The Village

Seth’s Perspective

We had worked our asses off again on Saturday morning and got so much done. FINALLY, I could see our home through all the junk, we just had to bring it to life! I shared the vision that Kelly had helped me hone with Zach and he was all in, he was as excited as I was about it. We started on the second floor hardwoods, the first bedroom was stained and drying, the other rooms we sanded and ready to be stained.

In the afternoon, Kelly went with me back to Lowe’s to return everything I had bought the day before. We picked out a weathered looking gray stain for the kitchen, paint colors for the other rooms, and then headed to a specialty store we found online to buy the galvanized fixtures, and hardware for the cabinets. Lastly, w we ordered the barn door for the pantry online. We got back to the house a little after 4:00, and I felt so damn good about our place. Eli had picked-up Riley from her spa appointment, the other guys had put the first coat on the hardwoods in the other two bedrooms and in the hallway. Bubba was there talking to Zach. He was doing a project over at Harris and Terrance’s place (they always had something going on) and stopped by to check on progress. “Wow, y’all have gotten a lot done in just three days” he said to me as I walked in.

“Yup” I said before excitedly vomiting our vision for the kitchen out at him.

“Dayum. That’ll be cool” he said. “I got a guy that can do the cement countertops for y’all” he offered. “His rates are usually reasonable and he does great work. I can call him and have him come out and give ya’ an estimate.”

“Hell yeah” Zach answered. Bubba called the guy on the spot, He was working in the area and said he’d stop by later to give us an estimate (he did, and it was surprisingly reasonable, He also convinced us to carry the same look into the bathroom vanities. We hired him).  

“y’all got the floors and kitchen under control” he said. “It sounds like you need me to do the plumbin’, insert the glass in some of the cabinet faces, and then do the bathrooms… right?”

“Yeah, and build the island in the kitchen” Zach said.

“I can handle that” Bubba said with a smile.

“What about redoing the kitchen floors too?” Zach asked. “We can pull up the linoleum, but sanding them down might be too much for us to handle.” Bubba was fine with that. Then we went through the house with together and made a list of what we needed to buy and all the dimensions, then he gave us an updated estimate. It was a little less than the original since we were doing most of the floors and the kitchen cabinets ourselves… it was all doable within our rehab budget if we could keep material costs reasonable. Bubba left and it was time to go over to BroMax for dinner. Zach, Petunia, and Eli got in Nathan’s pick-up and I jumped in the Rover with my in-laws and we all headed down the road and up the long gravel drive to BroMax. Max had just gotten a huge order from one of his hotel clients and had the guys working overtime to catch up. There were cars were parked along the drive including Gina and Dylan’s minivan. We parked the vehicles and Petunia jumped out of the truck only to be attacked by Zoey, and Dylan’s dogs Roscoe and Bosco (her littermate). The four of them together were a lot to take but they took off and went out to the pasture to terrorize Jimmy.

Kelly and Nathan had never been to BroMax and wanted to see every inch of the place. Max and Brody Proudly gave them a tour of the house. Eli, Riley, and Zach went out back to see Gina, Dylan, and Maggie. Riley used to visit us at college all the time and her and Gina had bonded over the years; they were so excited to see each other. I went out to the barn to check on the guys… my guys. I had been out of the office for a couple of days and felt so disconnected from everyone. My big toe was barely and inch inside the old structure when Taylor yelled my name and came moving towards me, “hey Seth, can we talk? I need your advice.”

“You can use Brody’s office, he won’t mind” Ricky said, and we headed up the steps.

“What’s up?” I asked Taylor.

He looked at me with a huge smile like I had never seen on him before, it was brilliant and there was an air of pride to it as he said, “I have three job offers and need some help deciding.”

