The Village

Seth’s Perspective

It was a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving and Zach was out in the yard already working on our Christmas lights. Since we were hosting both families for the holiday, Zach decided to get a jump on the light display so everything up and ready when the family came to town. Brody and Max took that as a challenge and decided to get theirs up too. Once everyone else started, Harris and Terrence joined in and we all agreed to switch the lights on for the first time at dusk on Thanksgiving night.

Meanwhile, Eli made his way across the country driving 2300+ miles in a U-Haul with Brian by his side, all his and Riley’s junk in the back, and his Bronco in-tow behind. I had taken a break from helping Zach to check on the chili in the crockpot when I heard Eli driving the truck up the long gravel driveway of his new home with its horn blaring. Riley and Petunia ran outside to greet my brothers and I put the cover back on the chili and followed them. We hadn’t seen each other since the funeral but we all spoke regularly… it seemed that we were all hungry for connection since mother died. Anyway, I was excited to have my two brothers there. The guys got out of the truck and I had a quick flashback to the day the two of them dropped me off at the dorms in Milwaukee for the first time all those years ago, the three of us had always been there for each other. My two road-weary brothers stretched while Zach ran in the house and grabbed some beers and we all took a break on the front porch.

“Damn, this place is amazing” Brian said as he looked out on our autumn colored kingdom. I gave him the tour of the house and property while we finished our drinks, he was in awe of what we had all done to the place, and if you haven’t figured it out yet, I was in awe of it too. I loved our home. When we finished the tour, we all unloaded the contents of the U-Haul into the barn, Zach had all his lights organized on the one side of the old outbuilding, so we piled all Eli and Riley’s stuff into the other side (Jesus! Riley must’ve had a hundred boxes marked ‘clothes’). While we were working, all the neighbors showed up, they saw the truck come down the road while they were out working on their Christmas lights. As was becoming the norm, it turned into an impromptu party… fine by me, I had enough chili in the crockpot to feed an army (I always made way too much of everything just in case). It was nice to see Harris and Terrance, I hadn’t talked to them since before my mother died, I thanked them for the beautiful flowers and their donation to The Village, they offered their condolences and asked about the family. When I told them we were hosting everyone for Thanksgiving they readily volunteered to loan us their house.

“We’re going to Boston with the boys to spend the Holidays with Terrance’s parents. We fly out Wednesday morning and won’t be back until later Sunday, you guys can have run of the place… we have four bedrooms.” Harris offered; without hesitation, Terrance nodded his head in agreement.

My eyes grew wide, “Oh my god you guys, that would be fantastic! Are you sure you want to subject your home to our chaos?” I asked.

“Absolutely, glad to help” Terrance said as he reached in his pocket and took a house key off his keychain. “I’ll text you the alarm code before we leave.” They didn’t hesitate to open their home to us.

After a little arguing back and forth I humbly, and gratefully accepted their generous offer. “I’ll have a service come out and give it a thorough cleaning before you get home” I promised.

“Nah, we have a service that comes on Mondays anyway… it’s fine, you guys don’t need to worry about it, I think it’s great you’re all going to be together” Terrance said.

“At least let us pay for your cleaning service” Zach offered. Of course, they refused and we went back and forth again until they finally gave in and agreed to let us pay for the cleaning… a very small price for have my family all together. It was the perfect solution.

Out impromptu party continued, but I was preoccupied trying to figure out sleeping arrangements and making room assignments in my head. That night after everyone went home, and our siblings got settled into their rooms for the night and Petunia jumped into bed with Uncle Brian… she always seemed to welcome the newcomer, I sat on the couch in the living room with a pen and paper trying to organize where to put all the relatives in two weeks. This was really happening.

Zach had gone up to bed an hour or so before, he woke up and came downstairs to see what I was up to, “What the hell are you doing? Come to bed.” He muttered as came up behind the couch and put his hands on my shoulders.

“I’m trying to figure out where the hell to put fifteen adults, a baby (Mary’s daughter) and four kids (Maddox, Brooklyn, and Theresa’s two boys).” I replied in frustration.

