Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction. If you are
offended by graphic descriptions of homosexual acts, go
somewhere else.
Copyright c 2001 by Orrin C. Rush. All rights reserved.
Neither this story nor any parts of it may be distributed
electronically or in any other manner without the express,
written consent of the author.
This is a work of fiction, any resemblance of the characters
to anyone living or dead is pure coincidence and not
intended. They are all products of the author's imagination.
THE LIFEGUARD
Chapter 41
"I'm not a fucking prostitute, not even for a quarter billion
dollars," he raved. "What I have with you is sacred, and no
19 year old asshole is going to fuck it up."
I didn't say a word, but got up and poured him a stiff drink.
"He blindsided me. I didn't see it coming at all. Never
once did I get any warning signals. He's turned into a
control freak and he knows he's got me by the balls."
"Not yet," I commented, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
He grinned suddenly, "You're right, and it ain't ever gonna
happen, either."
"Want to start at the beginning?" I asked pulling him over to
me.
"Give me a minute to calm down," he said, cuddling up to me.
He was so upset he was shaking.
"Sorry about that. Blowing up sure felt good though. I've
been holding that in for about four hours. I just had to get
it out, and here I dump it all on you."
He took a long deep breath.
"He wanted to go fishing again. I don't know what it is with
all this goddam fishing! Anyway, this time he wants to go
stream fishing. Fine for him, a fucking nightmare for me.
On the lake, when you threw out bait, I think that's called
'casting', there isn't much in the way. Along the stream it
was a bit different.
"There's bushes, trees, rocks and my ass for the goddam hook
to get caught on. I got snagged on everything, including my
butt. You'll see the goddam wound I got!
"I tried. I swear to God I tried. I kept my cool, though.
When I couldn't stand it any longer, I just put my pole down
and went over and sat down on the bank.
"He hadn't laughed at my problems, and told me to relax, not
to try so hard.
"I asked if I could just sit and watch, fishing obviously
wasn't my bag.
"He said he'd quit too, and we could talk. I asked him what
he planned to do when he had all that money, assuming it was
a done deal.
"He outlined his plans, which really impressed me. It was his
intention to stay in school another year and get his degree,
hoping that Micron wouldn't make a big deal over the whole
thing until they actually had a product ready to sell, which
he estimated would take at least two years.
"In the meantime, he knew the other software giants would
keep after him, and he intended to tell them his program had
been sold, but not disclose who had bought it. I knew this
would make the Micron boys ecstatic.
"After he graduated, he wanted to spend time working on an
Operating System. He felt that the ones currently available
couldn't do justice to the platform he'd created, and also
wanted to take a swipe at the biggie in the industry because
of the way they'd treated him. They're the ones who had made
the threats.
"Everything that he told me was exactly what I wanted to
hear. He allayed my fears about corrupting and ruining him
with the money, and I knew Micron would be beyond pleased with
the arrangement. It had turned into a win-win situation.
"He tried to steer the conversation to me, but I threw it
back in his direction, keeping him talking about himself.
"The Mormon Church had stifled him, he explained, putting
blinders on him so he couldn't explore the world that he knew
was out there. He wanted to change all that and throw off
the shackles. The money he'd be getting would permit him to
do this, quietly.
"All this had lulled me into a false sense of security. Then
he dropped the bombshell.
'"Are you gay, Eric?' he asked in his little boy voice.
"Coming out of the blue like his question had, literally blew
me away. I want you to understand that during the time I'd
spent with him, there had never been anything to prepare me
for that! No vibes, no gazing at my crotch or anything.
"I'd been honest with him so far, why change now? I nodded
and said, 'Yeah, Spence, I'm gay,' as offhandedly as I could.
"Then he pounced. Not physically but verbally.
"'I'm gay too,' he admitted sheepishly, then paused. 'I'm
also in love with you. I'm a virgin and I want you to change
all that.'
"That made me reel. It didn't take long to realize that I
was in a corner. For many reasons, I didn't want to reject
him, hurt his feelings, but what he was asking me to do was
unthinkable. How could I talk him out of this wild idea
without alienating him?
"'Do you know what you're saying?' I asked.
"'I know exactly what I'm saying. I want to make love to
you, suck your cock, have you fuck me. Is that plain enough?'
"'I don't think that'd work,' I told him. 'I already have a
lover that I love more than I can tell you.'