“FUCKING AWESOME!” I yelled without even the slightest hint of professionalism. I was more excited than he was. We sat in the chairs in front of Brody’s desk and he told me about the offers; the insurance company, the car dealership, and the restaurant all came through. As we talked through the details, I realized how young he truly was; he had no real clue about the working world! Two out of three of the offers had health benefits and he had no clue what that really meant in terms of value and security. He was also extremely unsure about selling insurance because he didn’t quite grasp why anyone would want to buy it. That baffled me for a second until I realized that he was nineteen years old, never really owned anything worth protecting, and probably never had health insurance. I tried to explain everything to him and he seemed to grasp it; it was such a strange conversation but extremely eye-opening to how different the world Taylor saw was from the one I lived in. After a solid half hour of discussion weighing the pros and cons he asked me, “What should I do?”

That wasn’t for me to say. Yeah, I had an opinion, but that didn’t matter. I asked him, “What do YOU want to do?”

“Car sales” he said without a hint of hesitation. “They said I could do sales or service, but I want to do sales.”

“Why?” I probed.

“Because I think I’d be good at it and could make a lot of money” he said. “Plus I don’t really understand insurance, and I don’t really want to be a waiter. I dunno, the guys at the dealership were joking around with each other and laughing; it just seemed like a fun place to work… and… I love cars” he went on to speak with passion in his voice as he went off on a tangent about how his mom had an old Mustang when he was a kid, he loved that car and his mom used to promise him that it would be his when he was old enough to drive. “I was only ten years old, but that was MY car” he said. Then the story turned dark, his dad just sold it one day because he needed the money for booze, he and his mom cried for three days. She bought that car when she was eighteen with the money she earned from working after school and it meant something to her… but to his dad it was just another drink. Taylor went from elation to near depression with just a few sentences as he spoke of his parents. I got him back on the subject slowly and gently because he had ever opened up to me that much before and I didn’t want to shut him down. The offer from the dealer gave him a salary and an opportunity to earn decent commissions, plus they would give him car to drive (he loved that idea). The insurance job was probably the best long term career opportunity, but for a guy like Taylor thinking beyond his next trick is long-term thinking. He came to Wilmington out of necessity but who knew if he really wanted to put down roots and stay. Our goal was to give him opportunities and help he see a path forward, where that path would lead was up to him.

“I think you’ve made up your mind” I said.

“I don’t make great choices, Seth” He admitted for the first time with a bit of an embarrassed smirk. “Is this a smart choice?”

I smiled and said without hesitation “Yes. And you’re making it for all the right reasons.”

With that decision apparently made, I asked, “How is the apartment hunt going?” He updated me on the three places Denny showed him. “Have you built a budget based on your income from the dealership?” He looked at me like I was from another freaking planet. He had no clue where to start. I could here everyone talking downstairs, the tour had ended in the candle barn. I walked over to the French doors in Brody’s office and looked down into the candle factory and saw Brody.

“Hey Brodes” I yelled down. “Can I use the legal pad on your desk?”

“Help yourself to whatever y’all need up there” He yelled back. I sat down with Taylor and we wrote out a budget. He was clueless but he caught on quick. His income narrowed down his apartment choices down to one, the others were too expensive. He could make it on his salary, but things would be tight. The more cars he sold, the more comfortably he could live… that seemed to motivate him. I spent a good hour with him working through his budget, we even worked out budgets based on the income from the other two positions. The more we crunched numbers and worked through scenarios, the more confident he felt about his decision. 

“I’m gonna accept the car salesman job” He said with a proud, confident smile.

“I think that’s a good decision” was my only response then we discussed next steps, including how to turn down the other two positions without burning bridges. He was like a sponge just taking it all in, this was all new to him. At the end of the conversation, I congratulated him, he thanked me for my help, and we went out back to join the others. Everyone was already eating by then, Ricky stayed for a burger so that Taylor had a ride back to Harrington House. Riley and Gina were engrossed in girl talk, Kelli was loving on baby Maggie, and the others were all in a loud, laughter-filled discussion. Kelli made Taylor a plate and he woofed it down before he and Ricky took off. Eli and Riley weren’t quite ready to call it a night when Kelly and Nathan decided to head back to the hotel so they decided to sleep at BroMax Farm that night. Once Nathan and Kelli were gone, the rest of us sat around the patio just talking While the dogs laid lazily around our feet, and Maggie was starting to fall asleep in her Uncle Brody’s arms.

