Thunder and Lightening: Chapter 26Home « Thunder and Lightening Index « Previous

- Chapter 26

Posted: January 25, 2005 - 12:05:22 am



It was a beautiful Sunday morning when Jenny pulled into a picnic area at the

local lake. Jerry still couldn't drive and it was beginning to frustrate him. It

was hard to accept that he couldn't take care of himself or do any of the simple

things that he had always taken for granted. His leg had healed and he could

walk without the cane, but he still wore a cast on his shoulder and left arm.

The cast made it impossible for him to steer and shift at the same time. It was

one of the downsides of manual transmissions.

Henry pulled into the space next to theirs as Sharon waved at them from the

passenger seat. Sharon, Abe, and Henry got out of the car and looked around at

the picnic area. There were two cement picnic tables separated by forty feet.

Next to each table was a barbecue grill. It was a nice quiet site, isolated from

the other picnic areas by a small stand of oak trees. Jerry walked over to Henry

and looked over the water. This was his first picnic and just the idea that he

was on a picnic pleased him more than he could put into words.

Coming up behind him, Jenny wrapped an arm around Jerry's good arm and leaned

against him. Abe and Bill were moving around checking out the sights. This was a

novel experience for both of them and the urge to act like kids combated their

desire to act like adults. Jenny said, "Let's unload the car so that we can

relax."

"That's it. Make the men work on their day off," replied Jerry with a fake

groan.

Jenny laughed and hit him lightly on his good shoulder. She said, "You can

always get the boys to do it."

Getting the hint, Henry called out, "Boys, unload the picnic gear."

The two boys groaned, but went to the task with the energy of teenage boys. It

didn't take them long to carry the food to the table and put the bag of charcoal

next to the grill. When the boys had finished, Jerry made a sound like a cave

man and, in a guttural tone of voice, grunted, "We go burn meat now!"

Jenny and Sharon laughed as Henry, imitating Jerry, added, "We burn meat good!"

The little gathering of adults broke up with the women going to the picnic table

to set out the food as the men went to pursue the manly art of cooking meat over

a fire. The boys went over to a grassy area and started throwing a Frisbee back

and forth. They missed catching the saucer shaped disk as often as they caught

it.

Over at the grill, Henry piled the charcoal briquettes into a nice hill. This

charcoal was the kind that didn't require lighter fluid to ignite. Jerry watched

and said, "I can't wait to get this blasted cast off."

"I can understand that. Still, it's amazing that you're still alive. You're

lucky they were using .22s rather than .45s," replied Henry. He put a match to

the charcoal and small flames started where the match touched the charcoal.

There wasn't the flare up that was typical of lighter fluid. In a way, it was

disappointing. He said, "It just isn't the same without the startup flare of

fire."

Jerry couldn't agree more and replied, "Yeah, I know what you mean. It makes

barbecuing seem too safe."

The large black man looked over at Jerry and shook his head. He said, "I figured

after your experiences, you'd rather live a little safer."

"Hey, I've been sitting on my ass for so long that anything would be an

improvement. I can't drive. It takes me twenty minutes to get dressed in the

morning. I can't wash the dishes."

Henry knew that his big friend was frustrated. It was hard for him to imagine

being unable to use his strength on need, much less being unable to do simple

everyday tasks. Men who were used to being strong felt particularly vulnerable

when weak. He asked, "So what's happening on the legal front?"

"They've confiscated all of Benson's assets in the neighborhood because they are

associated with drugs. My lawyer has just about negotiated a deal with the

government agency that took over houses that they sell them to the current

renters."

"How come they took the houses?"

"Benson was using them in a money laundering scheme associated with selling

drugs. He was claiming higher rents than people were paying and declaring

property improvements that had never been made," answered Jerry. He wasn't fully

aware of all the things that had been going on, but his lawyer was working hard

on the issue.

"So how much are the houses going to cost?"

"From what the lawyer was saying, it should be under $5,000."

"Shit, everyone should be able to buy the house for that price," remarked Henry

surprised at the price. He couldn't believe that Jerry was working that hard on

behalf of his neighbors.