"He had an answer for everything. 'That's OK, nobody has to
know.'
"'I'll know,' I told him. 'I just can't do it.'
"'Then I'm not going to sign your agreement,' he told me.
"'If that's the way it is, then that's it,' I told him.
"'You can change your mind,' he said.
"'I don't think so," I told him.
"'Maybe we'd better go home,' he said.
"We gathered up our fishing gear and went back to his truck.
The ride back to town was silent, he dropped me off at my
car, I headed to the airport, and here I am. End of story."
I spoke for the first time. "We both know that's not the end
of it," I told him.
"I know that," he said. "That's what scares me. Maybe I
shouldn't have run. Maybe I should have tried to talk to
him, reason with him. Oh shit!"
"Don't start beating on yourself," I said. "Give yourself
some time to think it over. Right then, you weren't in the
right frame of mind to convince him of anything."
"You're probably right, but having this hanging over me isn't
fun either."
"The door is still open," I told him. "If anybody can make
him see things like they are, you can."
"Maybe, at least there aren't any deadlines."
I thought about the dilemma he was in. I could give him a
way out.
"You could just do what he wants, then it'd be over. I know
it wouldn't mean anything. Afterall, there was that incident
with Brian," I told him.
"You wouldn't care?"
"Of course I'd care, but I'd understand. It wouldn't mean
that you loved me any less."
"That argument won't fly!" he flung back at me. "I'm not that
greedy! What happened between you and Brian was before you
made a commitment to me, so it doesn't count. Even if I
considered doing what he wants, I don't think I could even
get it up for the little bastard. I don't perform on
command. The most important thing is how I'd feel about
myself, and I don't think I could live with THAT.
"I know what you're doing," he continued. "You're trying to
make it easy for me, but that's not going to work. Goddamit,
I love you. I belong to you, body and soul, and nobody else
is going to get even a small piece of me."
"Then," I told him, "you're going to have to do the sales job
of your life, and I'm here to help you in any way I can."
Eric was normally a very deep sleeper, rarely moving around
much. That night, his tossing and turning woke me several
times, and he woke bleary eyed, unrested. Certainly not the
chipper, eager man with the sparkling eyes that I was used
to.
"Think I'll stay home today and think this over," he said.
"Last night, you cooled me down enough that I think I can
think straight."
"Want me to stay home so you can bounce ideas off me?" I
offered.
"Thanks babe," he said with a smile. "Let me work on this by
myself, but I promise I'll have a lot to bounce off you
tonight. You might come home a little early, though, we
could get 'bouncing' sooner," this said with a big leer.
It wasn't easy to concentrate. My lover had a problem, a big
one at that, so I had a problem too. I would have liked to
beat that damned kid over the head for putting Eric into this
position, but I couldn't.
Best idea was to get busy, not think about it, and give him a
chance to work it out.
By 3:00, it was time to go home. I hadn't accomplished a
damn thing.
Eric was sitting by the pool, notepads surrounding him. When
he looked up, his smile told me that he'd made progress.
"You're going to get in trouble for leaving so early," he
teased.
"I got permission from the boss," I told him. "You look
better."
"I've boiled it down to a few ideas that I think might work.
Gimme a kiss and go get outta them hot duds and I'll tell you
all about it."
"Here goes," he said.
"The first thing I have to do is talk to him. Face to face
would be best, but on neutral ground where he wouldn't feel
threatened. I've got a few ideas on that.
"Next, I'd work on convincing him that the business deal had
to be separated from sex. Use logic. Business is business,
and forced sex isn't any fun. He'll argue that it isn't
separate in this case, and I can counter that it should be,
it's wrong, appeal to the moral values that I'm sure he has.
"I believe this whole sex thing he's come up with is an
afterthought, something he came up with just recently. Damn,
I wish I hadn't been honest with him. If I hadn't admitted I
was gay, this would never have happened.
"He saw an opportunity and went for it. He may be infatuated
with me, but I'll have to convince him I'm not available. He
may be convinced that the stereotype is true, that any gay
man will fuck anything that's available. I'll have to
convince him that that's just not the way it is in reality.
"If he's so hell-bent on losing his virginity, I can help him
out. I know a lot of guys who might go for him, and not just
because he has a lot of money, or soon will, some damned
goodlooking guys, too.