“We have two houses and two weeks to figure it all out, come to bed and get some sleep” Zach pleaded. I refused. He grabbed the pen and paper from my hands and tossed it onto the coffee table in front of the couch. “If we’re gonna be awake in the middle of the night, let’s at least have a little fun” he whispered as he bent down to kiss my neck. His hands found their way under my sweatshirt and to my chest pinching my sensitive nipples and exploring my warm body. I leaned my head back, and Zach planted a kiss on my supple lips and a tongue down my throat. His hands tugged on the bottom of my sweatshirt and pulled it over my head leaving me sitting on the couch in just my boxers. I heard the old furnace kick in and felt a whisp of hot air from a nearby vent hit my young body as Zach pulled from our kiss and made his way to the front of the couch.

He freed my semi-erect slab from my boxers as he knelt in front of the couch. “Zach, stop. My brothers and Riley are upstairs.” I protested with little conviction, I wanted him but wasn’t really in the mood to have our family comedown and catch Zach with a mouthful of my manhood.

“You can hear all three of ‘em snoring” he whispered as he looked up at me and grabbed my cock. He was so gutsy, I was always afraid we’d get caught, but he would push me to the next step. “Nobody’s coming down here” he growled as our eyes locked and he gave me a good long nuts-to-head cock lick sending a shudder of pleasure through my entire body. My involuntary moan of pleasure put a dazzling smile on his handsome face and emboldened him to go down on me. Jesus H. Christ! His hot mouth enveloped every centimeter of my instantly steeled rod making me writhe, squirm, and beg. Fuck sleeping arrangements, my mind was on to more important things now… like face fucking my hot husband.

I put my hands on top of his head and lifted my hips as I thrust into his hot, wet, waiting mouth. My unexpected enthusiasm gagged him and he spit my cock out, I put it right back in, after all… he started this not me! Zach worked me like the skilled cocksman he was. His mouth moved up and down as his hand followed, twisting, turning, and bringing my recently sleeping beast back to life. I thrust into his mouth and down his throat as he gulped and gasped for air, I held his head tight and showed no mercy as I pummeled my way in and pulled my way out in a sexual fury. I could feel my balls boil and churn, ready to burst! I yanked his head off me by his soft, blonde locks.

“Fuck” Zach said as he panted, trying to catch his breath. “You’re fucking possessed” he whispered with a devilish grin. Zach loved to get me worked me into a sexual frenzy, in fact he prided himself on it.

“I wanna fuck you” I said wiping the smirk from his magnificent face (Seriously… I know I have said this before, but Zach truly was the most beautiful man on earth).

“Not happening” he said with a smirk that I took as an opportunity.

“You know you want it” I said as I got up off the couch lifting him off his knees as I did. “You always say you don’t like to get fucked, but I know you fucking love it” I whispered breathily into his mouth, a big smile formed on his face as I went in for a lust filled kiss. He aggressively kissed me back as he put a hand on the back of my head and pulled my face hard into his, then shoved his tongue down my throat. Didn’t want to get fucked? My ass! He squeezed my dick as we kissed and I spit into my hand, reached around, and inserted a finger into his tight, tight, TIGHT, little pucker. His ass ring gripped my finger like a vice almost cutting off the circulation, it seriously hurt! His intent was to discourage me but it had the opposite effect. I wanted to fuck him more than ever! I pulled my finger out and whispered, “Bend over” then I turned his larger-than-mine frame towards the couch and away from me. I put my hand in the middle of his back and pushed him down onto the couch, he planted his hands on the seat cushions and his chin rested on the back cushion. I got on my knees and spit into his perfect little pucker and reinserted my finger again, moving it in, out, and around to open him and prep him for the inevitable. His brown eye was locked with my blue eyes and I couldn’t resist going in for the kill. My lips locked onto that perfect little dimple in the middle of his crack, god everything about that ass was perfect! I resisted giving it a slap for fear of waking our sleeping siblings, but I felt a perfectly planted bite was more than appropriate. Poor Zach yelped quietly as he bounced up a little making me giggle.

He looked back over his shoulder and said, “be nice, fucker. You’re gonna make me scream” then laughed a little. He was enjoying it as much as I was! 

After several minutes of my sensual tongue lashing, I stood behind him, lined my cockhead up with his perfect entrance and asked, “are you ready to be fucked by your adorable husband?”

