Mike’s First Big Assignment
After graduation, I got into the swing of my job as a reporter. Just like Chuck had promised I was covering a lot of council meetings and police station press conferences. I was getting a couple of articles printed every week. Andrew was still looking for a job. He still wanted to do it on his own, which I admired, but I found it hard to sit by without helping him. I was being as supportive as I could. I just wanted to write up an article about how prejudice our schools were against not only black, but also gays and God forbid if you were both. I knew I had to just sit back and let Andrew work this out on his own.
It was 1980, and an election year, so Chuck was using me to cover all the local elections. He called me into his office.
He said, “Kid, how would you like to go to Nashville this week to cover the debates between the candidates for state Senate?”
I smiled, “Sure Chuck, I would love to. When did you want me to leave?” I was excited that Chuck trusted me to go cover the debates.
He said, “You can leave on Wednesday. I have interviews lined up with our local candidates on Thursday morning and have a couple more scheduled on Friday. I figured since you were there you could stop and see my buddy, Joe Spencer. He works in the records department at the capitol. Gather up all the names and dates you want him to check on for your journal thing. I’ll send them to him and maybe he can help you find some of your missing information.”
I grinned, “That’s a good idea, I will get everything to you today. I really appreciate your help on this.”
I paused then said, “Hey Chuck, can I ask you a question?”
He nodded, “Sure kid, what is it?”
I asked, “Would it be ok if I took a friend along with me to Nashville?”
He shrugged, “I guess so. Do you have a girlfriend you want to take along?”
I paused, “No, I was thinking I would ask Andrew if he wanted to go with me.”
He gave me a questioning look, “Your roommate? You know the paper only pays for your meals and a single hotel room. If you need to get a double room, you will have to pay the extra.”
I took a deep breath, “I won’t need a double room Chuck. Andrew is more than just my roommate.”
It occurred to me that Chuck and I had never talked in depth about our personal lives. He did mention that he was married but I didn’t even know his wife’s name or if he had any children.
Chuck looked up from his desk, “Oh.”
Then it dawned on him what I was saying. He said, “Oh, I see. I must be losing my edge kid, that never occurred to me.”
I asked, “So are you ok with me taking Andrew along?”
He shrugged, “Yeah kid, like I said any extra expenses are on you.”
I got home that night and asked Andrew if he wanted to get away for a few days. I told him we would leave Wednesday morning, and I would have to work Thursday all day and until noon on Friday. We would have Friday afternoon to do whatever we wanted. If he was ok with it, we would stop in Jackson to see mom and Aunt Janet on the way home and stay for the rest of the weekend.
He said, “Maybe a little time away from everything would do me some good. Hey, I could call my sister so I could spend all day Thursday with her while you’re working.”
Andrew’s sister, Mary, is the only member of his family that still talks to him. The rest quit talking to him when he came out to them.
I smiled, “That’s a great idea Andrew. I am also going to stop by a friend of Chuck’s who has access to a lot of records, so I can do some more research on Walter and the journal.”
Andrew called Mary and I called mom. We soon had our trip all planned out. The next morning, Chuck called Joe and gave him all the information I had on Walter and Ellis. He told him that he would dig up whatever he could find. I got my last-minute instructions from Chuck and headed home so Andrew, and I could get our bags packed.
We got into Nashville right after noon, we checked into the hotel and freshened up. We were meeting Andrew’s sister and her husband for supper that evening. We had a great time and Mary, and her husband could not have been nicer. She caught Andrew up on all the rest of the family. I could tell that the visit was really what Andrew needed. Andrew and Mary made plans to meet again in the morning.
I got my interviews done and watched the debates and filed my story with the paper. Chuck was going to run them over the weekend. I called Chuck to update him on everything and asked if he wanted me to cover anything else since I was here.
He said, “No kid, I just got all your stories, everything looks good. Have you meet with Joe yet?”
I said, “I have an appointment with him at 1:00 today.”
He chuckled, “Good luck kid, I hope he is able to help you. When are you planning on heading home?”