"That's what I thought. I figure that if people own their homes, then we won't

have anymore crack houses opening in the neighborhood. I'd like to keep creeps

like Benson out of the area."

The men fell silent thinking their own thoughts as they watched the charcoal

burn down to glowing red coals that were soon covered with a thin layer of gray

ash. Jerry was thinking about the changes that would occur within the

neighborhood. Henry was thinking about the character of the man beside him.

Satisfied that the coals were ready, Henry spread them into a nice even layer

across the bottom of the grill. He placed a layer of aluminum foil over the

grill. While Henry was getting the grill ready, Jerry walked over to the table

and asked, "Where's da beef?"

Jenny laughed as she handed over the plate of hamburger patties to Jerry while

juggling a pair of cokes. After Jenny placed the cokes in the sling supporting

his cast, he carried the burgers over to Henry. Jerry was left holding the plate

while Henry placed the burgers on the foil. Once the plate was empty, Jerry

tried to figure out what to do with it now that he was stuck with the empty

plate and two cokes in his sling. Smiling at him, Henry reached over and took a

coke. With a broad grin that showed off his white teeth, he opened the can and

then said, "Hum, this coke sure is cold. Too bad you can't hold the plate and

drink your coke at the same time."

Growling, Jerry took the plate back to the table and fished the coke out of the

sling. He had to set it on the table and then open it one handed. Picking up the

can, he returned to the fire as he grumbled, "One of these days I'm going to get

you back."

"Just giving you a hard time because you've made my life a living hell," replied

Henry with a grin.

"How did I do that?" asked Jerry confused by the statement.

"Ever since you proposed, Sharon has been after my ass to propose to her,"

answered the black man. He shook his head and said, "I thought I was strong

until I met that woman. Damn, she's tenacious."

The comment brought a smile to Jerry's face. He asked, "So when are you going to

ask her?"

Henry looked around and saw that Sharon was over at the picnic table talking to

Jenny. In a half whisper, he answered, "Today."

The answer took Jerry by surprise since he hadn't realized the relationship had

progressed to that point. He replied, "That's great."

Henry said, "We'll see. The whole idea of getting married scares the hell out of

me. I keep wondering if I'm making a mistake."

Well aware of what constituted a mistake, Jerry smiled at his friend and

replied, "I'll introduce you to my ex-wife. Then you'll know that you've picked

a good one."

Henry turned the burgers to let them cook on the other side. The aroma of

cooking beef filled the air making the men hungry. Henry called out, "The

burgers will be done soon. Is everything else ready?"

Sharon answered, "Everything is set out."

Jerry returned to the table and set down his coke so that he could carry the

plate over to the grill. Grabbing the plate, he returned to the grill and held

it out for Henry to put the burgers on it. The day couldn't come too soon when

the cast would be removed. It was exceptionally frustrating not to be able to do

even some of the simplest tasks.

The pair of men returned to the table with the burgers. Jerry called out, "Boys,

lunch is ready!"

The two young men came running to the table hungry and ready to eat. They looked

over the food piled on the table with feral eyes that conveyed the hunger in

their stomachs. Sharon and Jenny had prepared perfect picnic foods and the boys

were not disappointed by what they found there.

The boys were hoping they would get to go fishing after lunch, so they could

hardly wait to eat. Jerry was looking forward fishing more than anyone else was.

It had been years since he had gone fishing and he planned to resume with a

passion once his cast was removed. Bill said, "Let's eat and go fishing."

Looking in the direction of the adults, Abe suggested, "Maybe we can fish while

we're eating."

Henry laughed at the impatience of youth and replied, "You've got to take a

little time to enjoy these burgers. You don't get the chance to eat a spread

like this very often. There's lots of time to go fishing."

Everyone piled their plates high with potato salad, coleslaw, and pickles. There

was barely enough room left on the plates for the hamburgers. As they ate, they

talked about little things. Sharon was telling Jenny how much she loved the car

that Martin had bought with the money from the sale of the Caddy. Henry and

Jerry discussed the next water fountain that they would make while trying to

figure out how they could speed up the process. Bill and Abe talked about

fishing, summer vacation, and their restoration projects.