He moved his hands to the back of the couch bracing himself and exhaled. “Ready. Go slow.” Another gob of saliva fell from my lips and landed perfectly on its target. I slowly pushed in, breaching his chasm as he gasped. I stopped, waiting for a signal. “Okay, go slow” he said, and I obeyed. Little by little my eager explorer made its way into the dark cave determined to complete its mission. I could hear Zach sucking air between his teeth as he powered through the pain. Soon my sandy blond pubes were tickling his perfect ass, I sat there and reveled in the tightness. I slowly pulled out, but before I could exit Zach’s hand reached for my ass and pulled me back in. I moved in and out slowly while he moaned in quiet pleasure, we were both listening to make sure they were all still snoring away above us. The fact that they could walk down the steps any second and catch us added to the thrill. “Okay, now really fuck me” Zach grunted. I complied. My thrusts were steadfast and unyielding as Zach bit into the back of the leather couch to keep from screaming. He contracted his sphincter around my petrified wood holding me tight and sending a charge of electricity through my body that energized us both. After several robust strokes I let go and flooded his canal with the fluid of life. After I let go of my seed, I kept thrusting and Zach kept pushing back yearning for more. I pulled out huffing and puffing and catching my breath… the sounds of snoring still permeated the air.

Zach stood up facing me, stroking his hard perfection. I was spent, but I owed him. I got on my knees and took him in my mouth, expertly stimulating every ridge, vein, and pore. It didn’t even take a minute before his nectar filled my mouth and soothed my desire. I swallowed every drop, appreciating the amazing gift he was giving me. I stood. We kissed, then we headed to bed for a good night’s sleep.

When I awoke, I was alone. The house was quiet and the doors to the other bedrooms were still shut. I went down to the kitchen and found a pot of coffee already made and about half empty. I poured a cup and went searching from Zach in my boxers and sweatshirt. Out in the yard there were strings of lights, The Nightmare Before Christmas inflatables, and Brody James original wood cutouts laid out neatly around the yard in some kind of order. I followed the trail down the drive towards the street when I heard Zach’s voice.  When he came into site he was up on a ladder and I realized he was dictating notes into his phone, I said “good morning” with a chirp and startled the hell out of him. “You’re up early.”

“Yeah” he replied. “I got up early and started working on the lights, and the case keeps running through my head so I’m making notes as I go.” Zach had been working on a high-profile discrimination case against the state and it was going before the judge between the holidays. There was a lot of media hype around it and all the partners at his firm had their eyes on him. This could be a career booster for him if he won. He had been working his ass of on it! Early mornings ang late nights at the office, waking in the middle of the night to go make notes on his laptop, even dictating notes to his phone while he was working around the house. He was on a mission to seize this opportunity.

“Where’s Petunia? Still with Bri?” I asked.

“She’s out here somewhere” He answered. “She heard me in the hallway and scratched at his bedroom door until I let her come with me.” I picked up a string of lights and handed it to him, the next thing I knew, I was lugging another ladder from the barn and helping him on his quest to get the lights up. Almost two hours had gone by when we both got texts from Riley saying, ‘breakfast is ready!’

“Riley made breakfast?” Zach asked with a smile and a scoff. “Man, you’re training her well.” We both laughed and headed towards the house, the smell of bacon wafted from the house. “PETUNIA!” Zach yelled several times as we made our way to breakfast. No response.

“I smell bacon, she’s probably already in the kitchen begging” I said as we made our way up the old porch steps, through the screen door, and into the house. Our three siblings were in the kitchen sitting at the table, while the bacon, eggs, sausage, and potatoes waited for us on the stove.

“Help yourself” Riley said with a proud grin. The bacon was burnt and the eggs over cooked, but I was impressed at her efforts anyway.

“Where’s Petunia?” I asked.

“She was gone when I woke up” Brian said.

“She was out with me but I figured she came in for bacon” Zach said. Riley got up and yelled her name out the back door to no avail.

“She’s out there somewhere, probably has a squirrel concerned in a tree or something.” Zach said unconcerned. “She’ll show up when she’s hungry.” Then we all ate, talked, and laughed like we always did when we were together. I had the best friggin’ family. The conversation turned a little serious as we talked about mother’s death, Father being back in the picture, the impending holiday gathering, and how everyone was doing.

“I talk to dad every couple of days” Brian said.

“He’s so fucking different.” Eli added.

“I know” I said adding my two cents. “We talk all the time and he actually seems interested in my life. It’s weird. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop” I said as my brothers all nodded while they stuffed their faces with burnt bacon and over-cooked eggs.