"Then there's the business angle. The fact that the other
software companies low-balled him helps. I gave him our best
shot up front, and can argue from that position, pointing out
that he's in for one hell of a battle getting any of them up
to even close to that level, and that in the process he'd
lose his anonymity and none of his plans would come to pass.
"Trust, too. I think he trusts me, and I can play on that.
I've been honest with him from the get-go, so I'm sure I can
be convincing. I can play up the fact that Micron trusts me
too, and how, with my help, I could help him in the future
with anything else he might come up with.
"Then there's the 'Big Brother' aspect. Actually, I kind of
do feel like a big brother to him. All I have to do is
convince him that I feel that way ONLY, that there aren't any
sexual feelings at all, and that to force me into having sex
with him would change all that. I think he really wants a
friend more than he does a lover at this point in his life.
"Well, what do you think? Start shootin' holes."
I thought a minute. "All good," I told him. "You might
start with the 'Big Brother' thing and make it real clear up
front that you're just not available.
"Not that you or someone like you is unattainable, just that
you happen to be off the market. I know you don't believe
me, but in the eyes of every gay man, you're a walking wet
dream. Spencer no doubt sees you that way and came up with a
way to 'have' you. You're going to have to convince him that
his way won't work, and if you did give in, you'd hate him
afterward.
"Another thing is that you don't know just how infatuated he
really is. If he's serious, tell him that what he's asking
is running you away, and that if you agreed, he wouldn't have
any respect for you afterward."
"Do you think it'll work?" he asked.
"There's no way of knowing," I said. "One other thing.
You've been letting him call the shots, maybe it's time for
you to be a lot more assertive."
"Good idea, firm but gentle."
"What about timing?" I asked.
"He has my cell phone number and I have his. If he doesn't
call by Wednesday, I'm going to call him. I don't want him
to stew too long. Now, how about some of that other
'bouncing' we were talking about?"
The next two days were harder on me than they seemed to be on
Eric. "Either it works or it won't," he told me. "I've got
a gut feeling that it's gonna work, and I'm going with that."
I wasn't so sure. There were too many if's, but I didn't
share my misgivings.
Spence didn't call which worried me. It didn't seem to
bother Eric at all. Wednesday night arrived, and Eric called
him. I left him alone to do it, but in minutes he found me.
He was beaming. "You were right, assertiveness worked," he
said.
"I got him, said 'Hello', then TOLD him we needed to talk,
man-to-man. He agreed. We're having dinner together
tomorrow night in Boise. That's it."
"How did he sound?" I asked.
"Hard to tell, but I'm guessing he's having second thoughts."
I just grinned at this smooth talker who was the love of my
life.
Eric's plan was to fly up, have dinner, then fly back,
regardless of the outcome. "I'll be really late, so don't
wait up. I'll wake you with the good news when I get home,"
he'd said on his way out.
Yeah, sure. Like I was going to be able to sleep!
I had dinner alone in the den. There wasn't anything worth
watching on TV, so I tried to read.
Annie wandered in. "Where's Eric?" she wanted to know.
"Out on business," I told her.
"I sure wish you'd tell me what's going on," she said. "I
heard a lot of yelling the other night. Are you and Eric
having problems?"
"Oh, Hell no!" I laughed. "Everything between us is fine!
Sorry if you got that impression. Eric's working on the
biggest deal of his life, and sometimes he gets frustrated.
He was just blowing off steam the other night."
"You had us worried. It must be really really big if it's
bigger than 'Development'."
"Potentially, it's bigger than anything he's worked on so
far. If everything goes well tonight, he'll be able to tell
you about it."
"I'll keep my fingers crossed for him," she said on her way
out.
The wait wasn't as long as I expected. Around 10:30, I heard
him come in. Then I heard voices and laughing. What the
hell?
Eric came in with his arm around a shorter young fellow.
"Babe," he said with a huge smile, "I'd like you to meet
Spence Young." He turned to the boy. "Spence, this is my
lover, Dave Rush."
I stepped forward to shake hands. Spence was giving me a
complete inspection.
"Spence is going to spend the next couple of days with us,"
Eric said, "I kidnapped him."
Eric ushered Spence to a chair facing our couch then gave me
a peck on the cheek and a hug. "We're celebrating tonight,"
Eric announced, "so what would you like to drink, Spence?"
