in front of us. I was not expecting that. “So just sign here, get me a case of samples and I’ll start selling.” Whoa! This was moving way to fast. A few hours ago, I didn’t know reps like her existed, now there was a contract in front of me.

 I scrolled through the document then said, “We’re interested in the opportunity but I need to read this through…” I started to speak but Brody cut me off.

“And have our lawyer review it” Brody chimed in with a self-assured tone. “We also need you to revisit this commission structure, it seems limiting…” he chimed in as he continued to go through his concerns. Damn., he sounded like he knew what he was talking about. Business Brody: just another side of my husband I hadn’t seen in action. We told her we’d get back to her in a week. She agreed, picked up the check, and said goodbye.

 “Damn, you sounded like you knew what you were talking about” I laughed as I looked at my husband. “Our lawyer?” I asked laughing.

 “Yeah, Zach” Brody said. “Seriously, this little side-gig is taking off. You should probably have Zach review the contract, or if he aint comfortable looking at it get Nathan Hall to review it.”

 That was actually a good idea, “You’re right. I was also thinking about writing a business plan. I mean I’m not sure if I want to have a rep like her, or if I’d rather just focus on The Resort and online sales, or what. I need to think through revenue streams, distribution, and all that shit, but I’m not sure where to start. I looked up some examples online to get an idea of what to do, I also need to figure out a better accounting system than my excel sheet.” I said started to get a little overwhelmed.

 “Call Elliot” Brody suggested. “He’s an accountant and studied business. Maybe he can help. It’d be worth paying him and Zach to help us get things set up right. This aint just a hobby any more.” I was glad we were talking about this; I had been worrying about it but didn’t want to bother Brody. He had so much other shit going on. Our casual conversation turned into a business meeting, damn my husband was smart. We had a bunch of talented friends we could rally. We spent another hour mapping out things we had to figure out and our next steps. Brody walked me back to Old Blue, and Zoey rode home with him in the gladiator. I stopped to pick up supplies for our day of pickling. As I drove home, I started to outline my business plan in my head, I decided to call Elliot on the way home.

 “Who died?” Elliot answered making me laugh. “You NEVER call me.”

 “I need your help” I sighed and laughed.

 “Of course, you do” he said laughing back. Then I told him what was happening with the business, and that I was starting to get in over my head. He was so excited for us, “yeah, I can help you with that, no problem. Send me your spreadsheet when you get home then call me and we’ll get you set-up on QuickBooks, I can give you some guidance on how to build a business plan too. This is so exciting!” Elliot said as he walked me through where to start. We talked until I pulled into the driveway. Brody was already home and came out to help me unload Old Blue. I told him all about my call with Elliot.

 When we finished unloading, I called Zach. Zach was just as enthusiastic as Elliot. “Scotty told us about your contract with The Resort and Brody’s new job.” It had been so busy that I hadn’t talked to him or Seth since all this happened, but it sounded like they knew about everything anyway. “Send me the contract, I’ll review it. If it’s over my head, I can send it to my dad” he offered. We talked a little longer, then he handed the phone to Seth and we caught up.

 I walked around the property checking on the bees then the garden while I told him about everything going on. He told me about their honeymoon in Hawaii, all the wedding gifts, and getting ready to start classes again, then Seth said “Listen, St Louis has a huge farmers market in Soulard, it’s been there since the early 1800’s. Your candles would sell out there! I can look into getting a booth and sell for you on the weekends.” It was a great idea, and something else to consider as a revenue stream for my plan. We talked through the details and Seth said he head up the effort and get back to me with what he learned. Damn it was so good to talk to my friends, and even better to have them all jump on board the BroMax Farm candle train. After our business discussion I told him about Gina and Dylan getting engaged and he squealed like a damn girl into the phone. We talked for like an hour and he had me excited and laughing the while time. I missed my best friends so much.