I replied, “We are leaving in the morning, I wanted to stop in Jackson and spend the night with my mom. We’ll get back to Memphis Sunday afternoon.”
Chuck said, “Sounds good kid, see you Monday.”
I met Joe at his office. After he told me a couple of stories about him and Chuck in their college days, he pulled out a file.
He said, “Well Mike, here’s what I found. First, I checked vehicle registrations, the only thing I found was an old Model T, that was last registered in 1922 to an Elmer Hankins. I checked the census records, it looks like Walter’s old man was born in Westburg. He was listed there in the 1920 census, but not in 1930. I checked death records, and you were right, he died in a house fire in 1922. Walter was born in 1908 and listed in the 1910 and 1920 census. But in the 1930 census, I found him in Yorktown, a small farm town between Westburg and Jackson. He was living with a family as a nonrelative and listed as a farm hand. That was the last time he was listed in any census in the state of Tennessee. I did find one more thing, an employment record of him working for a print shop in Jackson. His last date of work was May of 1932.”
I sat there trying to take it all in, “Wow Joe, so it looks like he worked his way from Westburg to Jackson. But you have nothing after 1932?”
He nodded, “Sorry Mike, I couldn’t find anything else. I even checked the death records, just in case. I still came up with nothing. I figured he either left the state or if he did die and had no next of kin, he may be buried in a potter’s field somewhere.”
I sighed, “Yeah, I have thought of that too If that is the case I may never know. Did you find anything on Ellis?”
Joe said, “Well, there were a lot of Jacksons in Tennessee, but none of them by the name of Ellis. Look Mike, there were a lot of factories and mills that moved black workers around for cheap labor just like Thornhill did. Just like you said earlier, they were no better off than slaves. They were paid very little, and the businesses didn’t keep the best records.”
I nodded, “That’s what I was afraid of. You should have at least found a birth record though, right?”
He shook his head, “No, I only checked records from Tennessee and there was nothing. If he was born out of state, it would take a lot more digging. If we knew what state, it might be a little bit easier.”
I looked through all the papers, “Joe, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. You at least got Walter out of Westburg for me.”
He gave me a smile, “No problem Mike, I wish I could help more. Just let me know if you find anything else that I can check out for you.”
I returned his smile, “Oh, and thanks for the stories about Chuck. I may need them the next time I piss him off. By the way, this is for you.”
I reached into my bag and handed him a bottle of Cutty Sark, just as Chuck had suggested. It doesn’t take long to figure out how a reporter gets a lot of his information.
Joe grinned, “Thanks Mike, let me know once you solve your mystery. I would love to hear what happened.”
I got back to the hotel just as Andrew’s sister was dropping him off. We said goodbye to her and headed to our room.
I asked, “So how was your day with your sister?”
Andrew smiled, “It was good, we had a nice talk. She even convinced my younger brother, James, to meet us for coffee. I gave him my phone number and told him if he ever wants to talk, he can call me.”
I gave him a hug, “That’s great Andrew. Do you think he will?”
He nodded, “Yes, I do. He gave me a hug when he left. I feel good about seeing him. I am so glad you asked me to come along; I needed some time away.”
I still had my arms around him, “I’m glad it worked out too.”
Andrew asked, “Hey, did you find anything out about Walter?”
I smiled as I pulled out the papers the Joe gave me, “Yes, I did.”
I filled him in on all that Joe told me.
He listened and said, “It doesn’t give you all the answers, but you know he made it to Jackson.”
I nodded, “Yeah, at least he didn’t die in that house fire.”
Mike and Andrew Celebrate Their Good Day
Andrew smiled as he wrapped me in a hug. He asked, “Have you ever had hotel sex?”
I chuckled, “No, just in an old shed, our dorm rooms and then our bed. Have you?”
He gave me a kiss, “Nope, how about a shower. Then we can see if hotel sex is better than home sex.”
I sighed, “Well, I don’t know… Oh who am I kidding. Why do we still have our clothes on?”
Seconds later, the hot water wasn’t the only thing that was steaming up the bathroom. Once we carefully washed the days grime from our bodies we were sprawled out on the bed. Each of us had a delicious dick in our mouths and hands on our ass cheeks. The taste of Andrew’s precum satisfying my hunger with every suck.