Spence got a shocked look on his face, "I'm a good Mormon
boy, I've never touched alcohol in my life!" he said, then
busted up into a fit of giggles. "I'll leave it up to you,
Eric," he said when he stopped laughing.
I liked the kid immediately. "Eric's told me a lot about you,
Spence," I said, trying to get conversation going.
"Not everything, I hope," he said.
"EVERYTHING, Spence," Eric hollered from the bar. "That's
the way it is when you love someone. You share everything."
"I made a big mistake," Spence said, looking at his lap.
"Forget it," Eric told him as he put a drink in front of
him. "You admitted it, everything's OK now, so let's move
forward."
"Here's to the world's newest Billionaire," Eric toasted,
raising his glass.
We drank, then Eric explained that Spence had signed the
Micron agreement, subject to a few changes. His "rights"
would be exchanged for stock rather than sold, for tax
deferrment purposes.
"Let's hope that the market opens low tomorrow, for your sake,
Spence," Eric said. "That way you'll get more shares. Give
it a couple of years, and I wouldn't be surprised if they go
from $60 a share to $300, particularly after they announce
that they have your technology."
We talked until well after midnight. Eric led Spence off to a
guestroom and I went to bed. When Eric came in, I couldn't
resist teasing him. "I thought you were worried about
corrupting the kid," I said. "First it's money, then booze,
what's next? Sex?"
"Yep," he giggled. "Let's have a pool party Sunday."
"Matchmaker, matchmaker..." I hummed.
"That's me!"
"Are you really sure the kid's gay?" I asked.
"He swears he is. I'm not sure myself, though. I have no
intention of 'Throwing him to the wolves,' just show him that
we're pretty regular people and let him take it from there."
"Now tell me what happened," I asked as he slid into bed.
"He made me sweat, let me go through my whole spiel, then
just said 'OK'. That was it! Later, he apologized for
putting me through all that grief and admitted that the sex
thing was an afterthought that he regretted the minute he
threw it out."
"He's a nice kid, but he looks so young! I'd guess him to be
14 or 15, certainly not 19. What do his parents think about
all this?"
"They don't know a thing."
"You're kidding!" I said.
"No, they don't know anything specific, but they've been
quizzing the hell out of him after all the software people
showed up on their doorstep looking for him. I guess they
really aren't a close family."
"Legally, he's an adult, so I guess he can do what he wants.
Now let's talk about YOU. How does it feel to be really
rich?"
"It's just a bunch of numbers as far as I'm concerned," he
said. "The real thrill is from knowing I'm a part of
something that's going to have such an impact on everything
we do. It's mind boggling."
"Is it really that big?" I asked.
"I didn't realize what's involved until the 'Whiz' explained
it to me. Spence has come up with something that's going to
turn every PC into a Cray."
"What's a Cray?" I asked.
"The Supercomputer."
"Oh!"
"We're in on the 'cutting edge'," he said, snuggling up.
"Let's get some sleep."
The first thing Eric did when he woke up was call Steve, our
broker. Micron had opened at 58-3/8, which would be the
basis used to pay both him and Spence. That would be a lot
of shares! Four and a quarter million for Eric, more than 17
million for Spence.
"The IRS is gonna love you!" I teased.
"Your tax guys are working on it. Maybe it won't be so bad,"
he answered.
I didn't see Eric and Spence until they burst into my office
that afternoon. They'd been shopping and had toured the
Lundborg Rush facility. Spence was wide eyed.
"It's just beginning to dawn on me - what I can DO now,"
Spence gushed. "I can buy anything I want!"
"Are you going to sell a few shares so you'll have some
spending money?" I asked.
"No," he smiled. "I'm going to take a few shares to the bank
and use them as collateral for a loan as soon as I get home.
Not a lot, though, I don't want to draw any attention to
myself, but I might splurge just a little, and I have to pay
Eric back for all the shopping we did. I'm not going to
'sell' a single share for two years. Micron's paying a token
dividend that'll take care of me until then."
For what looked like a 14 year old kid, he had his act
together. He looked a lot better in his new clothes, not
those baggy things that the kids were wearing. His dirty
blonde hair hung over one eye, giving him a mischevious look
that was reinforced by the twinkle in his eyes.
It was impossible for me to fathom that this little boy was
about to set the world on fire. He sure didn't look the part.