“How’s Brad doing with all this?” Zach asked. I had talked to my brother a couple of times and he seemed genuinely happy. My brothers all agreed. “That’s awesome, the apology from that Best guy was pretty freaking heavy.” Zach said and I agreed. Eli and Brian stopped Eating and stared blankly at us.

“What apology?” Brian asked. So, I told them the story. They had no clue any of that had happened at Mother’s wake. “Barry Bestford was one of the guys who abducted him?! I never knew that!” Brian exclaimed. The three of us didn’t know a lot of the details of Brad’s abduction, he sheltered us as much as he could from the awful truth.

“So, the other guy abducted was Benny Bestford?” Eli asked with wide eyes. “Wow!”

“You know him?” I asked.

“Yeah” Brain answered. “We both did. He was a year ahead of me in school, nice guy. I think he went to school in Tucson or something.”

As we talked about him, Riley started stalking him on social media. “Looks like he lives in Colorado with his husband now. They’re both cute” she said holding her phone up to show us pictures. It was like the decade-old mystery was finally being solved. The psychologist in me could totally see how the apology might bring Brad some closure and peace.

“Mr. Bestford always seemed gay to me” Eli said as he went back to stuffing his face.

“Yeah, I could see that” Zach added nodding his head.

“Shit, so many of those religious homophobes are closeted” Brian added.

“What about your dad?” Zach asked innocently. The room went silent as my brothers and I all exchanged glances. Zach realized what he had just suggested and tried to backpedal, “I mean, I’m just talking you guys… I didn’t mean... um…”

“That would explain a fuck of a lot” Brian said. “The homophobia, why he didn’t want Brad around blowing his cover…” Where we seriously discussing the possibility of my father being gay? My homophobic, religious zealot of a father… gay?!

“… and why he and Mr. Bestford were always together” Eli added. Holy shit, there might be something to all this. We talked about it a little longer, it was a lot to process, so I switched the subject.

“Brian, what time is your flight today?” I asked.

“I don’t fly out until tomorrow” he answered. “I got a cheaper flight, I leave at 3PM Monday. I was kind of hoping I could hang with you at the office and see you in action?”

I smiled at that, my big brother the psychologist wanted to watch his baby brother, the other psychologist in the family, at work. I pulled out my phone and checked my calendar; a 9:00 session with Maverick, another with Colton before lunch, a meeting with Rodney in between, and the usual paperwork crap. “Yeah, I got a couple of sessions you could probably sit in on if you really want to then I can take you to the airport, there might be some downtime when I do boring Executive Director stuff.”

“Sounds awesome. I got my laptop and can work in the lobby or wherever” Brian said.

“Is BA working tomorrow?” Zach asked, I nodded. “He can hang with her during the downtime, she’s a trip.” Brian liked the idea, he had met her a couple of times over the years at Max and Brody’s wedding, then again at ours. We had a plan.

As we were all talking and finishing up breakfast, Zach and I got a group text from Brody, ‘Hey I think one of these things belongs to y’all’ it said with a pic of Petunia and Zoey laying on Max and Brody’s kitchen floor eating Frosty Paws.

“That little bitch flew the coop” Zach said as he showed the picture to our siblings and got a laugh. ‘Where the hell did you find her, we thought she was out chasing squirrels’ Zach texted back. ‘She came in with Zoey’ Max texted adding his two cents. ‘We’ll drop her off later.’

 

“Another mystery solved” I said. She had never taken off before, but she apparently had a plan and knew where she was going. We finished cleaning up after breakfast and all took our showers, got dressed, and all went out to work on the Christmas lights. By then Max and Brody were crunching up the drive in the gladiator with the two dogs in its bed. The pick-up came to a halt, Petunia and Zoey were wagging their tails as they jumped out of the bed and greeted us all… that little bitch showed no remorse. She ran away and the only consequences were playing with her best friend, eating a Frosty Paw, and getting a free lift home. Somehow, I was sure that this wouldn’t be the last time she took off. Zach tried to scold her and just got his face licked in return. 

“Gotdammit, y’all. This place is lookin’ so good!” Brody said with a smile as he checked out the lights. “I can’t freakin’ wait to see this old road lit up for Christmas.” Brody’s passion for our little community was adorable. He and Max pitched in for a bit, then we all took a break and cracked open a few beers on the old porch again. We all caught up, we had all just been together for my mom’s funeral a couple of weeks prior, but it wasn’t exactly a happy social event.