I felt Andrew starting to explore my still damp crack with finger. I let out a sigh of pleasure and gladly spread my legs. His finger found my hole, he gently circled my pucker like water circling a drain, then pushed in. An “oh God, yes” escaped my lips. Andrew chuckled, knowing he had me right where he wanted. He released my cock from his mouth and rolled me onto my back. I was happy to let him push my legs into the air. I grabbed my ankles and pulled them apart as Andrew grinned and licked his lips while he looked at the playground that lay before him.
Andrew leaned down and licked the newest drop of precum that had formed, then gave my cum-filled nuts a loving suck. I gasped as he continued down until I felt his warm breath on my patiently waiting love tunnel. Andrew’s tongue went to work, only fueling my lust for what was to come. God, I loved the rim jobs that Andrew gave me, but I needed his cock to fill me up.
Once Andrew felt he had me sufficiently lubed up, he moved up for a passionate kiss. I felt his engorged manhood at my entrance. I grabbed his ass and pulled him closer; he took the hint and guided his missile inside me. I let out a deep breath as Anrew bottomed out, hitting that special spot inside me. Our lips remained locked together as he began to pump in and out. I can’t even begin to describe the pleasure Andrew was giving me.
He panted, “God Mike, I love being inside you.”
I exhaled, “I love you being inside me, please pound me.”
Andrew was happy to oblige; he picked up speed and intensity. Damn, he was pushing all of my buttons. The friction of my cock being trapped between our stomachs was causing my juices to start to bubble to the surface.
Andrew’s breathing became ragged, and he said, “I’m getting close.”
I nodded, “Give me that load.”
Within seconds we both spewed our hot seed at the same time, just like a well-choreographed dance. Andrew filled my guts, and I plastered our stomachs together. Our kiss only got deeper as our spasms finally began to subside. Andrew’s cum-covered cock finally started to deflate and slipped from my satisfied hole. He rolled beside me, and we wrapped our arms around each other.
Andrew said, “Wow, hotel sex is really awesome.”
I chuckled, “I can’t disagree.” I turned to face Andrew and said, “You know, they have hotels in Memphis too.”
He laughed, “Yeah, I guess they do.”
Andrew Gets a Break
We headed to Jackson early the next morning, we got to mom’s in time for lunch, I filled her in on my job at the paper. She told me that she had quit her job at the bank and started working as a receptionist at a doctor’s office. She and Aunt Janet teased each other that they got along a lot better now that they weren’t together 24 hours a day. I was amazed at the change in my mom, she had become a confident, independent women. I was pleased to see the change.
We visited the rest of the day and Aunt Janet had invited some of her kids over for supper that night. It was good to see my cousins again, I introduced them to Andrew; it went better than I had expected. We had a pleasant evening, and we made plans to come to visit mom and Aunt Janet one weekend every month from now on.
We got back to Memphis on Sunday afternoon at about 3:00. The phone rang as we walked through the door.
I answered it, “Hello.”
The voice on the other end asked, “Yes, is Andrew Watson there?”
I answered, “Yes, he is. Just a moment please. Hey Andrew, it’s for you.”
Andrew took the phone, “Hello… Yes of course, I, wait… What? Yes, I know where that is… Of course, 9:00 works fine for me. No not at all, I don’t mind… Yes, I will see you then, Thank you so much.”
Andrew hung up the phone with a huge smile.
I asked, “Andrew what was that all about?”
He was beyond excited, “Mike, I have a job interview tomorrow morning.”
I said, “Really, where at?”
He said, “Down at the Douglas Academy. That was Dave Hogan on the phone, he was my supervising teacher when I was doing my student teaching. He told me that he was so mad when I wasn’t hired at his school, that he quit. He was just hired as the principal at the Academy. He told his Superintendent about me, and I have an appointment to talk to him in the morning.”
I smiled, “That is great news. What is the Douglas Academy?”
