
THE MEASURE OF MAN

An Epic by Gil Gamesh

Chapter Sixty-Two


As for you, Gilgamesh, fill your belly with good things; day and night, night and day, dance and be merry, feast and rejoice. Let your clothes be fresh, bathe yourself in water, cherish the little child that holds your hand, and make your wife happy in your embrace; for this too is the measure of man.


CAST OF CHARACTERS:
Kieran Stuart, 44; Siobhan Stuart, 43; Kavan Stuart, 17; Arial Stuart, 16; Kerry Stuart, 12 (Almost 13)

Brad Weaver, 17; Kiki Daniels, 17; Nicole Whittaker, 15 


TELLING THE STORY
Kieran Stuart, Siobhan Stuart

 (KIERAN)


Even though it was Saturday, I awakened at daybreak, slipped on shorts and sneakers, made a pot of coffee, and walked over to the new house. I wanted to check out the work that the construction crews had done during the week. I started with the basement or utility level, inspected the living level next, and finished with the bedroom level. Everything looked good.

The contractor’s crew had left a couple of dilapidated folding chairs on the balcony off the big bedroom. I sat there, listening to the birds, thinking about my life, and sipping my mug of coffee. I could see through the trees down to the creek and I thought of another August day when I’d played there with three little kids. They’d grown up so fast. I knew they’d soon be leaving the nest. Arial’s initial flight might be a short one and I wasn’t sure how she’d feel if I suggested it. Siobhan thought it was a wonderful idea.  

“Kieran, where are you?”

It was Siobhan, calling to me from somewhere downstairs in the new house. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was a little before seven. I left the balcony and went through the big bedroom to the stairwell.

“I’m up here,” I yelled.

“Stay there,” she answered. “I’ll come up.”

A momentary stab of panic hit me. I didn’t want her coming up the temporary stairs from the living level to the bedroom level by herself. They were well-made stairs and sturdy enough but they didn’t have any banisters on the sides yet and there was nothing to hold on to. One side was open all the way.

“I told you to stay there,” I yelled. “I’m coming down.”

“I can do it,” she said, and I saw her start up the stairs. She had on another of her summer pregnancy outfits, a loose shift that closed with a tie and her now-routine socks and sneakers. The shift was a colorful Indonesian thing that she loved. It was perfect with her red hair. She’d brushed it but it was still a little disheveled.

“Damn it, Siobhan, stop! I said stay there,” I yelled even louder.

She looked up at me, frowning, but she stopped. I hurriedly went down the stairs to her.

“You don’t have to yell at me, Kieran,” she said. I could tell I’d hurt her feelings. Emotionally, she was a little uneven occasionally especially if she was tired. 

I wrapped her up in my arms and held her tight. I buried my face in her wild red hair and waited for my heart to stop pounding.

“I’m not an invalid just because I’m pregnant, Kieran. It won’t hurt me to walk up a flight of stairs.”

I pulled back and looked at her. I didn’t want to tell her that I’d imagined her falling. 

“I love you, Siobhan,” I said. 

“I’m glad, but I can still walk up the steps.”

“I know. Just let me hold your hand.”

I made sure she was on the side of the stairs next to the wall. She had no trouble climbing the stairs.

“Where were you?” she asked.

“Sitting on the balcony. Just looking. There’s a beautiful view. You have to look hard to see through the trees and find any houses on the next ridge.”

“Is that safe? I thought you said you didn’t want any of us going out there.”

“It’s OK. The railings are up now. They installed them this week. They’re good. I tried to shake them but I couldn’t budge them.”

I led her out on the balcony and showed her the best places to stand to see through the trees. The first or ground level of the new house was higher than the main floor of our old house. Maybe the utility level, partially sunk into the hill, was on the level of the ranch-style house where we lived. So the second, living, and the third, sleeping, levels of the new house were higher up than all of our old house. From the balcony we were looking through the tops of the deciduous trees behind the house. I knew we’d have a wonderful view when the leaves fell. 

“Are the kids up?” I asked.

“They’re getting up,” Siobhan answered. “They’ll be starting breakfast about now. I told them to make it a big one. You four guys will need it if you do what you want to today. Are you paying them to work today?”

“No. Kavan said they’d do it just for being part of our family. Kerry said he was fine with that and Brad did too.”

“Do you want me to give them their usual allowance?” she asked. “They’re going to a movie tonight.”

“Yeah, that’s part of being a family too. Maybe we should start giving Brad one too, since he’s been staying here all summer.”

“The way he eats, maybe we should start charging him room and board,” she said. I knew she was joking. He was about like family and we didn’t charge our own kids for room and board. He assumed as much responsibility for housework as our own kids. With Siobhan about six-months pregnant, they did most of the housework now.

“There is something Kavan wants to do that I’ll pay him for,” I said. “It’s another landscaping job, for our yard.”

“Why? What’s wrong with our yard now?”

“He wants to replace the front lawn with ground cover. We never really use it. That way, the only grass we’ll have to mow is around the pool area. He wants to take out some bushes that aren’t good ones or they’re in the wrong place. He wants to put in some good ones in the right places. He says we need to take down one tree.”

 “And you think he’s right?” 

“Yep. He and Kerry want to put together a proposal and submit it to us. They’re learning to use that landscaping CAD program Mr. Manchester gave them.”

“With school starting up soon, do you think they’ll have time to do it? It sounds like a lot of work.”

“Sure. He’ll do some of it this fall and some during the winter when everything’s dormant. Has he talked to you about what they’re doing tonight? Has Kerry?” 

“No. I know they’re going to an early movie,” she answered. “Brad and Arial are going. Kavan’s taking Kiki and Kerry’s taking Nicole. That’s all I know. Why?”

“I think they’ve got plans for after the movie. Nobody’s talked to me about whatever it is. I just think they should.”

“Do you want me to ask Kavan and Kerry?”

“No. Just let it be. I’ll bet Kavan will talk to me today.”

“You’re probably right,” she said. “Come on. Let’s go to breakfast.”

I held her hand coming down the stairs and I didn’t see any reason to turn it loose when we walked back home. We headed for the front door of our house and saw Arial walking toward us. She saw us holding hands and smiled and went back in the house.