Lunch passed quickly and as soon as everyone was done eating, Abe said, "Let's

go fishing."

Jenny smiled at the two young men and knew that wild horses wouldn't hold them

back from going fishing. She said, "You boys can go and we'll clean up here."

There was nothing slow about the reaction of Abe and Bill to Jenny's permission.

It didn't take them long to get the four poles and two tackle boxes out of the

trunk. They even beat the men to the side of the lake. Jerry sat down on the

ground as Henry took care of preparing the poles and baiting the hooks.

Awkwardly, Abe and Bill cast their lines into the water, watching as the bobbers

settled down.

Henry explained, "You boys have to sit here real quiet and watch those bobbers.

When the bobber goes under the water, you reel it in."

For a long time, no one said anything while they watched their bobbers and

thought their thoughts. The silence was interrupted when the women came over to

where the men were fishing. Sharon put her hands over Henry's eyes and said,

"Guess who!"

"Must be Busty from over at the Titty Bar," replied Harry trying to keep a

straight face.

Sharon moved her hands down to his throat and acted like she was going to

strangle him. He laughed and then teased, "Definitely Busty from the Titty Bar."

"I give up," laughed Sharon.

Henry turned to look at Jenny for a second as he considered what he was going to

say to her. With a smile on his face, he asked, "Why don't you watch my pole for

me? I'd like to take a walk with this amazon woman who has just tried to

throttle me."

Wiggling her eyebrows at Sharon, Jenny answered, "Sure. I'll watch your pole."

Picking up on the joke, Sharon interjected, "You better make sure that you're

watching the right pole."

Jenny giggled and answered, "Darn, you're taking all the fun out of this."

Jerry watched Henry stand up and gave him a wink understanding what the black

man was going to do. Henry nodded back as he put an arm around Sharon and led

her away. It was easy for him to see that the large man was nervous about what

he was going to do, although it appeared that Sharon had not noticed it.

Observing a little movement in the water, Jenny sat down next to Jerry and, with

a giggle, asked, "So which pole am I supposed to watch?"

"Tough question. I know which one I'd like you to watch, but you promised Henry

that you'd watch his. It is the one right in front of you," he replied looking

at her the entire time.

"Oh, so I guess your pole is the one with the fish on it."

Jerry looked over to where his bobber was supposed to be, but it was deep

underwater. He shouted, "Bill, grab my pole and reel in the fish!"

Bill reached over and started reeling in the line. He hadn't set the hook and by

the time the fish was close enough to grab, it jumped out of the water and then

landed without the hook in its mouth. It was gone in a flash. The excitement

that it created lasted a lot longer than the entire event. Bill was disappointed

not to land the fish. Apologizing, he said, "I'm sorry. I guess I don't know how

to reel in a fish."

"Hey, it's your first time. You didn't know to set the hook. My fault that I

didn't tell you that." It had been years since Jerry had been fishing and he had

forgotten to explain to the kids how to fish. In fact, all of what he remembered

was only then coming back to him.

"So how do I set the hook?" asked Bill. Abe turned to listen to the answer. This

was his first time fishing, too.

"You have to yank back on the line using a motion like this," answered Jerry as

he demonstrated one handed. He said, "You should use two hands to do it,

though."

"So it's your fault that it got away?" asked Bill wanting to make sure that

everyone knew who was at fault.

"Hey, now you can talk about the one that got away. Hold your hands apart to

about the size of the fish that you saw," suggested the father with a lopsided

grin.

Bill held his hands out about seven inches apart wondering why he was doing it.

Jerry said, "Oh, I think that fish was twice that big."

Smiling as he realized what his dad was saying, he held his hands about three

times as far apart. He said, "I think it was about this big."

"It's always the big ones that get away," said a grinning Abe as he picked up on

the joke.

With an artificial sigh, Jenny said, "Isn't that the truth."

"Hey," replied Jerry, "you weren't saying that last night!"

