Havel House, Chapter 4
Jazz-camp and the occasional lawnmowing job kept Rhett and Ashton busy enough to make the week passed rapidly. Ashton missed his parents and brother but he wasn't lonely. He had a new interest to occupy his thoughts. It was difficult not to play around whenever the teens were alone. Sometimes they just held hands and talked about the future, but often those chats turned into make-out sessions ending in the way such things tend to.
Friday brought the end of the music sessions and the boys would miss them. They bicycled that day because they wanted to have transportation for lunch. Zoey's Pizza wasn't within walking distance but was doable on bikes. They were pretty sure Griffin would be bringing a sack lunch again and they wanted the opportunity to spend the time without his company.
Toward the end of the morning, Mr. Dixon set up video and audio equipment to document the progress they'd made. He was aware of how far they'd come in a week's time, but he wasn't sure they were.
Knowing they were being recorded, the students sat straighter than usual and paid closer attention to their director. As a result, the performance was even better than Mr. Dixon had anticipated.
Griffin appeared to be somewhat miffed that Rhett and Ashton hadn't told him in advance about their lunch plans so he could have ridden his bike too. However, when another group with a car asked him to go to McDonald's with them, he brightened up. He had enough money on him, and he could toss his sack lunch somewhere. Mom would be pissed if she knew he was wasting food, but he'd never tell her.
Ashton and Rhett enjoyed their time together. No one they knew was at Zoey's to see them gazing into each other's eyes as they ate. It was like a date. They spent enough time over lunch that they were nearly late for the afternoon class.
Part of the session was spent viewing the video from their first day and comparing it with the one from this morning. There wasn't a kid in the group who wasn't blown away by the improvement they saw.
"Well, what do you think?" Mr. Dixon asked.
"If I weren't so humble," Griffin said, "I'd say we're awesome!"
"I'm forced to agree," Dixon grinned. I'm going to submit the audio to KCCK to see if they'd be interested in airing it on their station. They do that with high school bands sometimes, as you probably know. I think we have a winner!
"By the way, I spent part of my lunch period making a flash-drive copy for each of you to take home. I thought you might like it better than the usual `participation trophy.'"
All the kids agreed. Several caught the sarcasm in his reference to meaningless awards.
"I'm so glad you told me about the camp and your mom let me stay with you. I'm so excited about the whole program! I don't want to see summer rush by, but I'm looking forward to band in the fall."
"Um, there were some other side benefits too," Rhett grinned. "I'm gonna hate giving up our sleeping arrangement."
"Me too! Do you think we should let our families know about our new relationship?"
"I'm not sure," Rhett responded. "My parents know I'm not into girls."
"Mine do too."
"But how will they react if they figure out that we're doing more than holding hands?"
"Do we have to tell them about messing around?" Ashton giggled.
"No, but doesn't your mom teach courses in adolescent psychology online?"
"Okay, I get your point. You're right; they're not stupid!"
While the boys were enjoying themselves, and each other, the rest of Ashton's family members had their work cut out for them in Florida. Although they'd hired some help, the decision-making fell on them.
Kathryn was very pleased with how much responsibility Carson took on. He not only handled his own things, but he saw to the packing of his brother's stuff too. He was growing up.
Ashton had asked his brother to pack his sexy swimsuit and the naughty magazines he'd hidden under his mattress, and put them in something their mother wasn't likely to look in. He wouldn't be in serious trouble with her if she found them, but he might be embarrassed. Carson had promised to look out for him.
There had been more decisions to make than they'd anticipated. Having lived in the same house for several years, stuff had accumulated. A number of things needed to be sent to the Goodwill and other charitable places instead of moving them. The garages needed to be put in order before the house was shown to prospective buyers.
It took until Thursday for them to finish. Then they'd have the long drive ahead of them. If they had two people spelling each other behind the wheel of each car, it might be possible to make the trip in 24 hours. Since there were three of them with two cars, they'd need a couple of days at least.