<><><>

Kavan and I were prying a large rock out of the path of the walkway we were creating. When it finally yielded and we moved it aside, he stopped and leaned on one of the pry bars he’d made for us. He’d found some junk pipes that were almost impossible to bend and had flattened one end. He’d made us four great pry bars.

“Dad, let’s stop and break for something cold,” he said. “Kerry and I need to talk to you.”

“Just you and Kerry, not Brad?”

“Nah, he knows about it but it’s just me and Kerry that need to talk to you.”                     

“About girls or sex or both?” I asked grinning at him.

“What else is there?” he grinned back.

“Let’s use the hose and wash off a little,” I said. “I think everybody’s ready for a little break.”

We walked back up the hill to the new house and Kerry and Brad followed us. Arial was using a yard broom and sweeping off the walkway. Siobhan was sitting in the lounge chair I’d brought over for her. We’d put the chair in a shady spot with the drink cooler. She had been alternately using another broom to clean the path and then sitting for a while.

We had water to the new house even though the baths and kitchen weren’t operative. We’d hooked a hose up to an outside faucet and extended it to where we were working. Kavan had already taken his shirt off and had squirted his head a couple of times.  I decided it was time for me to use the hose on my head.

“Have you got another of those headbands?” I asked him.

“Yeah. Mom made me some more. They’re with the towels. When I get to sweating, I can go through a half dozen of them.”

He was sweating already and the morning was still cool. I think he was determined to tackle the hardest work and spare me. It was probably a good thing because his hands were hardened more than anyone else’s and his chest and shoulders and biceps were hard muscle from working at Manchester’s and from lifting weights.  I’d stopped more than once and watched him and wondered where I’d got such a son.

He untied his headband, leaned over, and squirted down on the back of his head. After a minute or so, he shook his head something like a dog does and sprayed the water out of his long red hair. I decided I might as well do it too so I stripped off my shirt. There were some dry areas on it but not many. I followed his example with the hose and then used my hands to get the water out of my hair. Siobhan wanted me to let my hair grow long like the boys and I’d compromised and let it grow out a little. Arial threw us towels and we wiped off.

Brad and Kerry started horsing around and fighting over the hose. Brad won and then held it for Kerry to stick his head under it. They were already shirtless. Brad’s khaki shorts were wet with sweat around the waist. When Arial took towels and headbands to them, I surprised her and took one too. I didn’t really like to use them when I sweated. I suppose I took one so I’d look like the boys.

I got a bottle of cold water out of the cooler and found a spot in the shade to stand. Kavan and Kerry followed me and Brad stayed with Arial and Siobhan.  I sort of assumed they wanted to talk about something and Brad already knew about it.

“OK, what’s it about?” I asked.

“About Kiki and Nicole,” Kavan answered.

“Yeah, and what we want to do tonight,” Kerry added.

“Your Mom told me the six of you were going out to an early movie.”

“We are,” Kerry said. “We’ll be in early. Nicole and Kiki both have to be home by midnight and we want to do something before then. Kavan said I ought to make sure it’s OK with you and Mom.”

“Sex with Nicole?”

“Yeah!”

“Well, what do you want to do? Is it just you or have you talked to Nicole about it.”

“Oh, come on, Dad, I’ve talked to her. She wants to do it as much as I do,” Kerry said. “I told her how you and Mom are about sex, how you want us to be honest with you and how you and Mom are honest with us. We want to spend an hour or two in my room before she has to be home. She knows I want you to know what we’re doing. I don’t want to have to sneak around and hide it like most kids.”

 “How far have you gone with her, Son?” I asked, pretty sure I already knew the answer.

“A gentleman never talks about what he does in bed with a lady,” he answered. “That’s what you’ve taught me.”

“I’m glad you’ve learned that, Son,” I said. “But I need to know, just in general, not specifics. You understand why, don’t you?”

He nodded, grinning at me.

“All the way, Dad,” he said, proudly. “We’ve done it three times, a couple of times at her house and once in Kavan’s room.” 

“Have you been responsible for protecting her, Son?” I asked. “Have you used a condom or is she using something?”

“I’ve used a condom, Dad. I even used two when we did it twice in Kavan’s room. She’s thinking about getting something she can use.”

“Son, using a condom’s not as good as going without one, but it’s not just birth control you’ve got to worry about,” I told him. “There’s an epidemic of STDs among kids in high school and college. You can ruin your life if you start fucking around with girls you don’t know.”

“We’ve talked about that a lot, Dad,” Kavan said. “I’ve had probably a dozen girls come on to me this summer. Some of them just come right out and ask me to hook-up with them.”

“I know what you mean,” Kerry said. “It’s been like that with me all year. Sometimes I feel like a freak, like they want to fuck the little kid so they can brag about it around school.”

“And if you’ve got any sense, you won’t touch any of them with a ten-foot pole,” I said.

“Shit, Dad, I’m not going to do it with an eight-inch pole,” Kavan said. 

“Dad, do you know the difference between love and herpes?” Kerry asked. 

I knew it was a joke but I didn’t know the answer.

“What?”

“Herpes is forever,” he said without smiling.

“And if it’s like AIDS, we may never find a cure,” I said. “Even with the new vaccine, viruses have a way of mutating into something new. It’s just no joking matter.”

“I know, Dad,” he said. “That’s what scares me so bad. If I got genital herpes, I could give it to a girl I loved and it might really mess her up.”

“Yeah, and it might keep her from having kids,” Kavan said. “That really scares me. I’d like to have a good marriage with a bunch of kids like you and Mom.”

“Me too,” Kerry said. 

“Well, I know you’re not going to be celibate,” I said. “You’ve just got to be damned careful who you fuck around with.

“You’ve prepared us as well as anybody could, Dad,” Kerry said. “We’ll do our best to give you some good healthy grandkids.”

“Yeah, I know you will, boys,” I said. “Did you change the sheets on your beds this morning?”

“Yeah, and I cleaned my room last night,” Kavan said. “Kerry helped me and then I helped him.”

“Well, it’s OK with me if you two want to entertain the ladies in your rooms. Anything else do you want to know?” I asked. 

“Yeah, one more thing,” Kerry said. “When Kavan and Kathryn started getting it on with each other, you and Mom let them do it here at home. Same thing with Brad and Arial. I know I’m not as old as they were when they started but I’m old enough. Would you and Mom mind if Nicole and I do it in my room once in a while? We’re not going to be doing it all the time like Kavan and Kathryn did or like Arial and Brad are still doing, just once in a while.”