They announced that the were going to Disneyland Saturday and
begged me to go along. No way. I needed a day of peace and
quiet.
Eric introduced Spence as his "adopted brother" to all the
guys who showed up for the Pool Party. He was kind of
standoffish at first, but the Lifeguards didn't let that last
long. They had him in the pool with them, horsing around, in
no time. He was literally a kid in a candy store and the
center of attention.
"I'll take this brat off your hands anytime, Eric," one of
the young Lifeguards named Jimmy offered.
"Anytime," Eric answered.
"Who're you calling a brat?" Spence wanted to know, attacking
the young Lifeguard from behind.
From then on Spence and Jimmy were inseparable. When they
played "horse", Spence was on Jimmy's broad shoulders, and
when we got around to eating, they paired off again. Before
Jimmy left, I saw them exchanging phone numbers.
Score another one for the matchmaker.
Loren called in to report on progress. He'd received and
filed the EIR along with all the other applications
required. Our intentions were now public knowledge and he
wanted to warn us.
"I can't believe we got that EIR so fast," Loren commented.
"It got here in about a third of the regular time."
"Big George promised me he was going to 'kick ass'. I guess
he did."
"You know Big George?"
"Sure do. We were at a party at their house only a week
ago. Real fine guy."
"Let me apologise to you for ever questioning your
credentials," Loren said. "Anybody who travels in those
circles has got to be bigtime."
"George introduced us to a couple of guys who are interested
in our Copper deposits, too," I added.
"Let me guess, Ross, Birney and Tom."
"Right. How'd you know?"
"They're the biggest in the business, and would be friends of
Big George. Let me warn you about them, though. Ross likes
a bargain, he's honest but he'll try to beat you down.
Birney's honest too, but slick. Watch him closely. Tom's a
thief. Hide all the silverware before he comes."
"We're not even going to talk to them until we've talked to a
good Mining Attorney."
"Who're you working with?"
"Preston, from Phoenix."
"He's the best. Say 'Hello' for me if you have a chance.
You guys may not know anything about mining, but you sure
ain't dummies. It's going to be fun working with you."
We got back to the Lovebird Mine.
If there weren't any objections from either other property
owners or any Environmental Groups, we would get the green
light to proceed in a couple of weeks. It would take another
week to dig the ramp and expose the seam, and then we'd be
ready to go.
I made Loren promise to notify us the minute the seam was
exposed, and told him that we wanted to be there when the
first charge was set off.
Eric and I were going over the day's events on the deck, our
version of unwinding, when Mary interrupted us. "There's a
guy out here with a delivery for Eric. Says he has to sign
for it."
Eric followed her back out, but was back in a few minutes
with a huge grin on his face. "Come on, you've gotta see
this!" he said.
I followed him out the front door to the drive. There sat a
shiny black Rolls Royce Corniche. The top was down and a big
silver ribbon was around it, topped by an enormous bow. Eric
picked up the card lying on the driver's seat and handed it
to me.
It said "Dear Eric, Only you can perform the impossible.
Again and again and again... Just a token of our
gratitude." It was signed by the Micron four.
"Once, I said that these were 'Old man's cars'," Eric said,
"but I'm changing my mind REAL FAST."
Naturally, we jumped in and went for a spin. It was like
riding on a cloud. "Let's go by Mom and Dad's," Eric
suggested. "I can't wait to show this baby off."
"It was a gift," Eric explained.
Karl looked at me. "Aren't you spoiling this kid, Dave?"
"I didn't have anything to do with it, I swear," I told him,
throwing up my hands.
"This I gotta hear!" Karl said, and invited us in for a drink.
"I took on this little project, you see," Eric started. "I
did a pretty good job, I guess, because this showed up on our
doorstep a little while ago with a thank you note."
"What he's not telling you," I broke in, "is that he pulled
off one of the coups of the century and that he also made a
buck or two for his efforts."
"They paid you too?" Ingrid asked incredulously.
"Yeah, a quarter billion," he mumbled.
"Then, with the car, you made about a half million dollars
for this little project? Not bad!" she said.
"With a 'B' Mom," he said, his head down so he didn't crack
up.
She stared at him. "Don't play with me, young man," she said
in an ominous tone.
He looked up at her, trying to choke back the laughter. "Two
hundred and fifty million dollars, Mom."