“Bri’s gonna shadow me at the office tomorrow” I told Max.

“Awesome, you should bring him out to the candle barn so he can see the guys in action” He replied. Brian liked the idea.

“My first session is at 9:00, when do y’all start?” I asked.

“I got a couple of the guys coming in at 7:00, we have a big order shipping out this week” Max answered.

“Cool. We’ll be by early in the morning.” I answered. For the rest of the day, I hung lights and hung out with my friends and my siblings while the dogs ran free. It was a great Sunday! The next morning, we all got up and got ready for work. Even Eli had a meeting to go to with one of Bubba’s friends who was throwing work his way until he got all his certifications.

I loaded Brian’s luggage into the giant trunk of The Green Dragon and we headed to BroMax Farm. “God, I can’t believe you’re still driving this old thing” he laughed.

I sighed in response, “Zach wants me to upgrade, but I’ve got an emotional attachment to her” I said.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m a psychologist. I get it.” Brian laughed. “Freedom, accomplishment, independence. You bought her on your own. She proved you could make it on your own.” He hit the nail on the head. Then said, “but, you’ve accomplished so much more now. You deserve an upgrade, and there is no doubt in my mind that you will find a new purpose for this old lady” Brian said with a laugh in his voice as he patted the dashboard. “Like when I gave the Subaru to Alejandro.” The Subaru was Kevin’s first car, he gave it to Scotty, Scotty gave it to Brian, and Brain shared it with me and Eli. It had been sitting in his garage for a couple of years until a few months back when he gave it to Alejandro… one of the kids from The Village that Brad and Scotty sponsored. “I couldn’t part with her until I realized that someone else needed her more.” I totally understood what he was saying.

“Well, if the opportunity presents itself, then maybe I’ll be able to give her up” I said with an acknowledging smile.

“You’ll know when its right” he responded as we pulled into BroMax and drove up the long driveway to the candle barn. We got out of the car and made our way inside. The last time Eli was there, was for Max and Brody’s wedding and the barn was still a barn. “Holy shit! This is amazing” Brian exclaimed as Max greeted him. Ricky took us on the tour and started showing him around and introducing him to the guys. He talked to Mason and a couple of the other guys before we headed to my office. “That was impressive” he said to me as we drove towards downtown. “The guys I talked to seemed so damn well adjusted, they feel needed and useful.”

“And hopeful” I added. “Wait until you meet Colton and Maverick. “Colton had nothing, he was living in his car and now he’s building a life for him and his sister” I said then told him Colton’s story. “Maverick was homeless and living in the sand dunes when he found us” and I told him his story. “He’s still new to all this, but he’s doing well. Max has him managing the herb gardens and greenhouse. These guys just need a chance. Someone to give them a hand and believe in them.” I said gushing about my guys.

“Like a Brad and a Scotty” Brian said with an understanding grin.

“EXACTLY!!!!” I screamed. My brother totally got what we were doing. We pulled into a parking spot behind The Village and I started collecting church pamphlets off the cars.

“What are those?” Brian asked, I handed him one. “Fathers old fucking church?” he asked in disbelief. “Here?!”

“Yup. Right across the street” I said telling him the stories as we walked towards Marilee’s for coffee. When we entered the coffee shop, Marilee did a double take as people often do when they see me with one of my extremely similar looking brothers.

“Oh my god, there’s two of you” she said with a smile.

“Is that a good thing?” I asked slyly making her laugh. I introduced her to my brother and she sang my praises… it was a great ego boost. We got our coffee, and two others for Rodney and BA then went back to The Village. I was giving Brian the tour when BA and Rodney showed up. Everyone was so welcoming. Brian sat in on my sessions with Maverick and Colton and hung out in the office until it was time for us to head to the airport.

On the ride to the airport my brother said “Seth, today was great. What you’re doing is so… so… well, inspiring. You’re doing so much more than just guiding these people, you’re changing their futures” he paused for a minute then said. “I guide my patients and help them build a roadmap for a better life them hope they go down the right path; you’re building the roadmap then jumping in the passenger’s seat and riding with them as they drive down the road towards a better life. I’m impressed. I wish my work was that fulfilling.”

Inside I was beaming with pride. Brian’s respect meant the world to me.

To be continued…