“You’re not pushing her into this, are you, Son?” I asked. “It’s her decision as much as it is yours?”

“Yeah, and I’m being responsible when we do it. We do stuff without a rubber for a while but when we make love I use one.”

“I can’t tell you not to do it, Kerry,” I said. “You’ve started awfully young but you’re being sensible about it. Allison and I didn’t go as far as you and Nicole when I was thirteen but we wanted to. I’ll talk to your Mom and make sure she’s OK with it.”

“Sweet little tomboy Allison,” Kavan said. “I’m glad you told us about her. She was a real firecracker, wasn’t she, Dad?”

“Yeah, she was a cherry bomb,” I said, grinning at them.

“Shit, that’s a two pointer, Dad,” Kerry said.

Kavan and Kerry both raised a hand and waited. At first I didn’t understand why they did it. The looked at me until I held out my hand and got two slaps. 

“Is that all you wanted to talk about?” I asked. “I thought you and Kavan both wanted to talk to me.”

“Yeah, we do,” Kavan said. “We’re not finished.”

“OK, what else?”

“You’ve told us you don’t want us sneaking around and having sex,” he said. “You said if we wanted to do it, we should do it at home where we’re safe, not out parked somewhere.”

“That’s right,” I said. “It’s your home too. And I don’t want you to be ashamed about what you do. You know your Mom and I do the same things and I’m proud of it.”

“Kerry and I talked about maybe skipping the movie and just staying home, Dad, just entertaining the ladies,” Kavan said. “We knew Kiki and Nicole had told their parents that’s where we were going. It just seemed like that would make them be lying to their parents. We didn’t feel right about it.”

“It’s the sneaking around part, Dad,” Kerry said. “Kavan and I feel like we can talk to you and Mom. Nicole hasn’t said anything to her mother or father. She doesn’t want them to know.”

“Same here, Dad,” Kavan said. “Kiki says her mother knows what we’re doing but she doesn’t think her father does. I told her I’d talk to her father and tell him. Kerry says he’ll talk to Nicole’s parents. The problem is they don’t want us to. We’re both trying to be responsible and honest and we don’t want them to think we’re sneaking around with their daughters. We don’t want their parents to get pissed at us.”

“Yeah, Dad, he’s right,” Kerry said. “I like Mrs. Whittaker. I’ve only met her husband a couple of times and he seems like a nice guy. I don’t want them to get mad at Nicole or me if they find out.”

I had to think about the ramifications of that for a minute or so. I didn’t see any way I could give them a good answer.

“Boys, I don’t think I can give you an answer to this one. When it comes to sex, I’ve told you that you should never do anything without the other person’s consent.”

“And never do anything to hurt them,” Kerry interjected. “That’s where the problem is.”

“Yeah, that too,” I said. “I guess it is a problem. You can’t say anything unless the girls agree it’s OK. If you don’t say anything and the parents get mad, the girls might get hurt.”

“Yeah, but we’re not worried about physical hurt, Dad,” Kavan said. “We don’t think their parents are like that. We just don’t want them to be ashamed of their daughters and maybe ground them until they’re eighteen years old. They’re not ashamed of what they’re doing. They want to do it as much as we do.”

“Well, I guess you’ll have to handle it,” I said. “You know their parents better than I do. Tell the girls you’ll talk to their parents when they’re ready. That might be difficult, especially for you Kerry, but you can’t even do that unless the girls agree.”

“But we can have a little private time with them in our rooms, can’t we?” Kerry asked. “If it’s what they want to do, we can do it here at home?”

“Yeah, but it gives me a little problem with Kiki’s parents,” I said. I hadn’t told them what I was trying to do with Kiki’s father. Kavan sobered up and gave me a puzzled look.

“Why, Dad?” he asked. “Is it because she’s mixed race? Because her mother’s Japanese?”

I sobered up too. I hadn’t even thought of that.

“Kavan, you know me better that,” I said. “That’s got nothing to do with anything.”

“Well, what then?” he asked, with maybe a touch of anger. “She can’t do anything about it. She didn’t get to pick her parents.”

“Son, I told you that’s not the problem,” I said. “I just don’t want to talk about it until I know what to do.”

“Dad, you’ve always told us not to be prejudiced against people,’” he said, not willing to let it go. “Are you afraid I’ll end up marrying her and you‘ll have grandbabies who are part Japanese?”

That hurt. I didn’t want to let him get mad about something I had never even thought about.

“Kavan, you’re heading in the wrong direction,” I said, trying to think of what to do. 

“Oh shit, I don’t know to think,” he said.

I could think of no way to give him answers unless I told him something that I’d promised not to tell to anyone.

“OK, Kavan, I’ll tell you what the problem is,” I decided. “Now, will you shut up and let me tell you the way I want to?”

He nodded.

“Look, I’m proud of being Irish. My grandparents were born there. My Mom and Dad are both Irish. Your mother’s Irish. I’m comfortable being Irish like I’m comfortable living close to the mountains. I couldn’t live in Florida or most of Texas. That doesn’t mean I hate people from Germany or Italy or even Japan or flatland country. I try my best to be just like I’ve taught you to be. I’m not perfect but I try.”

“He’s right, Kavan,” Kerry finally piped up. “I like being Irish but I like having Ken-chan for my best friend. Mom and Dad like him.”

I nodded. “Kavan, the problem is that I’m negotiating with Bob Daniels to come to work for Andersen Security. That’s all it is.”

He looked at me and I knew he was trying to think of the ramifications of that. I’d been trying to think of the same thing when I told him being involved with Kiki might present a problem.

“You keep your mouth shut about this,” I told him as sternly as I could. “I told Kiki’s father I wouldn’t talk to anybody about it. He’s ready to go back to work. You know he was a Navy captain working in the intelligence area until he retired, don’t you?”

He nodded. 

“Well, he’s got a great resume in that area, more communication security than personnel security. I’m trying to get him as a point man in that area. I want to move Andersen Security more into it because that’s where the problems are. I want him but there are others who want him too. I’m trying to figure out how much I can offer him. He’s trying to decide whether he ever wants to be an employee for anyone again. He thinks he can do quite well as a consultant and I’d bet he can. I don’t want him as a consultant. I want him as a permanent employee and he’d probably be my number two man.”