She looked at me. I nodded. She looked like she was going
to pass out. Eric told the whole story, leaving nothing
out. We stayed for dinner.
It was time to get informed about mining law. With the offer
to send a plane for him, Preston agreed to make a housecall.
Jack, our own Legal Chief sat in with Eric and me.
Derek Preston reminded me a lot of John Bussey, leader of our
exploration efforts. Friendly, knowledgable but serious in a
"down home" way.
Eric outlined our position, what we had, and what we wanted
to do.
Preston was familiar with both of the deposits we were talking
about. "First, let me tell you what's going to be involved,"
he said. "It's not real high-grade ore, but there's a lot of
money to be made. The only economical way to get it out is
open pit. That's the first headache, just getting permission
to mine that way. You can plan on the Environmentalists
getting into the act lobbing lawsuits, injunctions, and every
other delaying tactic they can think of at you. They won't
prevail, but they'll make your life miserable for a few years.
"Next, since it's costly to move ore, particularly low-grade,
you'll have to build a smelter in the area of the mine to
process the ore and extract the metal. Another Environmental
mine field. Chemicals get involved, so it gets more
complicated. Again, you'll prevail, eventually.
"Refineries produce tailings. Now you've got to find a place
to put those that's agreeable with everybody.
"Have I scared you off yet?"
"Not yet," I chuckled, "go on."
"With all that in mind," he continued, "You have four
options, as I see it. First, you can do it all yourselves.
Second you can sell the land with the Mineral Rights, or just
the Mineral Rights and retain the land. Third, you can do a
joint venture with an established mining company, putting up
the land and possibly some capital as your contribution.
Fourth, you can let a mining company develop the mine, and
take a small percentage of the profits.
"The risks, for you, vary from total exposure to virtually
none. How you proceed will depend on your faith in the
deposit, and how much money you want to put up. Rewards, or
losses, are commensurate.
"As you can see, there are a lot of factors involved, and the
more information you have, the better your decision will be.
Since you haven't mentioned it, I'm assuming you haven't had
a complete Economic Analysis prepared."
"What's that?" Eric asked.
"Let me explain," Preston said. "Both of those properties
have been surveyed innumerable times. From a good one, which
I'm sure John Bussey has already done, the actual amount of
copper that lies there can be determined. It won't be exact,
but it will be reasonably close. Then, the cost of
extraction and processing are factored in, and you end up
with a bottom line figure. There's one more thing to
consider, and that's market price, which we all know
fluctuates. There are good firms that specialize in these
analyses."
"That was my next question," I said. "How expensive are they?"
"Quite reasonable when you consider the potential involved
here. Quite frankly, I don't think you should even consider
a decision without one."
"I guess that's the next step," I said.
"I'll fax you a list of the firms I'd work with if I were you
as soon as I get back to my office. It'll be a short list,
and I'll note my preference," Preston said. "When you have
that in hand, I'd like to talk to you further so you can
avoid pitfalls when you're negotiating."
"We need all the help we can get," I told him. "You'll
definitely be hearing from us as soon as we get the analyses."
"Man, are we ever ignorant!" Eric commented when we were
alone. "Those guys would have had us for lunch."
"Maybe," I said, "but we're smart enough to recognize that
and get help. Let's get smart and gobble them up instead!
Let's get busy."
Eric got hold of John on the surveys. He had them, and could
have them available on a day's notice since he had to go to
Phoenix to get them.
Preston's list came in. He wasn't kidding about it being
short, there were only two names on it, one was starred with
a handwritten "best" beside it.
We gave them a call, getting a "Consulting Geologist". He
knew exactly what we wanted, said a face-to-face meeting,
which I'd suggested, wouldn't be necessary until their report
was complete, and told us what they'd need from us in order
to get started. A complete proposal and fee structure would
be overnighted to us.
"We've got to come up with a name for all this," Eric
sighed. "We've got a no-name entity that's about to
explode. We need an identity!"
"I've thought a lot about it," I told him. "I like your idea
of 'Hydra' for the Holding Company, and it'd be good for the
Development Company too, but the Mining Company has me
stumped."
"Maybe we're overlooking the obvious," he said with an impish
grin.
"What are you talking about?"
"Lovebird," he said, then started laughing. "I'm game if you
are."