On Friday, Kathryn called Coleen to apologize for sticking the Butler family with Ashton for longer than they'd planned. Coleen said it would be fine. She was sure Rhett and Ashton would be thrilled to have more time together. She said that the teens had become closer than brothers. Kathryn wasn't surprised by the news, though she wondered if Coleen was trying to tell her something without coming right out and saying it. She had picked up on how quickly the boys had clicked.
She texted Ashton to let him know about the altered plans. As Coleen had predicted, he was fine with the change.
"Well, we have a reprieve," Ashton said, showing Rhett the text.
"Cool!"
"I told them not to rush, so they'd be safe. Mom says I'm supposed to take you all out to someplace nice for dinner tonight or tomorrow night. Would Red Lobster be okay?"
"We go there on Fridays sometimes. I'll check with Mom to see if she has something else planned. Are you sure you have enough money for that?"
"Yup, they gave me over a hundred extra bucks in case of an emergency. I think this counts as one. I know they don't want me to be cheap!"
The Admiral's feast was on special, so everyone had that and Ashton was able to cover the bill, including a 20% tip, and still have money left over. Brant and Coleen tried to pay for their own family, but Ashton said his mom would skin him alive if he didn't insist. Eventually, they gave in, saying they didn't want to see him hided.
When their parents were out of earshot, Brianna asked they boys if this was an engagement party. Rhett looked daggers at her but Ashton grinned.
"Would it bother you if that's what it was?"
"No, I just have to tease my baby bro," she whispered. "Honest, I think you make a cute couple."
The boys discussed Brianna's comment as they got ready for bed.
"So much for keeping our relationship secret," Rhett rolled his eyes.
"Are you mad at me for not denying it?"
"No, it just hit me that we're not as clever as we thought we were."
"You mean like we're too obvious?"
"Yeah. I guess we are. We might want to cool it around school, unless you don't care."
"Do you care?" Ashton asked.
"No."
"Then I don't either. So, will you be my boyfriend?"
"Yeah! I love the idea."
Friday night turned out to be one of those times when holding hands wasn't enough.
The boys spent Saturday morning and part of the afternoon catching up on the mowing that had been put off due to soggy ground and their music camp. Fortunately, Rhett's clients weren't upset over the delay. They'd rather not have their lawns rutted and were pleased to have them tidied up before Sunday.
Ashton and Rhett pooled their money to order takeout pizza to spare Coleen from having to make dinner. She appreciated the gesture. It seemed to her that her son was becoming more considerate. Was it perhaps because of his new associate? Whatever the cause, it was a sign of maturity she'd not noticed until recently.
Brianna opted out of their usual family game-time because she wanted to sit in her room and text her friends. There were enough people without her, so she could get away with it. Hmm... Ashton's presence in their home was of help to her as well. She suspected that her brother was getting other benefits.
After they went to bed, both boys received their reward.
Ashton's family pulled into the drive of Havel House on Sunday afternoon. They were early enough that there'd be sufficient time to get some things organized before bedtime, but everyone who had driven the long distance in the past couple of days was tired.
The entire Butler family came over to assist in unloading the cars and help them get settled. Coleen and Brianna even made up two of the beds in the rooms the family would be using. Carson enjoyed the idea of having a pretty girl helping him organize his room.
Rhett aided Ashton is setting up his. Ashton had chosen a rather large bedroom in the original part of the house which had a queen-sized bed. The headboard, which was meant for a standard double bed a hundred years ago, had been altered to fit because old Andela had wanted comfortable beds for her guests but hadn't wished to change the character of the furnishings.
As Rhett helped, he got to see Ashton's swim-briefs and his magazines. Those got stored under a false bottom they detected in one of the built-in cupboards.
Having discovered that hiding place, they wondered how many more secrets might be concealed in the house.
Kathryn had been curious about her son's choice of sleeping quarters. Perhaps he wanted to stay at a distance from the rest of the family as a matter of privacy, but he had said he felt a kind of connection with it.
"It's so cool you can be here by yourself?" Rhett exclaimed. "I really like the feel of this room."
"Yeah, I'm thinking we'll be far away from everyone else when I have you stay over. Maybe we can do it tonight."
"I don't think my mom will want me to come since your mom is just getting settled. I think Dad's grilling tonight and you're all eating with us so you guys don't have so much to do."
"When we're all together, maybe we can talk them into letting us have a sleepover," Ashton said hopefully. "It's not like you'd have to be entertained."
"Yeah, I was hoping I could entertain you!"
Brant Butler was an excellent cook, especially when he had good materials to work with. Fareway had had their "top of Iowa" thick porkchops on sale that week and he'd purchased ten of them. It was more meat than most of them could consume at one sitting except, perhaps, for the teens. But Brant had been brought up in a family who would rather have food left over than be guilty of stinting.
The adults left theirs unfinished, and Coleen said she would wrap up their guests' portions in foil to take home along with the ones that hadn't been touched. They could be reheated for dinner the following evening to save cooking while Kathryn was busy with other household duties. Kathryn appreciated it. They had picked up enough groceries to make breakfast and lunch the following day but hadn't stocked their pantry yet. That would take major shopping, despite having moved some of the staples.
Part of the dinner conversation was about a teen in Brianna's class who had gone missing the previous week. Everyone in the village was curious about what could have happened to Raymond Chandler. He was well-liked by almost everyone who knew him. He'd made his mark in wrestling, so there were few in town who hadn't at least heard of him or seen his picture in the sports section of the Gazette.
In his current photo, he looked unkempt and sported tattoos on his forearms. Some people speculated that he might be on drugs, because he'd always been clean-cut in the past.
"This is scary," William sighed. "I thought by moving my sons out of a metropolitan area of Florida they'd be safe. I suppose crime can occur anywhere."
"I'm sure that whatever happened wasn't a random act," Brant said. "Our children have been raised `free-range' and we've never had any safety concerns. I don't think you have any reason to worry. I'm not putting my kids on a short-leash."
The teens at the table all appreciated Brant's comments. Carson and Brianna were both looking forward to soccer camps and had hoped their parents wouldn't keep them from participating.
As Ashton's family thanked their hosts and got ready to take their leave, the boys brought up the subject of having a sleepover at Ashton's new house.
"Boys, I think Kathryn and William have enough on their plates without having another person to look after," Coleen suggested.
"He won't be any trouble," Ashton insisted. "We're so much alike that no one will notice that there's two of us."
"From what I've heard, you've been inseparable for over a week," Kathryn joked. "Perhaps you're right. Possibly, you could benefit from taking a break."
"Their togetherness hasn't been a problem," Coleen said. "I think they're a good influence on one another. They've been quite responsible and helpful. My only concern is one of placing a burden on you."
"The three of us guys can make breakfast for everyone tomorrow and relieve Mom of any preparation duties," Carson spoke up.
"In that case, I'm all for it," Kathryn agreed. "It looks like Carson is running interference for his brother again. That's not a bad thing either."
"It works both ways, Mom. He and I always have each other's back," Carson grinned.
"Well," William announced. "Since that's settled, I think the boys should gather their things and come over to the house when they're ready. As for me, I need to hit the sack soon. I can't burn the candle at both ends at my age."
Rhett and Ashton grinned.
"We won't run the mowers in the morning until we know you're awake," Rhett promised.
Author's notes: I heard from the following this past week, John L, Mark H, Ian S, Jim M, Ray M, Charles G, Bill K, Hotrod, Jamie L, Frank K, Nicxen, Bill T, Mendy D, Bill T, Ott H, Al N, Marty H, Paul R, Randy Mac, Chandra B, JLF, Lance C, and Peter S. Your responses keep me going.
Thanks to David (Boxerdude) for editing this chapter.
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