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Kavan said.

“For what, Son?” I said.

“For thinking what I did. I guess I’m getting messed up because I’m still confused about how I feel about Kathryn and Kiki.”

“OK, that’s normal. Tell me more.”

“Well, I can’t help but feel like I messed up with Kathryn. I told her I wouldn’t get serious about anybody else over the summer. Then I kept seeing Kiki at the pool parties and I wanted to get involved with her. At first she didn’t want to have anything to do with me. I told her Kathryn and I had agreed we would date other people over the summer but we just wouldn’t fall in love with anybody. When Kiki and I started dating, I thought we could keep it on a friendly basis. That didn’t work. I was hot for her even before Kathryn called me and said she wasn’t coming back. Then after one of the pool parties, it was like we were two magnets coming together.”

“Shit, Kavan, that’s at least two points, maybe three,” Kerry said. “Did you get that one, Dad?”

We did the hand-slapping routine again. I held out my hand this time, palm up, and then noticed Kavan had his the same way. I slapped it and then Kerry did it too.

“Yeah, I got it, Son,” I said. “But Kavan’s trying to be serious.”

“Yeah, I am, Squirt,” Kavan said. “I keep feeling like I’m not being faithful to Kathryn and I can’t stay away from Kiki. I think she’s attracted to me the same way.”

“Son, you’re on the rebound from Kathryn,” I said. “Give yourself some time. With Kathryn your paths converged but then they diverged. Life’s like that sometimes. Just be happy for what you had with her.”

“Yeah, Dad, I know,” he said. “It's just that I’m so fascinated with Kiki. It’s like she draws me to her and I don’t know what to make of her and my feelings. I didn’t want to fall in love with her, not so quick anyway, but I guess I’m doing it.”

“Do you think her father’s told her about me trying to hire him?”

“I don’t think so,” he said. “I think she’d have told me. I know she wants to stay here. She says she moved too much while he was in the Navy and she wants to stay put here, maybe for the rest of her life.”

“Well, I think we’d better get back to work,” I said. “Your Mother and Brad and Arial have been watching us. We’ll talk some more about this but, for right now, don’t either of you say anything about this to anyone else, OK?”

“I won’t, Dad,” Kavan said. “I am sorry, Dad.”

“No problem, Son,” I said. “Let’s make sure it’s not one between us, OK?”

“It won’t be, Dad,” he said.

I turned to go but Kerry piped up again.

“Dad,” he said. “Wait a minute.”

He nodded to Kavan and then walked up to me and put his hand on my shoulder. Kavan put his hand on my other shoulder.  We walked back up to Siobhan and Brad and Arial.

“I don’t think I ever want to grow up, Dad,” Kerry said. 

“I understand, Kerry,” I said. “What time do you boys think you’ll start your private time tonight?”

“The movie’s at six,” Kavan said. “We should be home by around eight-thirty. Maybe at nine we’ll retire to our quarters.”

“I want us all to re-assemble in the family room afterwards,” I said. “I want Kiki and Nicole to understand how we feel about them being with you boys. I want them to know your Mother and I are doing the same thing. What time do you think?”

“How about eleven?” Kerry asked. “Is that OK?”

“That means you’ll have to stop whatever you’re doing about ten forty-five, Squirt,” Kavan said. “Girls like to have a little time to freshen up after strenuous activities.”

“Well, I think I’m going to be strenuous with Nicole,” he said. “And I don’t want to be called Squirt anymore. That’s a kid’s name. From now on, I want everybody to call me Kerry all the time.”

“I think you’re right, Kerry,” I said. “I think it’s time we retired that name until we can assign it to a little boy.”

“Have you talked to Stuart lately, Dad?” Kavan asked. “He says he loves the project I did for him but maybe he was just being nice to me. I liked doing it, especially working with all the guys. I think I did a good job organizing everything and Kerry was a lot of help with that. Grizzly worked the hardest of anybody. I’d like to see if Mr. Manchester might hire him when he graduates. He’s not going to college.”

“Yeah, we talk at least two or three times a week, more if we don’t see each other. He says you did professional-quality work in everything. He really liked the stone benches you guys made for the patio. He’s got some more ideas and he might ask you to do some more for him when he gets it sorted out.”

“Kerry was a lot of help to me, Dad,” he said. “He couldn’t do most of the heaviest stuff but he kept track of stuff for me. I don’t know how he does it but you know how his memory is. Every night he’d type up everything I’d told him during the day and I’d have it for the next day.”

“I’m an elephant,” Kerry said. “I never forget.”

“Yeah, and your dick looks like an elephant’s trunk,” Kavan said. 

“Yours does too, Kavan,” I said. “Just be glad I didn’t have you boys circumcised. That extra foreskin is nice. Ask the girls.”

“I already have, Dad,” Kerry said. “Nicole thinks it’s cute. I told her I could pick up a peanut with it but she didn’t believe me.”

“We’re just like you, Dad,” Kavan said. “Does Mom think it’s cute?”

<><><>

(SIOBHAN)

For the first part of the morning, Arial helped the guys with the pathways they were building around the new house. She didn’t fuss when I reminded her to put on her work gloves. Her hands were like mine, too soft to work with tools without protection. Most of the time, I sat in a lounge chair in the shade with my big straw hat and watched them work.

When the guys stopped for a break about mid-morning, Brad joined her and they sat down in the shade with me.  Kieran and the boys got drinks from the cooler and then walked a little distance down the hill. I could tell the boys wanted to talk to their father about something. I wondered what the hand slapping and laughing was about. When the guys went back to work, Arial stayed with me.

“Are you enjoying watching our four hunks working, Mom?” she asked.

“Yes, it’s even better now that they’ve got their shirts off,” I said. “I wonder why Kieran has a sweat-band on. He doesn’t like those things.”

“He wants to look like the boys, Mom; that’s why,” she said. “I wish they’d take their shorts off too. Now that would really be something to watch.”

“I agree,” I answered thinking about how they’d look. “Dicks all hot and heavy and swinging around.”

She grinned at me. “Yeah, and big balls hanging down and all those muscles in their butts.”

“Kavan and Kerry have worked like they are now, with just shorts on, at Stuart’s this summer,” I said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen them with enough of a tan so they’ve got a white stripe around the middle. I wish Brad could have worked with them.”