I thought a minute. "Why not? Most people think we're nuts
anyway!"
"We've already got the 'Lovebird Mine', and I know we're not
going to change that. It means too much to both of us. The
Lovebird Mining Company is just the next step."
"We really don't have to explain anything to anybody," I said,
"let 'em guess. The only ones we have to convince are Annie
and Tina. I don't even think they know about the mine's
name."
"Let me do it," he said. "I'll start working on them at
dinner tonight."
"Has anybody come with Company names yet?" Eric asked the
table at large.
"Oh shit, I forgot all about that," Annie said.
"Me too," Tina admitted. I just shook my head.
"I've got a couple that I'd like to throw out," he said.
"For the Parent Company, I suggest 'The Hydra Group, Ltd.' I
know that sounds kind of British, but it sounds good to me,
short, snappy and isn't descriptive of what we do." He went
on to tell them what "Hydra" was, and the mythological story.
"I like it," Annie said. "I hope we're indestructible!"
"Under that," Eric went on, "would be the Railroad, no name
change there, the Development Company which could be Hydra
Land or something like that, and the Mining Company. I've
got an idea for the Mining Company, too.
"The gold mine already has a name," he continued, then told
them the story of how it'd been named by the men who had
discovered it. Without going into extreme detail on how it
had come about, he explained that it was named for the two of
us.
"Dave and I agree that the name of the mine is NOT going to be
changed even if we do have a hard time explaining it. That
stays. Now, I propose that we use the same name for the
Mining Company - The Lovebird Mining Company. What do you
think?"
Both girls were giggling. "I think it's wonderful!" Tina said.
"It's great!" Annie agreed. "I know it's not a conventional
name, but we're not a conventional family, either. It's got
my vote."
I smiled. It was settled, and I loved it.
"When are you going to let us see the mine?" Tina asked.
"There isn't much to see yet," I explained. "If everything
goes according to plan, they'll have the seams uncovered in a
few weeks. We're going over then, and you guys can go with
us if you want."
"There's another thing," Annie spoke up, changing the subject.
"You haven't explained what's been going on for the past few
weeks, Eric. Can you tell us about it yet?"
I sat back and listened while Eric told them the whole
story. The only part he left out was that Spence had wanted
Eric to deflower him.
"That explains a lot," Tina commented. "We thought you and
Dad were fighting."
"THAT ain't never gonna happen," he assured them.
"So, what's going to happen next?" Annie asked.
"Spence is back at school, trying to play it cool," Eric told
her. "Micron's in a frenzy. Naturally, they want to
integrate Spence's stuff into all their existing software so
they can get it on the market, but that's going to take a
coupe of years. They're going to keep quiet about even
having the technology until they're a lot closer to releasing
it to the public. Before they do release it, Lundborg Rush
is going to have to expand to meet the demand."
"Let's go buy Micron stock," Annie gleefully suggested to
Tina.
"Please don't," I asked them.
"Why not, Dad?" Tina asked.
"We know things that the general public doesn't. If you
bought now, it could later be construed as 'Insider Trading'
which is a bit illegal. We don't need a scandal."
I knew that Eric had every intention of maintaining his
friendship with Spence, but I don't think he expected it to
become so involved.
He called Eric almost daily, pouring out all his problems,
seeking advice. In my opinion, he was becoming a pest, but I
didn't tell Eric that.
Spence's school was about to let out for the summer, and Eric
hoped that that would change things. It didn't. Spence
became even more dependant. Now, his problems weren't only
school and his budding romance with Jimmy, but his parents.
His spending habits had changed, and they wanted an
explanation. A confrontation ensued and Spence stonewalled.
To say that they freaked out would be putting it mildly, and
Spence was on his way to see Eric.
Eric was pissed. "I'm not ready for this," he said calmly but
seething inside. "I'm not qualified to give him the advice
he needs, and I don't like being put in the position he's got
me in.
"I know I opened the door, but I didn't expect all this to
happen. What should I do?"
"Listen to him," I suggested.
"I've already taken your position of not giving advice," he
said. "All I do is point out the options open to him and let
him make his own decisions, but it doesn't sound like he's
going to settle for that this time. I feel like I'm being
used."
"I don't envy you," I said, seriously.
"I know this is my problem," he said, "and I know this is an
awful lot to ask, but would you help me out, listen to him
too?"