 We hung up and I sent Zach the contract to review, and Elliot my spreadsheet. Elliot called me back within minutes and we set up QuickBooks while we were on the phone. He hooked everything up to our bank accounts so I could send out invoices and customers could pay us online and everything would be entered automatically. Damn, he made it seem so easy and in less than a half hour everything was ready to go and he had access so he could walk me through things as we grew and I had questions. Before he hung up, he told me to write up a business plan based on the sample he sent me, then he’d review it. Wow! After a couple of calls to our friends I felt like I had a grasp on all of this and a built in team of partners to boot. While I was on the phone, Brody fed the animals and ordered a pizza to feed us humans. Brody poured me a drink and I sat on the couch with my feet up, relaxing at last; I felt like we had accomplished so much that day and our little business was taking off.

 The doorbell rang and Brody went to get the pizza. “What the hell happened to you?” I heard him say.

 Then familiar voice quietly responded, “nothin’.” I went to the front door to see what was going on, and there was Ricky with his baseball cap pulled low, almost covering his eye.

 “Hey Ricky” I said, happy to see him. “What’s up?”

 “Lookit his eye” Brody said. I tried to look but Ricky looked down at the ground and the brim of his baseball cap covered it.

 “Let me see” I said. Reluctantly he looked up. Damn! His right eye was black, blue, red, and swollen. “What the hell happened to you?”

 “Nothin’ okay” he said defensively, adding, “that’ll be $22.50.” He didn’t want to talk. Brody handed him thirty five bucks and told him to keep it.

 “You know, you can talk to us” I said sincerely.

 He just nodded, grunted a “I know,” as he turned to leave. “See you Monday morning” he yelled as he headed towards his old Chevy.

 Brody shut the door after he left and I asked, “What the hell happened to him?”

 “Well, he obviously got into a fight” Brody said. I thought for a minute then told Brody about seeing Ricky arguing with Billy Ray and T-Dog at the farmer’s market. “Those guys are punks, I’m sure they were givin’ him shit about hanging with queers” he said. Shit, he was probably right, I’m sure they saw him talking to me at the booth. We talked about it as we opened the pizza box and started to dive in. “He’s a kid Max, and he’s growin’ up surrounded by ignorant people, this won’t be his last black eye… trust me on this one. Besides, a few weeks ago he was spray paintin’ ‘fuck you fags’ on our barn, now he was getting’ in fights defendein’ us. If that aint progress, what the hell is?” If it was all true, then Brody was right. Ricky was growing up and become a more empathetic person. That was a good thing. We spent the rest of the night snuggling on the couch and just enjoying life.

 The next morning, I was up before dawn working on my business plan. Elliot’s sample helped immensely! It made me think through everything. Revenue streams, sales and distribution, labor, growth opportunities. EVERYTHING! My mind was in a totally different space and the ideas were flowing through me. After a couple of hours of that, I went to the kitchen and started setting up all the jars and spices in the kitchen and getting ready for a day of pickling. Brody got up and took care of the animals then came into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. “Damn, somebody was up early this mornin’” he said with a kiss to my cheek.

 “Yeah, all you guys got me thinking about this as a business yesterday and I had to get my thoughts down. Damn, this could be something big, Brody.” I said as I continued to convert my kitchen into pickling central.

 “Yup, it could” he said. “You’ve got a good product and you’re smart enough to pull this off.” We were still talking about the business and trying to wake up when BA burst into the kitchen, it was a little after 8AM. I hadn’t showered, was barefoot, wearing sweats and a tight tank top. I didn’t even care… yup, I was becoming a proud redneck.

 “Mornin’ boys” BA bellowed with Daddy following behind her with a bag of cucumbers and a box of canning jars. “Y’all ready to get to work son?” She asked. “And where the hell is that future sister in-law of yours? Slackin’ already?” BA and Daddy set down their supplies on the kitchen table and BA looked around the room. “Hell, Red! You got this place organized… you’ come a long way in a year.” She was right, we did this for the first time a year ago and she had to teach me from the ground up. Back then I was bored and lonely before school started and was beginning to regret the move when BA and I teamed up. She got me drunk on moonshine, taught me how to pickle (her philosophy was that we should pickle ourselves first), and made me feel welcome and at home. A year later, this is my home and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

 

To be continued…