Riley was sitting on Eli’s lap and they were being quiet (especially for them), then Eli said, “we got something to tell you guys.”

Riley jumped in and commanded “but NO ONE tells my parents!” That did it. They had our full attention. “I didn’t take a spa day this morning…” She said then paused for dramatic effect (she loved drama) “I had an interview.”

“Like a job interview?” Zach asked. “Here?! On a Saturday morning?!” Riley smiled and Eli nodded. “What the hell, Riles? You just moved to Phoenix.”

“I was job hunting and for kicks I put in Wilmington and this great job at one of the museums popped up.” Riley had a degree in Fine Arts with a focus on marketing. “I told her I was in town this weekend and she agreed to meet me this morning.”

Zach was in shock, “Wait, wait, wait… are you seriously thinking about moving here?!” The couple smiled in response to Zach’s question. His shocked expression turned into a huge smile at the thought of his sister and my brother joining our village. “How did it go?! How did it go?!!!!” He asked with childlike exuberance. Riley filled us all in, it sounds like it went well and that she had a decent shot at it.

“What about you?” I asked my brother Eli. “Would you move here too?”

He just looked at me and said, “DUH. We’re getting married… so YES!”

“What about your job?”

“I’m an electrician, I can find work anywhere” Eli responded with confidence. My brother was always confident and never seemed to worry much.

“Hell” Brody chimed in, “Bubba could set you up with a buttload of contract work. He’s busy as a one-armed wallpaper hanger these days.”

Gina squealed in excitement then hugged Riley, “fucking MOVE HERE! DO IT!” she said to my sister in-law.

“The interview went great and the job seems perfect! But do NOT tell my parents! If mom finds out she’ll bug the crap outta me until we move here” Riley said rolling her eyes. “Having both her babies in the same place… please.”

Then for the rest of the night we all talked about Riley’s prospective position, job opportunities for Eli, where they could live, and just dreamed out loud about the two of them moving here with the rest of us. At one point in the night, my brother Eli and I locked eyes and we both smiled so flipping huge! The thought of my brother living near me was so exciting. Eli was my protector when we were younger, he did his best to keep my father away from me… all my brothers did, but Eli was the one who was there with me the entire time until we finally moved in with Brad. We were very different, but had a bond that was beyond description, not to mention Eli and Zach bonded as “bros” the very first time they met, and I loved the hell out of Riley. Having them living near would be unbelievably amazing. Family… real family living so close.

Eli came over and sat next to me “So, what are you thinking baby brother?”

I sighed and lied, “I’m not thinking a damn thing.” Inside I was jumping up and down with excitement. “I refuse to get excited until it’s real” I said looking at him. “If I get excited and it doesn’t happen, I’m gonna be so flipping depressed.”

Eli smiled at me, “I get it.”

“Are you even sure you want to move here?” I probed further. “What about the family? You love living by them.”

“You’re family. Zach’s family. And we’d BOTH love living by you.” Eli said with a smile as he grabbed my knee and shook it. “Besides, it’s beautiful here, they have all four seasons but the weather’s not too extreme. I think we could build awesome life here.” Then he paused and asked, “Seriously, would you be good with that, or would we be cramping your style?”

I just wanted to scream out ‘Good with it? GOOD with it?! YES, I’D BE FUCKING GOOD WITH IT!!!  GO PACK YOUR SHIT RIGHT FUCKING NOW!’ But instead, I answered meekly, “I’m not going to get my hopes up yet, but having you two here would be freaking awesome, Eli.” He smiled that huge, brilliant, Westin brother smile. That smile all my siblings had. That SAME smile that kept us all strong through years of hell and back. Whether I liked it or not, my hopes were up.

It was late when Gina and Dylan headed home to put Maggie to bed, and the six of us went up to our rooms to get some sleep before another day of hard labor turning The Witch’s House into our home.

It was a hot night. Petunia was sleeping in her bed in the corner of the room and Zach and I were lying naked on top of the covers facing each other. “So, that came out of nowhere” Zach said with a smile.