“Yeah, me too, but we’ve enjoyed working together this summer,” she said. “We make a good team. I’m a lot better at typing than he is but he’s better at keeping all the student data organized. There’s just so much of it, we’ll still be working most of the fall.”

“I know you’re planning on working part-time on his father’s research project after school starts,” I said. “You two mustn’t let it interfere with your school work, Princess. It’s Brad’s senior year; don’t let him get senior-itus and start loafing.”

“I won’t, Mom,” she said. “Kerry has changed a lot over the summer, hasn’t he?”

“Yes. He’s proud of the muscles he’s developed. He eats like a horse, just like Kavan, and he doesn’t put on an ounce of fat. It all goes into muscle. He’s grown an inch too. In his bare feet, he’s as tall as me now. He’s put on about ten pounds and he’s bigger around too. He’s already wearing Kavan’s old shorts. I’ve got him some bigger shorts and jeans for when he starts school.” 

We sat and watched the guys for a while. They were all struggling with pry bars and digging with shovels to move a big boulder. They were glistening with sweat already.

“Would you take them some towels when they get that thing moved?” I asked. “Do you think they’d like dry ones or cold wet ones? I thought we might wet them in the drink cooler.”

“I’ll ask,” she said. “I was worried about Kerry trying to work like the older guys when they started with Stuart’s job. I had a talk with Kavan.”

“I had a talk with him too, about Kerry moving big rocks and lifting things. He told me he and Kieran had already talked to him about it. Then during the summer, whenever I brought up the subject, he told me what Kerry had been doing. It turned out the other guys watched out for him too. He said Grizzly kept an eye on him and always stepped in if he needed help. Kerry was the first one asked to use the bobcat after they found out how good he was handling it. He was Kavan’s right hand or maybe right brain-lobe about keeping records and notes. Kavan said he’d tell him constantly during the day to remember to do something or order something and Kerry would nod and then type it up neatly when he came home.
 
“I suppose we were all worrying about him too much,” she said. “He’s worked well with Kavan most of the summer and it seems like they’re a lot closer now. He’ll always be my little baby brother though.”

“Princess, in a few years he’s going to be as tall as Brad, maybe even taller,” I said. “Don’t call him your little brother then.”

Brad had finally got a pry bar under the rock and we watched as he put all his weight on it and made the rock move. Once it started moving, Kavan got another pry bar under it while Kieran and Kerry pushed. The rock went crashing down the hillside for a minute or so. I enjoyed all the display of muscles on their arms and shoulders and backs. I suppose Arial did too. She didn’t move or say anything until the rock went rolling. Then she yelled, asked them about the towels, and took then each one wet with ice water. She sat down by me again when she came back.

“I did something naughty one night this week, Mom,” she said. 

“With Brad?”

“Well, yes,” she said, and then paused, thinking, “It wasn’t really naughty, I guess, not what I did with Brad. It was what I did before with Kavan and Kerry.”

“That sounds interesting,” I said. “Are you going to tell me about it?”

She nodded. “I guess it was Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon? Was that when Kavan and Kerry went back over to Stuart’s? After it rained so much on Sunday? Kavan said he needed to look over everything they’d done and see how it had handled the heavy rain.”

“It was Tuesday,” I remembered. They’d called home and said they would probably be there most of the afternoon. Kavan had tried to build a small stone wall without mortar and the rain had cut under it and it wasn’t safe. He wanted to redo it with mortar. He and Kerry had done it by themselves and had come in late, dirty, tired, and starving. I made them go out on the deck and Arial and I had fixed their plates and drinks. When we took it out to them, they were both sitting there, long legs outstretched, already naked, sweaty and dirty, but smiling at us. After they’d stuffed themselves, they’d gone downstairs to shower and then to watch a baseball game. After they left, I didn’t see them again until the next morning.

“You and Dad went to bed early and Brad and I did too,” Arial said. “I don’t guess we needed to make love since we’d done it so much over the weekend. We showered together and then read a while and then curled up together and went to sleep.”

“That’s not very naughty, Princess,” I said. “Did you do something later?”

“Uh huh. I woke up a little after midnight and went to the bathroom to piddle. I could hear something like people talking on the TV. I went in the family room but that one was off. I opened the basement door and it was coming from there.”

“They had left the TV on again, hadn’t they?” I asked. “When they come in tired like that, they’ll watch it for a few minutes when they go to bed and then leave it on.”

“I guess that’s what they did,” she said. “They were both lying there naked, sleeping. The room was warm and they didn’t have anything over them.  Mom, they were so beautiful!”

I nodded. I’d seen them like that a couple of times when I went down to turn off the TV. That was before Kieran asked me not to go down the stairs at night.

“Kavan was on his back and he had a hard-on,” she continued.” I mean it was really hard. It was standing up over his stomach and his balls were drooped way down between his legs. Maybe I shouldn’t have but I just stood there for a couple of minutes looking at him.”

“I would probably have done the same thing, Arial,” I said. “I know he’s my son but he’s also a sexy young man. What was Kerry doing?”

“Sleeping. Dead to the world. His back was to Kavan. He was on his side with one leg bent. From the foot of the bed, I could see his butt but that’s all. I wondered if he was like Kavan so I moved around to the side. His dick was big like it was starting to get hard. The way he was laying, it was down on the mattress. His balls were hanging down about like Kavan’s. I guess he’s going to be like Dad and Kavan, isn’t he?”

“Probably. Like Stuart too,” I said. “Kieran seems to have passed on a certain gene to all his male offspring.”

“Well, anyway, I couldn’t take my eyes off them.”

“It’s a real turn-on, isn’t it, to see them like that when they’re sleeping and their faces look so innocent and beautiful?” I said. “I’ll bet you want back upstairs and woke up Brad, didn’t you.”

“Uh, huh, I almost raped him,” she said.

“Well, why do you think that’s so naughty?” I asked. “He liked it, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, he liked it. He always does. That’s not what was naughty,” she said. “When I was down there looking at Kavan and Kerry, I started thinking about what it would be like for one of them to wake up and pull me down in the bed and do it to me. Maybe both of them. I wanted them to do it. Do you ever think of doing stuff like that?”

“So you went back upstairs and took it out on poor Brad,” I said. “I’ll bet you were thinking about your brothers while you were doing it with him.”