I'd felt this coming from the start. "Of course I'll listen,"
I told him, "but that's all. No advice. Have you thought
about talking to your Mother? She might be able to give you
some ideas."
"Hadn't thought of that," he said. "Good idea."
Spence's arrival was imminent. He was driving so that gave
us an extra day to prepare, but for what?
He arrived in a brand new Mustang. That, no doubt, had
raised a warning flag with his parents.
Eric got him settled in a guest room then brought him out on
the deck where I was. Looking at him, you couldn't tell that
he had a care in the world.
Eric jumped right in, however. "From what you've been
telling me, Spence, you've got a few problems."
"Can't we talk about them later?" he said, glancing at me.
"If you're afraid of talking in front of Dave, don't be. He
already knows all about this, and we both want to hear all
about what happened."
He was hesitant to get started, but once he did, it all
spilled out.
After moving back home, his parents had cornered him at the
first opportunity. They demanded to know where the money was
coming from. Thinking that the car he'd bought was the
problem, he'd tried to explain that he'd made a small down
payment and would be making monthly payments.
"How come your name is on the title, not the Bank's?" his
father had asked, "and how do you explain this?" he'd said,
tossing Spence's bank statement at him.
Nailed. He had over a hundred thousand in his account.
Hoping to contain the situation, Spence had told them that
he'd sold a program he'd written. That wasn't good enough
for his father who demanded to see proof. Spence refused.
It turned into a full-scale interrogation, Spence refusing to
answer any of the accusations thrown at him.
Then, his father demanded that Spence give him his car keys
and write a check for the full amount in his account, saying
that he wasn't going to enjoy his "ill-gotten gains", that
the money would go to the Church instead.
Spence refused again and tried to leave. His father had
grabbed him, punched him, and threw him back into a chair,
screaming at him.
At this point, Spence snapped, and for the first time, stood
up to his father. "I don't need you. I'm an adult and I can
do what I want," he'd told him.
Then his father started slapping him around. His mother sat
silently and watched.
Tears were streaming down Spence's cheeks as he was telling
us this. Eric moved over to put his arm around him.
"Dad had never hit me before, and he was totally out of
control. I was actually scared for my life," he continued.
"The look in his eyes was enough to scare anybody.
"He remembered all the people who'd come around looking for
me and wanted to know about that too. I wouldn't tell him
anything and he kept on hitting me. When he finally realized
I wasn't going to talk, he locked me in my room, telling me
that I'd stay there until I told him everything he wanted to
know. It's an old house, and my bedroom is on the third
floor."
The poor kid was terrified, understandably. No way out and
no phone. After a while, he'd realized that he did have his
computer and Internet connection. He sent frantic Emails to
everybody he knew who he thought he could trust, begging for
help. None responded all night. I could just imagine the
poor kid's terror!
He heard his parents leave for work the next morning, and
sent out more Emails. He didn't get a response until mid
morning, and it was from a girl he barely knew. She wasn't
willing to help him even though he begged.
In the afternoon, another friend had answered his mail, and
had been willing to help. He'd gotten out, taken his
computer and a few clothes, called Eric, and here he was.
It was a gut wrenching story, but I was a skeptic. A few
things didn't add up.
"Why didn't you try to contact the police?" I asked. "Surely
they have an Email address."
"You don't understand," he said. "Dad's pretty well known.
They might have gotten me out, but I doubt it. Even if they
had, they'd never take my word against his. Even if they
did, they'd turn me right back over to him. You have no idea
of how close Mormons stick together."
"But you're over 18," I said.
"That doesn't matter," he answered. "The father rules."
"Why didn't you tell your parents about selling to Micron
when it happened?" I asked. "Couldn't all of this have been
avoided?"
"You don't know them," he said. "Dad's one of those people
who knows what's best for everybody. He's a controller, and
he'd never be convinced that I was capable of handling that
kind of money. He'd have figured out a way to get it away
from me. I know you doubt my story, maybe this'll show you
I'm telling the truth."
With that, he pulled up his shirt. His stomach and chest were
livid. It was awful. He'd been badly beaten, far more
severely than he'd described. I felt like a fool for
doubting him.
What the hell would we do now? What COULD we do?
To be continued.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I appreciate hearing your comments on the
story, my writing, and anything you would like to offer -
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