“No shit” I replied. “I’m doing my damnedest no to get too excited until it’s real. But damn, I’d love having them here.”

“Me too” Zach said. “But I didn’t have a clue they were thinking about moving here. I’d be fine with them living with us until they got settled.”

“Me too. We’ll have the room.” I replied, then we talked about how awesome it would be, and how if we all live in North Carolina, his parents would probably retire there, etc. etc.

Then Zach ended our conversation by saying “This move was the right decision, I love it here, and I love you” and we kissed tenderly with our eyes open and smiles on our faces. Zach pushed his groin against mine. We were both flaccid, but as he ground against me I could feel the blood rushing through his instrument making my own grow hard. It felt a little dirty with my brother and Zach’s sister in the next room but I didn’t care. We continued to kiss passionately and grind lustfully, damn I loved sex with my husband. The feel of his warm, full balls pushing against mine was a sensation that just blew my mind. That feel of them slapping against mine was so sensual and intimate. Zach reached down and grabbed my balls between his thumb and forefinger and pulled, I let out an involuntary grunt of painful pleasure then returned the favor.

“Fuck” he grunted then surprised me by whispering “pull harder.” I squeezed and pulled a little harder until he moaned into our kiss then cranked on my balls again… it was something new as we pulled, massaged, and squeezed each other’s nuts. Fuck, it hurt, but felt so fucking good. Most of our sex had been gentle, clean, love making… some would call it vanilla. But this was a more animalistic and it felt so painfully good as our cocks became ridiculously hard. We grunted quietly doing our damnedest to not wake everyone else up. Still laying on our sides, Zach pushed his cock down between my legs and rubbed it under my balls with the tip just touching my hole; my hole contracted in response.

Zach turned just for a moment to reach into the nightstand and get the lube. He squirted some into his hand then stroked his ample cock with it, his fingers occasionally brushing against my tight hole driving me insane. When he had us both slickened up and ready to go, he grabbed his cock, rubbed the head under my balls and on my crack, then aligned it and pushed his way in with a plop. Oh my god, it felt so amazing and my sphincter grabbed him tight. “Fuck, so tight’ Zach moaned as he pushed his way in and out of my hole all the while stroking my cock with fury. He got me so close, then slowed down. He brought me to the edge again, then again slowed his pace. He was edging me with his hand while his cock filled my passage. “I want you to cum first” he whispered.

“Make me cum, Zach” I whispered into our kiss as he fucked into me from the front, as his hand continued to reach between us and stroke my cock. Faster and faster his hand moved until he brought me to the brink… this time letting my seed escape my balls, rise up through my shaft and shoot out my hole to land between us. I convulsed in pleasure as my passage clenched around the familiar cock pummeling my hole.

“Fffffuuuuuccckkkk” Zach grunted into our kiss as his tongue devoured my mouth. He kissed me so fucking hard as he unloaded his hot, milky jism into me as he continued to pump in and out. We were making hot, passionate love. It was a combination of love and lust that knew no parallel but it left us both satisfied, content, and ready to fall asleep in each other’s arms.

Sunday morning, I awoke exactly as I had dozed off… in the arms of my one and only true love. We went to take a shower, but Riley was already in there and Eli had called next. Ugh. I forgot what it was like living with a house full of people that included my brother… ugh. I loved him but he could be annoying as fuck (usually on purpose), I guess I just described every typical older brother in the world. Zach went back to bed for a few minutes while I went down to the kitchen to start breakfast and waited for my turn in the bathroom.

Max and Brody entered the kitchen dressed and ready to go. “Well, are y’all ready to put us to work?” Brody asked.

“Hell yeah” I said. “I was hoping you guys could attack the yard. My mom found a brick patio under the grass and weeds outside the backdoor and I’m sure there’s more to discover.”

“Seriously?” Brody asked. “How ‘bout I ride my tractor (which was really a riding mower) over there and clean up the yard for y’all.”

“That would be awesome! We’re so focused on the inside we haven’t even thought about the outside yet.” I responded. Frankly, I wasn’t quite ready to tackle yard maintenance of a hundred-plus year old house with five acres so I was happy Brody volunteered. Riley and Eli entered the room while we were talking and breakfast was sizzling on the stove, I could hear Zach’s shower running above us.