“Yeah. I knew it was Brad but it got all mixed up with Kavan and Kerry. I was so hot. I kept thinking about what it would be like if it was Kavan or Kerry or maybe both. I even imagined what it might be like if all three were doing something with me. Do you ever think crazy stuff like that?”

“Yes, Princess. We all think about having sex with other people, family members, schoolteachers, people we work with. I learned to masturbate thinking about a thirteen-year-old boy I knew. We fooled around once but didn’t really do anything. I’ve had sex with lots of different guys in my fantasies. It’s safe and it doesn’t hurt anything.”

“But do you ever think about Kavan or Kerry like that?”

“Yes, I’ve even dreamed about them fucking me. When you see Kavan the way you described him, it’s quite a turn-on, isn’t it? If you dreamed about him later, would it surprise you?”

“How about Brad? Do you ever think about him that way?”

“Brad too, Princess. He’s just as sexy as Kavan. You’ve got yourself a beautiful young man. I’ll bet you ten to one that modeling agency will pick the two of you for their new advertising campaign. Maybe all four of you because if they don’t want Kavan and Kerry too, they’re crazy.” 

“Brad and I hope they do pick us,” she said. “They pay big bucks. We could save a lot for college.”

“Are you going to tell me what you did with Brad?” I asked. “You know you don’t ever have to tell me anything if you don’t want to. I hope you don’t think I’m bad when I tell you what Kieran and I do. Most mothers wouldn’t.”

“Most kids don’t have a relationship with their parents like we do, Mom. I like it when you’re honest with me and tell me stuff, no matter what it is. I like knowing you and Dad do the same things Brad and I do.”

“Well, tell me what you did with Brad after you saw Kavan and Kerry.”

 “Our room was a little warm too and he was sleeping naked. I woke him up with a little oral sex and he just lay there, not saying a word, just letting me suck him.”

“Sleepy sex is great, isn’t it?” I interrupted. “I love it when Kieran and I do it like that.”

“Me too,” she said. “When he was ready, he rolled me over on my back and got on top. I showed his dick where to go and then wrapped my arms and legs around him. He held me like he does sometimes, slides his arms under me and holds me by the shoulders. He says it’s so I can’t get away, as if I’d want to. He started off slow and then got faster and then tried to ram it up to my heart. I could feel him every time he squirted.”

“Did he roll over and go to sleep?” I asked.

“I didn’t give him a chance. He’d sweated all over me so I went to the bathroom and wiped off. I started to put a hand towel between my legs but I decided I wanted to do it some more. I got a wet cloth and wiped him off, his face, then his chest and stomach, and then his dick and balls. He just lay there without saying a word and let me do it. Then I used my mouth and hands and got his dick hard again in a couple of minutes.”

“I’ve done that too, Arial,” I said.” If he doesn’t satisfy you, do what you have to do to get what you want. Don’t just go to sleep frustrated.”

“I didn’t,” she said. “When his dick was stiff, I straddled him and showed it where to go again. I rode him the way I like to do sometimes, you know, get it in as deep as it will go and then rock your pelvis back and forth.”

“I know,” I said. “I like that too. I can’t do that with Kieran now that I’m so far along.”

“He put his hands on my breasts and I took one and held it up to my mouth. I don’t think he knew what I wanted to do. I folded back his fingers except for the middle one and then I sucked on that one while I rode him and rode him until I came. He says I’m going to break his dick off like that someday but I’m not worried.”

“What did he do when you came?” I asked.

“Nothing. Didn’t say a word. He gave me a minute or so to calm down and then he lifted me up by my hips and started fucking me from below. It didn’t take him a minute before he slammed me down against his belly and squirted again. I loved it.”

“Did he ever say anything?” I asked.

“Uh huh, I lay there on top of him until I felt his dick go soft in me. I was about to get up and get a towel when he whispered in my ear, ‘Arial, I love you. Will you marry me?’”

“And?”

“I said, ‘Yes, Brad. I’ll marry you.’”

“He’s a good man, Arial. I’d like to have him as a son-in-law.”

“Then he whispered, ‘Wait here, sweetheart’ and he went to the bathroom. I guess he peed and wiped up but he brought back a wet cloth and a little towel. He wiped me up the same way I’d done him. Them he stuck a towel between my legs and moved over to his side of the bed. I didn’t mind that because we were both still hot. He held my hand while we went to sleep.”

We sat there for a while, not talking, watching four guys straining and sweating. Kieran didn’t look as young as the other three but he certainly didn’t look his age. I was afraid he’d develop executive butt spread when he became CEO of Andersen but he was still ran two or three times a week and he was just as slim as ever. Brad would probably never lose his little-boy face. He had biceps almost as big as Kavan’s. His shoulders were wider and his arms were certainly longer than Kieran’s or Kavan’s. Kavan seemed to be more careful of his appearance since Kathryn had encouraged him. He always dressed better now and his hair, his lion-mane, as Kathryn called it, was almost always clean and shining. Kerry was having his first real growth spurt and losing some of his little boy looks as he put on muscle. He was still experimenting with the way he dressed and how he did his hair. Being in the sun a good part of the summer had lightened his hair until it was almost as golden as Arial’s. 

“What are you thinking, Mom?” Arial asked.

“About going home and fixing some sandwiches for them,” I said.

“Yeah, I’ll bet you were. I’ve been looking at your face for the last few minutes. You were looking at our guys, weren’t you?”

I couldn’t deny it. “Uh, huh, I like watching them. I was thinking about how beautiful they are.”

“And I’ll bet you were fantasizing a little, weren’t you?”

I didn’t answer. I just smiled and so did she.

<><><>

(KIERAN)

We ate lunch on the balcony – the cantilevered concrete slab - of the new house. Siobhan sat in the chair while the rest of us sat on the concrete. She and Arial had gone home, made two huge sandwiches, and brought them back. Brad and Kavan carried up the cooler. Kerry swept off the balcony. Kavan used the big knife to slice off sandwich pieces to order and Brad passed out the plates and drinks. I supervised.

I think Kerry ate three pieces before he let out a huge burp. Arial said “Gross,” and, of course, Kerry repeated it. Kavan and Brad ate just as much but without the burping. Even Arial seemed to have a big appetite. Siobhan and I were slower eaters and it might have been because we were both watching the kids pack it away.