He took a breath, “It’s a high school for kids that don’t fit in the public school. It was set up a few years ago for at risk kids. Mostly kids from broken homes that may need a little extra help.”
I said, “That sounds like a lot of work Andrew, but I know it will be right up your alley. I know you will do well there.”
Andrew smiled, “Yeah, I know it will be a challenge. I need to make sure my suit is pressed.”
The next morning, I wished Andrew well and headed into the office. I updated Chuck on my week, and he gave me some follow up stories. I was working on my assignments, when just before noon my phone rang.
I answered, “Mike Jennings.”
It was the receptionist, “Mike, there is an Andrew Watson here to see you.”
I smiled, “I’ll be right there.”
I walked out the office door and Andrew greeted me with biggest smile, “I got it Mike, I am a teacher.”
I ran to him and gave him a hug and a big kiss. I remembered where we were and quickly turned to look at the receptionist. She quickly looked down at her desk and started typing.
Andrew asked, “Can you go to lunch so we can celebrate?”
I nodded, “I think so, let me go check with Chuck. Come on, I want to introduce you to him.”
Andrew followed me into the office, holding my hand.
I knocked on Chuck’s door and asked, “Chuck, is it ok if I go to lunch?”
He said, “Sure kid, don’t forget we have a meeting at 1:30.”
I said, “Right, I remember. Chuck, I want you to meet someone.”
He looked up from his papers, “Ok.”
I said, “Chuck Hancock, this is Andrew Watson.”
Andrew stepped into the office and shook Chuck’s hand.
Chuck was a little stunned, “So you are Mike’s um… er… roommate?”
Andrew smiled, “Yes sir.”
I said, “He doesn’t like to be called sir.” Then I turned to Chuck, “Andrew just got a job, we are going to lunch to celebrate.”
Chuck nodded, “Congratulations Andrew, have a good lunch and nice to meet you.”
Andrew took my hand again and said, “Nice to meet you too, Mr. Hancock.”
Chuck said, “I’ll see you at 1:30 Mike.”
Andrew and I ate our lunch as he told me all about his job. I asked, “Did he ask you about being gay?”
Andrew said, “Mr. Hogan told me that the only thing he was going to ask was if I was married and said to just answer that I wasn’t. I think he told Mr. Thomas, the superintendent, about us, but they agreed that it would be better for all of us if we didn’t make an issue out of it. As long as no one asked about it, he and Mr. Thomas weren’t going to say anything.”
I shrugged, “Well, I guess that works.”
He asked, “You aren’t upset, are you?”
I shook my head, “No Andrew, I just don’t want to feel like we are hiding our relationship.”
Andrew took my hand, “Mike, I don’t want to hide it either and I won’t. It’s just better if we don’t advertise it. You know it doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”
I smiled, “I guess you’re right; I am just happy you found your job and I know you will be a great teacher.”
I got back to office well before our meeting, I poked my head into Chuck’s office and asked, “Do I need anything special for the meeting.”
He shook his head, “Nope, just going to update everyone on upcoming stories.”
I smiled, “Sounds good.”
Chuck stopped me, “Hey Mike, so you and Andrew, how serious are you two?”
I furrowed my brow and asked, “Why do you ask? Is me being gay a problem?”
He sighed, “No, not at all. I just wasn’t expecting him to be um, well, er, black.”
I was getting a little bit upset, I asked, “What the hell does that have to do with anything?”
He sat back in his chair, “Nothing Mike, it doesn’t mean anything. I am just worried that other people might not be as understanding. I mean there are a lot of small, minded people in this world. People are just starting to get used to gay people, but the interracial thing is an added wrinkle.”
I scoffed, “Thanks for your concern, Chuck, but Andrew and I care for each other a lot. We’ve been together for 4 years and have already heard all the comments and we have learned to ignore the stares.”
Chuck held his hands up in defeat, “Ok kid, I wasn’t trying to upset you. I guess my dad instincts kicked in for a minute. It really isn’t any of my business, you just do whatever makes you happy.”
I sighed, “Thanks Chuck, I appreciate your concern, and I am happy.”
To be Continued…