“So, when do you hear back from the museum, Riley?” I asked.

“They have a few more interviews, but plan on making a decision early next week.” She said as she sat down at the table with Brody and Max while Eli poured her a cup of coffee and brought it to her… she was definitely the family princess. “She told me that I’m the top candidate… I dunno, she could be full of shit and saying that to everyone for all I know” she scoffed making the rest of us laugh. I couldn’t help but notice my brother watching her every move, hanging on her every word, and smiling as he drank his coffee sitting across from her. He loved her as much as I loved her brother. Riley had the floor as we talked and I finished making breakfast. Zach came down just as I set everything on the table. We all ate breakfast together, I woofed mine down so I could run up and take a shower. As soon as I was ready, we got into Nathan’s truck and headed home. Max and Eli followed behind in Old Blue and Brody gassed up his little tractor, rode it to the edge of their property then onto the road and over to our place… he was such a redneck.

We all went to work on the house again. Nathan and Kelly joined us about an hour later. They had gone out for a nice breakfast and took their time getting there. By that time, we had all the carpet was pulled up and moved to the dumpster and the entire second floor was ready for either sanding or varnishing. Eli was switch out the chandelier in the dining room, Zach and Riley were pulling up tackboard in the living room, and Me and Max were taking the doors and hardware off the kitchen cabinets while Brody cut the lawn.

“Wow! You guys are making progress” Kelly said as she entered the now echoey kitchen, picked up a screwdriver and went to work. “Did you kids have fun after we left?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’m still in shock that Eli and Riley are here” I said over the noise of the electric screwdrivers Max and I were wielding.

Kelly smiled, “I knew you’d like that surprise, and I’m just happy to have my two babies in one place.” Then Kelly went on gushing to Max about BroMax Farm. “Oh Max, your home is beautiful… and that barn. Oh my gosh it’s amazing.” Kelly was one of those people who noticed and appreciated how much effort people put into things. “The vision you guys had to have had to bring that business to life…” she said shaking her head in appreciation. “You know, when I walked through you barn, I couldn’t help but notice the positivity and camaraderie. You’ve done an amazing job leading that team.”

“I wish I could take credit for it all” Max said. “You met Ricky, our head of production, right?” He asked and Kelly nodded. “He gets the credit. He keeps that place running and on schedule, and he has this talent for training people and making them feel like part of the team.” Max worked, talked, and beam with pride at the same time as he talked about his protégé.

“Well, it takes an amazing leader to recognize talent and know how to put it to work… I’m impressed Max. You’ve done a lot in a short time. All of you boys have and just continue to impress me.” Kelly said as she unscrewed the handles from the old drawers. “Seth, you have to take me down to see The Village offices while I’m here, and I want to see Zach’s office too.” She was the quintessential mother dealing with her kids growing up… she was proud and worried all at the same time and I loved her for it.

For the fifth day in a row, we worked our asses off on that old house. We had all the carpeting ripped out, all the floors sanded and ready to stain, the kitchen cabinet doors and drawers all removed and out in the barn ready to sand and stain, and Eli was halfway through changing out all the switches, outlets, and light fixtures.

Mom and Dad Hall disappeared in the pick-up truck for a while and the rest of us went outside to finish uncovering the patio and help Brody trim up the yard (well at least the yard around the house). We were all out in the yard when the Hall’s returned in the early evening with a truckload of patio furniture, and a few buckets of chicken. They had bought us a beautiful set of ratan furniture as a housewarming gift. We all unpacked it and set it up on our newly uncovered patio. There was a table with six chairs, a high-top table with four bar stools, and a conversation set with a loveseat, two chairs and a table. It fit fantastically out there.

“We couldn’t let that patio go to waste” Nathan said.

“Thank you, it’s awesome. I can’t wait to move out grill over here” Zach said in response.

I thanked my in-laws then we all loaded our paper plates with KFC, stuffed our faces and enjoyed a night with family and friends on our patio.

 

To be continued…