“I know we just ate but somebody needs to think of dinner,” Siobhan said. “Would Chinese take out be OK? We haven’t had that in a while. The one we usually order from says they don’t put msg in their food and I can eat it too.”’

“If you kids want to go to the movie like you said, we’ll have to eat a little early,” I said. “If we quit about four, we can order, then go home and shower, and it should be delivered by, say, four forty-five.  Is that too early?”

“Could I invite Kiki to eat with us, Dad?” Kavan asked. “She loves Chinese food. I could pick it up when I go get her.”

I looked at Kerry. He knew what I was waiting for.

“Yeah, and could I invite Nicole?” he asked. “Her house isn’t far from Kiki’s. We could squeeze eight in the kitchen and eat off paper plates.”

I looked at Siobhan. She nodded to me.

“I think that would be fine but you boys had better call them now and see if they want to come eat with us,” I said. “They may have other plans.”

“OK. Brad, may I borrow your cell phone?” Kerry asked.

“Sure, Squirt,” he said, and tossed it to Kerry. 

“Who you calling Squirt, Boy?” Kerry said.

Brad looked at him and I knew he was confused.

“Brad, we’ve retired that name,” I said. “We’re not going to call anybody Squirt until somebody has another little boy.”

“Well, squeeze me, Kerry,” Brad said. “I didn’t know.”

“That’s OK. You is squeezed,” Kerry said. “Dad, when we go pick them up, could you let me have the keys to your Mercedes? I’d like to pick them up in style.”

He knew I didn’t like for anybody else to drive my car. Maybe it was selfish of me but it was just something I always wanted to do myself. I knew he could drive it but so far I’d been teaching him just at the Freeloft Center on the Andersen property. He had another year before he could even get his learner’s permit. I thought about what he’d said. 

“Would it be OK if Kavan drove it, Kerry?” I asked. “You two can pick them up in it but that’s all. I don’t want the Chinese food in it and you’ll have to go to the movie in something else.’”

Kavan looked at me. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll take good care of Black Beauty.”

“I know you will, Son,” I said.

“Don’t tell them about the car when you call,” Arial said. “Let it be a surprise.”

Kerry stood up. “Come on, Kavan. You too, Brad. I need to talk to you.”

They went through the sliding glass door to the bedroom and then closed it behind them. I sort of guessed Kerry was going put them up to something again. They stood there talking and, and from the way they were grinning, I knew it. Brad came back out on the balcony and left them to make their calls.

When Kavan and Kerry came out on the balcony again, I knew we had two more for dinner. I also knew from the way they were trying not to grin, that they were about to do something.

Both of them sat down on the floor and we waited. Kerry was so nonchalant when he did it.  He took off his work boots, stood up, took off his shorts, took off his little briefs, held them out at arms-length and dropped them, reached down and pulled the wrinkles out of his dick, put his shorts back on, then sat down and put his boots on again. Everybody watched his performance. As soon as his show was over, Brad repeated it, and even gave his balls a good scratching while he was naked. Then Kavan did it too and made sure his dick and balls were flopping freely. Maybe they expected me to do it too but I was too content to move.

Then Kavan asked “Ready?” and Brad and Kerry both replied “Yeah.” They all picked up their briefs, shook them out, and put them on top of their heads. They sat there, not grinning, boots on their feet, shorts on their bodies, and briefs draped over their heads. Arial and Siobhan pretended there was nothing unusual. I didn’t know what to make of it. Then Kavan clued me in.

“Dad, would you like another headband?” he asked, “Sweaty shorts make a great one. The gnats and flies won’t bother you.”

“Yeah, Dad,” Brad said. “It’s an old boy scout trick. It works great.”

“Yeah, Dad,” Kerry said. “Then you can look like your boys.”

I tried not to smile. I took off my boots, my shorts, and my briefs, held my briefs out at arm’s length and dropped them, rubbed my dick and balls until they were relaxed, pulled my foreskin back until the head of my dick was uncovered, pushed it back down, caught the tip and pulled until I knew I had a elephant-trunk peanut-eating foreskin protruding, put both hands on my butt and scratched, pushed my pelvis out, stood there a minute showing off, then put my shorts on again, sat down, and put my boots on. I shook out my sweaty briefs and put them on my head. Somehow I managed to do it all without smiling. I looked at them and waited to see who would crack up first.

“What’s for dessert, Siobhan?” I asked.

“Jockey shorts with whipped cream,” she replied without cracking a smile.

That was too much. Arial cracked. She snickered, choked, and erupted in giggles. The rest of us gave in too. I laughed so much my stomach hurt. 

When we all subsided, Siobhan was sitting still, looking off over the valley, with one hand just under her navel area. I’d seen the look before, many times over the years. Arial noticed what she was doing.

“What’s the matter, Mom?” she asked. “Are you OK?”

“The baby’s moving around,” she said and then waited a few seconds. “I think she’s got the hiccups again.”

“She?” Arial squealed.

“You mean it’s going to be a girl?” Kerry asked.

“I thought you didn’t know,” Kavan said. 

The cat was out of the bag.

 “You might as well tell them, Honey,” I said. 

She looked around at us and smiled. “Yes, we’re having another girl. We decided we’d find out the next time they did an ultrasound. I was scheduled for one last week so I asked Kieran to go with me. The doctor says he’s sure it’s a girl and everything looks perfect so far.”

“It should,” I said. “They’ve run every test in the world on her. The doctor said your Mother is as healthy as a woman twenty years younger and she shouldn’t worry. Do you kids want to find us a girl’s name, an Irish girl’s name?”

Siobhan was moving her hand around on her stomach and smiling. I knew what that that meant.

“Would you like to say hello to mo cailín beag, Kerry?” Siobhan asked.

“Who?” he responded. “Is that what you’re going to name her?”

“No, Kerry, that’s just Irish for my little girl.” she answered. “It’s what my grandmother Kelly called me. We haven’t picked a name yet.”

“May I?” he asked, looking at me. I noticed that he had been asking properly. Surprise. Maybe there was hope for him.

“You may if you ask your mother,” I said.

He moved over in front of Siobhan and knelt down.

“May I, Mom?”