"Gross. I don't want to hear about that kind of stuff!" complained Bill while

making a face at his father.

"If you think that is bad, you should hear Henry and mom when he spends the

night. Shit, there are times when I want to get sick," retorted Abe.

The boys were about to get into a competition of extreme exaggeration when a

loud scream cut through the air. It sounded like a woman reacting in surprise to

almost stepping on a snake or something. Everyone jumped except Jerry, who burst

out laughing. Jenny asked, "What's so funny? It sounded like someone was hurt."

"I think Henry just proposed to Sharon."

"What?"

"I think Henry just proposed to Sharon."

Jenny hit him on his good arm and shouted, "You knew that he was going to

propose and you didn't tell me?"

Giving her his best thousand watt smile, he answered, "I didn't think you wanted

to know."

Jenny let loose with a scream and stood up ready to tell him off before she

realized that he was teasing her. She could hear little screams of excitement

coming from Sharon as she made her way back to the picnic area. Jenny turned and

ran to meet her halfway making similar little screams as she ran. Sharon was

pointing to her finger and the ring that adorned it with excitement.

Jerry turned to look at the two women gesturing and talking excitedly. Henry was

walking back alone, having been left behind by his excited fiancee. He was

giving forth a deep rolling laugh as he watched the women dance around sharing

the news.

He sat down next to Jerry and said, "I'm going to interpret her scream as a

yes."

While Jerry laughed at the comment, Abe looked over at Henry with a frown. Not

quite sure of what to make of the new relationship with Henry, he hinted, "So, I

guess I'll have to start calling you dad."

A thoughtful Henry looked over at Abe, realizing that he wasn't just getting a

wife but also two sons. He hadn't really given much thought to raising a teenage

boy even though he had been dealing with the kid for almost a year. Rubbing the

boy on the top of his head, he said, "I don't think you have to call me anything

in particular. I'd prefer that you call me what you think is appropriate. If you

think dad is better than Henry, then go ahead and use dad."

Unable to hold back his smart mouth, a smiling Abe asked, "So what if I want to

call you shit head?"

Henry gave the boy a smile right back. Used to the irreverent manners of Abe, he

answered, "No problem. I'll just hit you up side the head each time you call me

that."

Bill grinned and said, "Oh, poor Abe. He's got an evil step-dad."

For the next few minutes the boys traded evil stepparent jokes while the older

men laughed. After the discussion calmed down a little, Abe asked, "Does Martin

know?"

"Not yet," answered Henry hoping that Martin would take the news like an adult.

"So when are you going to tell him?" asked Abe, hoping that he would get the

honor of doing it.

Nudging Jerry with an elbow, Henry answered, "I thought we'd never tell him. It

sure would be fun to keep him guessing."

Abe laughed at the idea of his brother not knowing about the engagement. He

turned to Bill as they speculated how long they would be able to keep Martin in

the dark. They knew it wouldn't be long, not with the way that Sharon was

acting.

Jerry turned to look at Jenny and Sharon chatting, but his gaze settled on

Jenny. The sun was shining off her hair, her jeans showed off her figure, and

her shirt accentuated her breasts. Once again, the beauty of Jenny overwhelmed

him. With a sigh, he said, "She's so beautiful."

Henry looked over at the two women and replied, "Yeah. You're girlfriend ain't

bad looking either."

"We're a couple of lucky guys," commented Jerry shooting a grin at his friend.

The males sat by the edge of the water, watching the fishing poles and thinking

their thoughts. Abe was thinking about having a father in the house and was

trying to figure out what that would mean. Bill was thinking about how his life

had changed to the point where he was able to share the happiness of a friend.

Henry was wondering what kind of trouble he signed up for by asking Sharon to

marry him.

Jerry sat by the edge of the water thinking about his injuries. His shoulder

blade was not healing well and it would be a while before the cast would be

removed. His leg had healed quickly since the bullet had passed through muscle

without creating too much damage. The two wounds to his abdomen had healed for

the most part, but the little pit in his stomach where the rage had lived

remained empty.

It was strange to think that the absence of the rage would bother him, but it

did. It wasn't that it was a friend whose absence made his life a little

emptier. It was just that the rage was the only constant in his life and its

absence made him feel uncertain. The physical consequences of his injuries had

weakened him, but he wondered if losing the rage had made him weak.

The world around him went dark as a pair of feminine hands covered his eyes. A

pair of warm female voices asked, "Guess who?"

"It must be Bambi from the titty bar," answered Jerry playing off the joke that

Henry had used before.

Next to him, Henry answered, "Busty from the titty bar?"

As the hands moved from his eyes to surround his neck, Jenny asked, "Who?"

"Definitely Bambi from the titty bar," answered Jerry in time with Henry.

Sharon said, "You guys are in trouble now. Jenny and I are gonna hunt down Busty

and Bambi."

Not believing the threat for a moment, the men chuckled. Jenny asked, "Any

luck?"

Jerry answered, "Yeah, Henry caught a good one."

When Henry and the boys turned to look at Jerry wondering what he meant, he

pointed to Sharon and said, "Of course, he was using expensive bait complete

with a diamond."

Sharon burst out laughing at the idea of Henry having been the one doing the

catching. Jenny winked at her as she shared the same thought. If anyone had

caught anyone, it was Sharon that had caught Henry. Sharon decided to make that

point and reel him in for a little tender loving care. Grabbing his hand, she

pulled him away from the lake.

Jenny sat down next to Jerry and put an arm around his back. She leaned her head

against his shoulder as she said, "Sharon is so happy."

"Really? I hadn't noticed," commented Jerry with a grin. He looked over his

shoulder and saw that Sharon was expressing her appreciation with great

enthusiasm and that Henry wasn't complaining.

Their discussion was interrupted when Abe's bobber disappeared under the surface

of the lake. He jumped up excited and pulled on the rod. A few cranks of the

reel revealed that he had a little sunfish on the end of his line. He held the

pole up so that the fish was hanging in the air while he leaned forward to

examine it.

At the sight of the little fish, Abe and Bill cracked up laughing. Jerry looked

over and said, "It's always the big one that gets away."

It only took Abe a minute to return the fish to the water and bait his hook.

Throwing his line back in the water, he sat down as he said, "It might have been

small, but it is the biggest one we've caught today."

For the next thirty minutes, all four of them were kept busy as the sunfish

started biting. It seemed as though at any given time, two of them were busy

pulling a fish out of the water. None of them were big enough to keep, but the

boys wouldn't leave this fishing trip empty handed. They would leave with

memories that would last a lifetime. A boy's first fishing trip should include

the excitement of catching a fish.

After wresting with the pole, his cast, and a very excited sunfish, Jerry gave

up trying to fish. Instead, he sat back and watched the boys excitedly pulling

fish after fish out of the water. The green backs and orange bellies of the fish

glowed in the sun as the water sparkled in the sunlight.

It reminded Jerry of when he was a kid and had gone to a bass tournament with

his father. They had left the dock early in the morning with fifty other boats

roaring away at full speed. Their boat was not a bass-boat with an oversized

engine and they were quickly left behind. Instead of racing to the other side of

the lake, they had pulled into a little cove not far from the dock.

The morning had been a cool and the water warm. Little wisps of fog lifted off

the surface of the lake while he and his father fished. Jerry was still learning

how to use the latest fishing reel and spent most of the time untangling the

rat's nest that resulted after each cast. He didn't care about that. The

important thing was that he was actually fishing with his father.

His father caught one reasonable size bass after they had been there for an

hour. After another hour, his dad had given up on that area and moved over to

another spot. They had tied the boat up to a sunken tree and were going to fish

from there. They'd been there for about thirty minutes when Jerry caught a nice

three pound large mouth bass. It had won him a nice third place in the junior

category of the tournament. His dad had been so proud of him.

That had been the last good time that he had with his father. After that, he

started growing and it seemed like overnight his large size led to fights at

school. His father hadn't understood why his boy was always in trouble. After

his father had to leave work to pick him up from school upon getting expelled

for three days, his father refused to take Jerry fishing again until he went a

grading period without being sent to the principal's office. That never happened

and the relationship with his father was ruined for good.

Jerry looked at his son, watching as the boy was laughing and joking with Abe

and Jenny. The sight of his son enjoying himself while surrounded by friends and

family warmed his heart. He swore that he would stay friends with his son and

understand when the boy's temper flared. His son was going to have the childhood

that he had always wanted. The idea made him feel good.

Attuned to the moods of her boyfriend, Jenny had noticed how Jerry was watching

Bill fishing. She smiled and put a hand on his shoulder as she whispered, "He's

having this happy moment because you're in his life."

"Thanks, Jen."

"You're welcome," answered Jenny.

Jerry turned back to see what Henry and Sharon were doing. The couple was over

by Sharon's car kissing passionately. Jerry could see that Henry had his hand

under her shirt and was massaging her breast. They were both very excited. When

her shirt slipped up, he could make out her breast covered by the large hand of

the black man. His mind flashed to the Polaroid photographs in his room. His

cock reacted to the memory that the sight invoked.

Jenny glanced over at the couple and then back at Jerry when he shifted to ease

the discomfort caused by his swelling cock. She had seen how Henry's hand had

lifted the shirt, exposing her friend's breast. She leaned over with a smile and

said, "Maybe tonight you'll show me the Polaroids."

"You know about them?" Even as he asked his question, he remembered her telling

him that she knew about the pictures.

"Of course I know. I told you that she explained to me about how you had them,"

answered Jenny with a smile.

"And you want to see them?" asked Jerry incredulous that she would want to see

pictures of a naked woman. Jerry looked over at her with his surprise clearly

showing on his face.

"I want to recreate them with me as the model," answered Jenny with a giggle.

Based on his reaction to her comment, she knew that the pictures had to be

pretty hot. She decided that the odds were pretty good that he'd stay awake

tonight despite the tiring activities of the day.

Jerry grinned and said, "We'll have to stop and pick up a camera."

The idea of actually getting photographed while naked excited Jenny and

concerned her. She knew that the photographs could easily end up in the wrong

hands, after all Jerry had the pictures of Sharon's sister. She glanced down at

his crotch and could see the outline of his erection. The sight convinced her

that the risk might well be worth it. She would keep the pictures.

She replied, "Sounds good to me, big man."

The fish finally stopped biting and the boys had settled down. Henry and Sharon

returned from their make-out session and joined them on the ground. Jerry and

Jenny exchanged winks about their plans for the evening.

That evening, Jenny and Jerry had a little fun with a Polaroid camera in the

bedroom of his house. They recreated every pose from the pictures that Jerry had

found. By the time that Jenny was posed on the floor naked while holding her

pussy open for him, Jerry was in pain from his erection.

Jenny was more than happy to relieve the pain. She had to be on top since he

couldn't support his weight with an arm in a cast and other positions were

awkward. While most women enjoyed the superior position, Jenny preferred being

covered by her man. Jerry might look forward to the day when his cast came off

so that he could do normal every day activities, but she was looking forward to

being taken by him that night. Despite the fact that she was on top of him, she

enjoyed the act as much as ever.

Afterward, as they lay together on the blanket that Jerry had put on the floor,

Jerry could hardly keep his eyes off her. It didn't matter how often she told

him that she enjoyed sex, the pleasure that she exhibited during it amazed him.

He said, "Jenny, you are an amazing woman."

Jenny purred as his hand ran over her body. One of the advantages of his time

spent recovering was that his calluses had disappeared. She said, "I was lucky

the day you walked into my restaurant."

He knew that she didn't really enjoy being on top of him all of the time, but

accepted it because of his physical condition. If he could, he would have pulled

the cast off and ravaged her like she wanted. He pinched her nipple as he said,

"When I get this cast off, I'm going to make love to you like you love it. I'll

cover you and hold you tight to me as I pound into you."

His words made her catch her breath. He knew what turned her on. With a groan of

pleasure, she said, "You know how to punch all my sexual buttons."

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