The Village

Seth’s Perspective

After an awesome weekend with the kids and our NC family, it was back to reality. Zach was buried in his latest case, and I had a busy day at the office dealing with the usual shit. I met with Asher again midday to help prep him for potential interviews. He hadn’t set up an interview with Brody yet, but it was in the works and if that fell through, we would have to line up other interviews. The bottom line is that we had to get Asher comfortable enough to make it through an interview on his own, especially if the option with Brody didn’t work out (but I had my fingers crossed). Meanwhile, Rodney had arranged for him to take over one of the studio apartments on the second floor when it was vacant. We had a villager who had just signed a lease on his own place and would be moving out in a couple of weeks. We typically gave Villagers two-three months at Harrington House (give or take depending on need), but we decided that Asher could stay until he finished school… almost a year… if he played by the rules and was making progress on his goals (that was a requirement of all residents).

Asher was smart but his fears and lack of confidence stood in his way. Rodney and I helped them write a cover letter that brought out their talents, but didn’t overwhelm the reader with several pages. Then we spent an hour doing mock interviews and helping him craft some concise answers. I loved the guy but he was frustrating as hell! Every time I thought he had it mastered, he would either clam up or go into ramble mode. His answers varied from one or two word responses to “motormouth rambling” (to quote Ms. Elkin), we were trying to help him find a happy medium. Well, we prepared him as best we could. Brody was in Phoenix with his team working a campaign, while we were meeting, he texted Asher to set up a phone interview for the next day. Rodney and I spent as much time as we could with Asher that day going through the details of the interview, how to answer, how to dress if Brody wanted to meet them in-person, etc. Rodney wrapped up our session with, “Okay, Ash, we got a safe place that you can move into in a couple of weeks, tomorrow you have your first interview, and we have a urologist that will see you (Terrance set that up for us). So, what’s your task list?” Rodney asked.

“Um, I need to make sure my phone is charged and my alarm is set for fifteen minutes before the phone interview” he answered.

“Yup” I answered. “Then what?”

“Give notice that I’m moving out, call the Doctor to make an appointment” Asher said.

“Then what?” Rodney asked.

“Make a list of places I want to work and send out my cover letter and resume, and find a button down shirt and pair of dress pants for my interviews… and then practice, practice, practice for my interview” he answered with a cute smile on his face. He was warming up to us.

“Perfect” Rodney said with a smile.

“And don’t’ forget to call me after your interview” I added. Then we talked a few more details before we let Asher go. He walked past BA’s desk and halfway through the lobby before he stopped, turned back, and said, “Thank you guys. I um, I’m gonna get this job.”

“Say it again, and this time mean it” I said loudly with a grin. We had been working on his confidence all afternoon.

“I am going to GET THIS JOB” he said loudly with confidence and a beautiful smile making me and Rodney cheer for him. BA cheered from behind her desk! God, the world had just shit on this kid his entire life, and I wanted them to have a real chance at a future. We were opening doors, I just hoped he was strong enough and confident enough to walk through them.  He turned to walk out the door just as Taylor walked in with some “cars for queers” paperwork for BA, he had just handed a few new vehicles over to Daddy. Oh my god, the look on Asher’s face as the longhaired charmer walked past him was priceless, he almost gave himself whiplash as he whipped his head around to get a good look at the stud. He was like a cartoon character with eyes bulging out of their sockets, and tongue hitting the floor.

“Asher, this is Taylor, one of our Villagers. He started a program that encourages car dealers to donate trade-ins they can’t sell to The Village” Rodney said.

“Then my husband and the villagers fix ‘em up” BA added.

“It’s nice to meet you” Taylor said with a winning smile and firm handshake. Oh my god, poor, shy Asher almost melted away. They turned redder than one of Izzy’s tomato friends.

“Um. Hi. Um. I’m Asher” the cute, delicate Asher stammered out before adding, “Bye, thanks everybody” and turning to rush out. In his haste to get away from the intimidating stud, he walked awkwardly into the closed door. He did his best to recover from the faux pas and regain his dignity, but instead he tripped over a stack of community flyers. The poor guy was mortified!

Taylor, always the gentleman, walked over and asked if he was okay and helped him pick up the flyers. Poor Asher… I could tell he was embarrassed. Taylor made a joke and did his best to make him laugh it off. He finally laughed, then left… still embarrassed. “Sorry guys, I have that effect on people” Taylor said with an arrogant smile and his chest puffed out. The three of us got a laugh.

Asher took up a big chunk of our day, but he needed all the help he could get, so out time was well spent. I spent the rest of the day catching up before leaving to pick up Izzy and Maggie from Mrs. Mavises. Max was picking Theo and Freddy up from camp, so I agreed to get Maggie home so Gina didn’t need to pack up the baby just to run pick her up. Like I said, this group parenting thing was working out for all of us. I dropped Maggie off and then stood by the SUV talking to Gina for a while. We mocked Max for getting a minivan (and then we both secretly admitted we were a little jealous). After that I went to Bromax to get Freddy. Max had picked him up earlier and he was out back playing with Theo and Jimmy (the goat). Then I went home and made dinner for the family, I was tired from the weekend so I kind of half-assed it and made macaroni and cheese with cutup hotdogs… hey, at least I made a fresh side salad with stuff from our garden (no. I didn’t dare use Belle the tomato in fear of causing trauma to the littlest member of our household). Zach came home and the four of us sat down to a nice family dinner with Freddy providing the entertainment as he excitedly told us all about camp that day… every sentence out of his mouth started with “me n’ Theo”, the two were best friends. I loved the idea that our kid was best friends with our best friends kid and they lived right across the street.

After the kids went to bed Zach and I talked about the adoption. “We’ve got a court date for next month” Zach said as we sat on the couch, They don’t always require a court appearance, but since Karen was basically doing this voluntarily before the state stepped in, the judge wanted to meet with us and the kids (I was guessing fact that we were both men raised a few eyebrows too). “This is going to happen, so we need to talk to the kids about it.” We hadn’t said anything to them for a million reasons, the top two being they were so young that they probably wouldn’t understand it anyway, and the other being we were afraid it wouldn’t really happen. Well, it was clear this was happening so we had to talk to them. Riley and Eli were coming on Wednesday, we decided to tell the kids on Thursday. We spent the next hour trying to craft our words… I mean, what the hell do we tell them? They love their mother, Izzy’s best friend is a tomato, what they hell is she going to understand of all this anyway?” That was the topic of discussion until we went to bed.

Tuesday was just a typical day, drop off the kids, go to work, etc. Asher called me late in the day, his phone interview went well and Brody set up an in-person interview for Thursday when he was back in town. Asher was freaking out! I calmed him down and got him focused on a task list. BroMax was out in the country and Asher lived in the city and used public transportation, so I offered to give him a ride (transportation was another hurdle we’d have to jump if he got hired). Tuesday night Riley and Eli came over for dinner, when the kids left the table Zach and I asked them to be Freddie and Izzy’s guardians should anything happen to us. Eli just responded, “It’s not like you had to ask, we would’ve just done it anyway.” That was our family! We took care of each other. At the same time, I felt like a weight have been lifted off our shoulders just knowing the kids would be taken care of and loved if the unthinkable happened.

That night Zach and I were so much more relaxed than we had been in a while. There was a lot of stress in our everyday world, but we both felt lighter that night. We were under the covers and it just felt right to make love. It started with tender kisses and caresses, then Zach moved down my body sensually kissing and licking every inch of me except the seven and a half inches between my legs. He was leaving the best for last. He made it down to my toes and spent some time worshiping my feet. I know I’ve said this at least once before if not more, but I swear my big toe is connected directly to my cock! When he took that toe in his mouth, I got a hardon to end all hardons. He was hitting nerve endings that I forgot even existed and it gave our soft, gentle love making a turbo boost. Zach looked up at me with my toe in his mouth, it was so freaking hot… and hilarious at the same time. I laughed as Zach licked my toes, then moaned in ecstasy as he moved to the soles of my feet bathing them with his warm tongue. It felt amazing, but I could only take so much. “Suck me” I whispered. Zach shot me an evil grin; his plan was working perfectly. He pushed my legs apart and snaked himself between them planting his tongue on the underside of my churning balls. Fucking amazing! He cucked my balls into his warm mouth and teased my testicles with his tongue. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as I instinctively opened my legs as wide as I could as I silently begged for more. Zach licked around my cock but didn’t touch it. He licked by upper thighs, my balls, my abs, he even playfully sucked on my bush as he looked in my eyes but he never touched my manhood. ARGH! I wanted him to suck me so bad!! He playfully licked my body from toes to head then back down until finally sweet Jesus! HE took my in his mouth, past his warm tongue and down my throat in one big gulp. I reached down and held his head there as he choked on my cock head; I could feel his hot breathing as his nose exhaled into my trimmed bush. FUCK! After his teasing, the warmth of his mouth and breath, his throat contracting around my man meat… it all felt so… so freaking out of this world.

Zach reach backed and smacked my hand as the pushed the top of his head down deeper… apparently too deep. I finally let his head go and he came up coughing and gasping for air. “Christ, Seth. Just because we have guardians for the kids doesn’t mean it’s okay to kill me with your fucking dick” he sputtered at me as he choked, cried, and laughed all at the same time.

I felt horrible for choking him, but it was his own damn fault. “I’m sorry, but fuck that felt good” I whispered. Zach chuckled with a sly grin on his face and went back to work. He loved getting me worked up. He went down on me again with his talented mouth and maybe two minutes later I pushed his head down again and unloaded my baby batter down his throat. He swallowed, choked, and sputtered as he drank in as much of me as he could, letting just a few drips fall from the sides of his mouth. He didn’t even try to come up for air. When I was done my loving husband licked my cock clean then came up for our customary post-BJ cum-kiss.

“That was frigging amazing” I said.

“You know what’s even more amazing?” he asked before jumping up, flipping around and straddled my face. “The way you’re going to eat my ass until I blow my load on your chest.” Oh my god!!! That was so un-Zach-like, but before I could even process it my tongue had met his musky hole and my hands had parted his ass cheeks. I ate his ass like a pro. My tongue danced with the little blond hairs around his sweet, tight, pink, jock hole before piercing into his dark, musky tunnel. I was a man possessed as I licked hid insides with a rigor like no other.

Zach pushed his ass hard against my face bending my nose with his force. He was squatted there on my face jacking-off his spit-covered cock and moaning from the furthest depths of his hot, sexy being. “fuck” he moaned, “fuck, Fuck, FUck, FUCk, FUCK!!! His quiet moans morphed into a wail as he shot his hot seed onto my torso, abs, and happily spent member, not thinking twice about waking the kids (not that it was really a concern, those two would snore through Armageddon). Once he was spent, Zach dropped his entire weight on my face. I pushed him off with a laugh. He laid next to me and I kissed him, “your ass tastes pretty good, doesn’t it?” I said with a sly smile making him laugh. He rolled on his side and I spooned him.

The next morning, we woke up in the same position. I kissed his neck before we got up and took a quick shower together before the kids woke up. Then, we got dressed and attacked our Thursday. Zach dressed Izzy and supervised Freddy who pretty much dressed himself (sometimes he needed just a little help). Meanwhile, I made breakfast and the four of us sat down and ate together as a family (we tried to sit at the table and eat together whenever possible). It was Zach’s day to take Freddy and Theo to summer camp, they left about ten minutes before me and Izzy. As Izzy and I made our way out of the house, she suddenly remember her friend Belle and ran to the kitchen windowsill to get her. Damn, I thought Izzy had forgotten about her, the tomato had ripened since we picked it on Saturday. Izzy stood on her tiptoes to reach her friend “I take Belle” she said as she walked toward the front door.

“No, Izzy. You can’t bring a tomato to daycare” I said as I tried to take the ripening “fruit” from her.

“No” is all she said as she pulled it back, then headed out the door and towards the Atlas where she waited by the back door to be buckled in, tomato in hand. I locked up the house and then came out to buckle her in. I got in the driver’s seat, buckled my seatbelt then looked in the review mirror at Izzy sitting in her seat talking to Belle. I was in my mid-twenties, had a fucking master’s degree, and was just outsmarted by a two and a half year old whose best friend is a tomato. What the hell? We drove to Mrs. Mavises listening to our playlist while Izzy talked to Belle. When we got to daycare, she insisted that Belle “comed wif.” So, there I was trying to explain to Mrs. Mavis (and Gina of course) that my child’s best friend is a tomato.

“I’ve seen crazier” said Mrs. Mavis as she welcomed Belle to daycare. Gina of course thought it was hilarious and encouraged Izzy.

Once the kids were settled, Gina and I stood by her SUV and talked, “You don’t need to bring Mags home tonight, DJ has a doctor’s appointment so I’ll be out anyway” she said. “But damn, it’s been so nice not to have to pack up the baby and trek over here every night.”

“I know. Right?” I barked back. “Max has been picking up Freddy from camp, it’s so nice!” Then we talked about kids, schedules, carpools… you know, parent shit. After a few minutes we went our separate ways. My day was typical, however, it ended different than usual. I promised to pick Asher up and take him to BroMax for his interview, but first I had to pick up Izzy. I got her (and Belle), put Asher’s address in the GPS and headed to pick him up. He was standing in front of the nondescript apartment building, just waiting. Asher was wearing a pair of gray dress pants, a black button down shirt, and a purple paisley scarf tied like a tie. His auburn curls were perfectly quaffed, and for the first time I noticed how long his eyelashes were.

“Hey Asher. You look great. Are you ready?” I asked as he got in the car. He nodded, sat in the passenger seat, and buckled himself in when Izzy piped up from behind.

“Hi” she said startling our guest.

“Asher, this is Izzy” I said making the introduction. “Izzy, this is my friend Asher.”

“Asso” she repeated pronouncing it exactly like you think she did. Her “sh” sounds weren’t so great and her “er” came out like an “oh.” He couldn’t’ help but smile at her with his face beet red… Izzy had that effect on people. After she said her hellos, she went back to her conversation with Belle, and I talked to Asher.

“So, are you feeling confident?” I asked.

He sighed heavily, “I guess.” It was clear he was nervous.

“Brody is a good guy and he thinks you’ve got talent, he’ll love you. Don’t sweat it just be you” I said, then I quizzed him, throwing him interview questions. He did well, his answers were on point, not too long, not too short, by the time we pulled up the drive of BroMax he was more comfortable.

I parked the Atlas, “this is it” I said. Asher looked at the house and barn through the windshield. “Let’s go” I said as I got out of the car then opened the backdoor and unbuckled Izzy. Then we walked to the Candle Barn with Izzy leading the way.

She walked in the big, open door and yelled “I here!” And the boys flocked to her. Our kids had become fixtures at BroMax since my accident. Brody and Max took care of them so often while I was in the hospital and during my recovery, and of course, Izzy charmed the hell out of all the guys… they loved it when she came to the barn to visit. Ricky scooped her up in his arms and blew a zerbit on her cheek. Izzy took it upon herself to make introductions “Dat Asso” she said to Ricky while pointing to Asher.

The guys laughed, Asher turned beat red, then corrected Izzy with and quiet, “I’m Asher.” The guys all introduced themselves and welcomed him to their unique workspace.

Izzy was safe with Ricky so I took Asher up to Brody’s office. Brody had his back to me as he studied some printouts he had pinned to the wall. “Hi Brody” I said.

“Hey, Seth” He responded without turning around. “Max and the boys should be back from camp in a few minutes.

“This is Asher” I said making Brody turn around. Asher was studying Brody’s studio with its shelf of Funko pop figures, and Marvel, and Star Trek action figures… every nerd’s dream space. The collections were not lost on Asher.

“HI, I’m Asher” he said as they shook hands. Then Asher added, “qachaw'lIj HIchaw', ghu' wa'DIch”

Brody responded, “nuqneH. soHvaD SoH 'e' vIParHa' jIH” with a knowing grin. Asher nodded in response.

I just looked at the two of them, dumbfounded as they spoke in some foreign tongue that I had no idea either could speak. Brody looked at me and said, “Klingon.” The ice had been broken and the two nerdy, artist-types had been introduced, I went downstairs and left them alone. While the two were interviewing I went down to the candle barn and entertained myself by talking with the guys as they worked. I marveled at the atmosphere of teamwork and camaraderie the Max and Ricky had created, it was fun to be around. Ricky had taken Izzy out back to see Jimmy the goat. Meanwhile Max showed up with Freddy and Theo after a long day at summer day camp, and eventually Brody emerged from his office with Asher and introduced him to Max. We stayed for a few minutes and talked to Brody, Max, and all the guys. Asher was totally out of his element, but he did a good job of socializing. The guys did their best to make him feel at ease.

We soon said goodbye to everyone and I loaded the kids into the SUV so we could take Asher home. He didn’t shut up the whole way home! He rambled on about how nice and talented Brody was and how much he wanted the job. Brody had him prepare a file (whatever that meant) to see what he could do, and apparently, he did a great job. There was an excitement and pride exuding from Asher that I hadn’t witnessed before. Damn, I hoped Brody planned on hiring him or we could be headed for trouble. When we got to Asher’s place, he opened the car door, turned to me, and said “Thank you… for… well for everything. I… I won’t let you down, Seth.”

“I know you won’t, Asher. You’re a good guy.” I responded with a smile then added, “goodbye, Asher.”

Freddy yelled form the backseat, “bye Asher.”

Then Izzy piped in with, “Bye Asso” and OMG Freddy almost keeled over with laughter. He caught the joke that his little sisters speech created and thought it was hilarious. Then Izzy said, “heo asso” (Izzy to English translation = “here Asher”) and held up Belle, offering it to Asher.

“You want Asher to take Bell?” I asked surprised.

“Yeah” she said still holding out the fruit for Asher.

“Belle the tomato is one of Izzy’s best friends” I said to an extremely confused Asher.

He finally took the tomato from the tiny hands and said, “Wow. Thank you for sharing with me, Izzy” and the little girl’s face lit up with pride. She just gave her best friend to someone who really needed one. I know that wasn’t her intent, I mean hell if I knew Izzy it was likely because she got tired of lugging a tomato around, but she unwittingly helped someone in need. THAT’S MY GIRL!

As Asher shut the door and walked to his apartment, I couldn’t help but notice a confidence in his step that I hadn’t seen before. It’s amazing what a little kindness and acceptance can do for a person.

On the way home I called Brody, “So how did it go?” I asked.

“Good. I just got off the phone with Kev” he answered. “I sent Ash’s resume to HR, they’ll do a final check on him, then write up an offer” he added nonchalantly.

“You’re hiring him??!!!” I almost yelled into the phone.

“Hell yeah” Brody replied. “I need help and they got skills… done deal. Plus… he speaks Klingon.”

“When are you going to tell him?” I asked excitedly.

“As soon as HR dots the i’s and crosses the t’s, I’ll give him a call then send over the offer” Brody said. “I gotta get a desk set up in my office for him before he can start, but I’m thinkin’ sometime next week.”

I let out a sigh of relief. My first visit with Asher had me worried, I thought they might stand in their own way, but here we were just a week out and there was a new life ahead. Our freaking village could accomplish anything!

  

To be continued…

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Author’s note: Klingon to English translation of Asher and Brody’s Klingon exchange is below (according to translate.com). And before all the nerds start to geek out on me, I DO NOT SPEAK KILINGON!

• Asher: “I like your Start Trek Collection”
• Brody: “Thank you, I take it you’re a fan”