She opened the sash on the dress and let it all hang out. She’d been wearing loose shifts or caftans or whatever for the last month or two. I couldn’t remember the last time she’d let the kids see her naked. She had on nothing underneath except white panties. Her legs were crossed but I could see the tuft of red hair through her panties. Her belly was well rounded now that she was at the end of the second trimester. Her breasts were already swollen but not as large as I knew they would be when she started nursing the baby. They were still beautiful to me. Everything about her was.

“Give me your hand,” Siobhan said.

She placed Kerry’s hand just under her navel and moved it around and pressed it against her. Kerry was staring straight ahead, maybe at her breasts, but I knew he was lost in what he was feeling – his little sister moving around and hiccupping inside his mother.

“There, did you feel her?” Siobhan asked.

Kerry nodded and grinned. “Yeah, that’s neat. I can really feel her hiccupping.”

He looked up at Siobhan’s face. “Can I…May I kiss her?”

Siobhan nodded and he bent down, kissed Siobhan’s stomach where his hand had been, and then looked around at the other kids.

“I felt her,” he exclaimed. “I could feel her moving. It was like she really has the hiccups.”

“She does, Kerry,” Siobhan said. “Babies can have hiccups before they’re born. This is the first time I’ve felt her do it.”

“Kerry, you probably just kissed her on the butt,” I said. “She’s already in a head-down position.”

“I don’t care,” he said. “Why is she like that?”

“So she can kick me better,” Siobhan said. “

I looked at Kavan and Arial and even Brad. They all looked like they were waiting their turn. I waited for her to invite them to say hello too.

She did. She let Arial go next and Arial was just as full of wonder as Kerry. She asked if Brad could feel her too. Siobhan nodded and the two of them knelt down and Arial showed Brad where to feel. I watched Brad looking at Siobhan’s breasts. I didn’t mind. 

Kavan waited patiently until last and then tried to act like he wasn’t as impressed as the others. He kept looking at me and smiling and then looking at Siobhan and smiling. He surprised me when he moved up closer to Siobhan and hugged her. 

“I hope she’s red headed like you, Mom,” he said. When he pulled back, I think I saw his eyes glistening.

We sat around and talked for a few minutes more while I debated whether to spring something on Arial and Brad. I looked at Siobhan and nodded my head toward the big bedroom on the top floor of the new house and then nodded at Arial and Brad. She nodded at me and smiled. She knew what I was asking. 

“Arial, when your little sister’s born, we’ve got a problem,” I asked. “Where are we going to put her?

“In with me,” she said eagerly, and then realized that wouldn’t work. She looked at Brad. He just smiled at her predicament. Kerry came to her rescue.

“Put her in my room, Dad,” he suggested. “It’s the closest to your bedroom. I can move back downstairs with Kavan.”

“That would work, Dad,” Kavan said. “We can store the king-size mattress and get out the old twin-size ones Kerry and I had before Kathryn came to stay with us. She can have a room of her own and it would be between your bedroom and Arial’s. She can get up at night and take care of her.”

I pretended to think about it for a minute or so.

“Well, I think I’ve got a better solution, I said. “You can keep your room and Kerry can keep his. I think Arial and Brad should move.”

Arial looked at me with her brows pulled together. I knew she was puzzled at that my suggestion.

“Move where, Dad?” she asked.

I nodded my head toward the big bedroom behind us. She was more puzzled.

“Where?”

“Over here, Princess,” I said. “You and Brad can move in here, in the bedroom behind us. We’ll get you a king-size bed for over here and you can leave your old queen-size one where it is. We can move your desk over here and put the new crib where it is. What do you think?”

Brad finally had something to say. “We can’t do that, Kieran.” 

I looked at him and smiled. I knew what he was thinking about.

“Why not?”

“We can’t afford to rent this place from you,” he said. “We’re both saving some of what we’re earning at our part-time jobs but that’s not going to be much when we go back to school. I don’t know what this place would rent for but I know we can’t afford it.”

“Did I say anything about charging you rent, Brad?” I asked. “Siobhan and I have already discussed it. We’re not renting the house out to anybody. We’re just letting family stay in it.”

“We’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” Siobhan said. “I talked Kieran into forgetting about a bigger house for us and just staying here. We knew we were beginning to bust out at the seams. We wanted a place where all of you could stay close to us, at least until you’re ready to find a place of your own. We had hoped to have this place ready when Luke and Rachael moved back so they could stay here.  This is going to be our house too, just with room for our overflow.”

“Does that mean we could stay here when we’re in college?” Brad asked. “Does Dad know about this?”

I nodded. “He’s aware of it. He and I’ve talked about how to get you kids through college. You may need to keep a part-time job but that might not even be necessary. We’ll just work it out as we go.”

“We’ve talked about getting married when I finish high school, Dad,” Arial said. “I’ll be eighteen and Brad will be nineteen. I think we’d be better students in college if we’re married and so does Brad.”

“Don’t get too far ahead, Princess,” Siobhan said. “Let’s take one step at a time. You two work on your dreams. We’ll help you with the everyday stuff.”

Brad kept looking back and forth between me and Siobhan. He shut his eyes, took a couple of deep breaths, and then looked at me again.

“I can see why you love your parents, Arial,” he said. 

“Can I move over here too, Dad?” Kerry asked. “Could I have the little bedroom up here?”

I noticed that he had slipped back into “Can I?” mode again. I didn’t care; I could see how excited he was.

“I don’t want to worry about that right now, Son,” I said. “I think it’s time we got back to work.”

“I’ve got a question,” Brad said, looking at Arial and grinning. “If we move in here, do we have to share the Jacuzzi over here with Kerry?”
 
“That will be up to you, won’t it?” I said. “You’re all welcome to use the one in our bathroom now, anytime you want it. All you kids are. You can work out who you share it with. If you want to fool around with each other, just lock the door. It’s really OK with us. We’re not using it now that Siobhan’s pregnant anyway.”

“Why not, Dad?” Kerry asked.

“It’s not good for the baby for a pregnant woman to use a Jacuzzi,” Siobhan said. “It can cause a baby distress to get warmer than normal. I don’t want that.”

“You and Nicole can have it tonight, Kerry,” Brad said. “Arial and I can reserve it for another night.”

I noticed that he didn’t even ask Arial what she wanted to do. 

“I’ll wait,” Kerry said. “I had a hard enough time convincing Dad to let us use my bedroom for a tryst with Nicole. Maybe I can get her in the Jacuzzi next time.”


TO BE CONTINUED:
