Thunder and Lightening
Chapter 19
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

During the drive to the house, Jerry was worried about how Jenny 
would take to the neighborhood. Jenny was trying to put on a brave 
face at going into such a dangerous part of town. Bill sat in the 
back watching the scenery pass by totally oblivious to the tension 
in the front seat. Jerry said, "Don't worry about the neighbors. 
You've already met Martin and Abe at the store."

Trying to hide her concern, Jenny smiled back and said, "I'm not 
worried."

"Right," he replied knowing how worried she was. It was his 
opinion that her presence could trigger a riot once everyone saw 
her beauty. Hadn't the beauty of Helen started a war? Of course, 
that wasn't the kind of thing he could joke about with her.

He pulled up in front of the house and parked at the curb. Getting 
out, he went around the car and opened the door for Jenny. She 
climbed out and then turned to lever the seat forward so that Bill 
could exit the car. When everyone was standing by the car, Jerry 
asked, "What do you say that we go next door for a minute?"

Jenny frowned as she looked around the neighborhood taking in 
the run down houses. Curtains moved as the old people across the 
street watched what was happening. She watched as Bill looked 
over at the house next door and stared open mouthed at the black 
Caddy that was parked in the yard. He exclaimed, "Wow, look at 
the Caddy."

The comment caused her to look over at the car. Jerry took her by 
the arm and led her over to the car. Martin had heard them pull up 
in the car and came running out of the house eager to show off his 
car. With a wink, he said, "Hey, you brought her over here to see 
the car? I'm impressed."

Jerry explained, "Martin fixed up the Caddy. It wasn't anywhere 
near this nice when he started. He did a great job on it."

Jenny looked at the car impressed with it. She exclaimed, "It looks 
brand new. I'd swear it was just driven off the showroom floor."

Martin grinned and opened the door of the car. He said, "Take a 
look inside."

As Jenny looked inside the car, Susan came out of the house and 
went over to Jerry. She hugged him and said, "Thanks for helping 
him fix up that car. I couldn't believe it when he drove up in it. I 
told him he had to park it in the yard so that no one would hit it by 
accident."

Jenny had turned and looked at Susan when she had greeted Jerry 
in such a friendly fashion. The look she gave the black woman was 
not exactly nice and it was lucky that the recipient didn't notice. 
Jerry said, "Jenny, I'd like you to meet Susan. She's the mother of 
Abe and Martin. Susan, I'd like you to meet Jenny, my girlfriend."

The reaction of Susan was immediate and honest. She turned to 
Jenny and hugged the woman just as strongly as she had hugged 
Jerry. Stepping back, she said, "So I finally got to meet the woman 
that caught Jerry."

"Caught Jerry?"

"Oh yeah. I'm sure there are hearts breaking all over town," replied 
Susan. She put an arm around the other woman and led her away 
talking softly. The kindness that Jerry had shown her sons had 
helped shape both of them into better men. He had served as a 
male role model in a part of town where that was rare.

Martin smiled at the women walking away and said, "Oh my. 
Momma's gonna find out all the juicy gossip now."

Jerry blushed and looked down at the ground. After a second, he 
looked up and asked, "Where's Abe?"

"He's in the house."

While Bill was busy looking at the Caddy, Jerry asked, "Would 
you mind getting him?"

Martin slapped his forehead realizing that Bill didn't know about 
the surprise waiting for him in the living room. He said, "Sure. 
Give me a second."

As Martin went into the house, Jerry went over to where Bill was 
checking out the car. Putting a hand on his son's shoulder, he said, 
"You helped do that. I'm assuming that you and Abe will want to 
fix up cars for yourselves."

Bill looked up at his father and smiled at the thought of driving 
around in a classic car that he had restored himself. He replied, "I'd 
really like that, Dad."

"Good. We'll talk to Abe and then start looking for a couple of 
cars. Next week, I take the Camaro in to be painted and the interior 
repaired." 

Abe came out of the house and joined them at the car. He was 
grinning from ear to ear knowing the surprise that waited for Bill 
in the house and couldn't wait to see the look on his friends face. 
They stood around discussing the Caddy and the offer by Jerry to 
rebuild their own cars. 

One of the retired men from across the street came over. Walking 
slowly, using a cane to support himself, he looked like a man on a 
mission. Jerry turned and saw the man approaching surprised to 
see one of the elderly people actually cross the street. He went over 
to the man and said, "Hello, I'm Jerry Smith."

The old man worked his mouth for a second before answering, "I 
know who you is. Bin watching ya for a while."

It wasn't exactly a friendly tone of voice, but Jerry smiled and said, 
"Okay."

"Ya did good learnin' that boy how ta work on cars," replied the 
old man. While his words were nice, his voice wasn't friendly. He 
used his cane to momentarily point at the car. "She's a beauty."

"Martin did a great job on it," Jerry replied looking over at the car 
for a minute. 

Almost reverently, Sharon came over with Jenny to greet the old 
man. Smiling, she said, "Mr. Atkins, It's so nice to see you."

At least now Jerry knew the man's name. It seemed to him that the 
man didn't like him. He looked over at Jenny and winked, getting a 
smile from her in return. A deep rich voice rang out as Henry 
Buckman arrived, "Hello everyone."

Mr. Atkins turned and looked at Henry. A grin came across his 
face at seeing the huge black man appear. With real respect in his 
voice, he answered, "Hello, Henry."

"Mr. Atkins. Are you giving Jerry a hard time?" asked Henry 
knowing the old man very well.

"Nah. Nevah thought that havin' a cracker here 'bouts id be good. 
He bin provin' me wrong," answered Mr. Atkins with begrudging 
respect.

Jerry smiled at the assessment. Henry put a hand on Jerry's 
shoulder and replied, "He's a good role model for a number of the 
boys around here. He and I are trying to fill your boots."

Mr. Atkins nodded and said, "Did a damn good job on dat car. 
Marty did good work."

Henry asked, "Is there anything we can do for you?"

"Kin I sit ba-hine the wheel, for a sec'," asked the old man looking 
over at the car with envy. In his day, black men drove cars like that 
to make the statement that they were just as important as whites 
even if that was all they could afford. Dress nice, drive a good car, 
and carry yourself with pride.

Martin had been listening to the conversation. It was quite an 
honor to have Mr. Atkins notice you in a positive fashion. He came 
over and said, "I'd be proud to have you sit behind the wheel for a 
while."

Watching Martin take the old man over to the car, Jerry smiled at 
the simple pleasures that had resulted from the young man's hard 
work. When the old man sat behind the wheel, it seemed to him 
that Mr. Atkins had sat up straighter and looked prouder. Henry 
said, "Look at him. He's so proud."

Not knowing which man to whom Henry was referring, Jerry 
replied, "Martin is so proud of himself that he's about to burst. Mr. 
Atkins looks real dignified sitting behind the car."

Henry laughed and said, "Sorry about Mr. Atkins. He doesn't care 
much for whites."

"No problem," replied Jerry. He grinned and said, "I'd rather be 
disliked because I'm white than because of my size."

The comment caused Henry to nearly double over in laughter at 
the statement. He knew exactly what his friend had meant and 
shared that same sentiment. He quipped, "Same here. Never heard 
anyone else say that they preferred racism."

Jenny looked at both men in surprise, unable to believe that they 
would take that attitude. Sharon looked puzzled at the statement 
and the reaction of Henry. She complained, "I don't understand."

Looking over at Sharon, Henry realized that she didn't understand. 
With a sudden seriousness that contrasted with his previous 
laughter, he answered, "If you are disliked because of race, that 
means there are still a lot of people that will like you. When you 
are disliked because of your size, nobody likes you. Even other big 
men leave you alone."

Jenny looked from one man to the other. They were both very big 
strong men who looked threatening at first glance. That was 
particularly true when serious or angry. In a flash of insight, she 
realized just how tough life could be when you were large. She 
said, "That's so sad. I like big men."

Sharon burst out laughing and said, "I like big men too, 
particularly when certain parts are big."

Jenny, laughing at the comment, watched as Jerry and Henry both 
blushed at the comment. In his deep gruff voice, Jerry answered, "I 
wouldn't know about that."

Mr. Atkins headed back across the street. On his way, he stopped 
by Henry and said, "Ya keep watchin' out for the kids, ya hear me."

Henry answered, "Yes, sir. And you take care of yourself Mr. 
Atkins."

Jerry said, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Atkins."

The old man walked across the street grumbling to no one in 
particular. It was clear that he was of two minds about having Jerry 
in the neighborhood. He hadn't approved of how the big man had 
thrown the kid out of his house that one night. White men just 
weren't allowed to do that kind of thing to black kids. 

Trying to minimize the negative attitude of the old man, Martin 
said, "Don't mind him."

"I do mind him," replied Jerry suddenly becoming the center of 
attention. He said, "He cares about the kids around here. That 
makes him a good guy in my book and you pay attention to the 
advice of good guys."

A very pleased Henry burst out in a smile, his white teeth 
providing a great contrast with his dark skin. Jenny put an arm 
around her boyfriend amazed at how understanding he was. She 
wondered how long it would be before they took the relationship to 
the next level. The more she learned about him, the more she loved 
him. Martin was thoughtful as he walked along. He mumbled, 
"Never thought about it like that."

Pleased to see that his friend had taken Mr. Atkins in stride, Henry 
said, "Yeah. That's a good way of putting it."

It was getting dark and there was still the surprise waiting for Bill 
in the house. Jerry said, "Hey, let's go over to my place for some 
cokes."

As the group trooped over to the house, Abe and Bill trailed along 
trading jokes about his weak arm. The boys were having a good 
time being themselves. Abe was having difficulty keeping the 
scooter a secret. Bill was happy about having had such a good day. 

Jerry opened the front door and ushered everyone into the house 
before Bill and Abe reached the porch. Abe stopped at the door to 
let Bill into the house first. Everyone watched as Bill came into the 
room and spotted the new scooter. Mouth open, he moved in slow 
motion towards the scooter as his eyes took in the sight. His heart 
raced as he realized that he had a new scooter. Suddenly he turned 
and launched himself at Jerry. Grabbing his father in a great big 
hug, he cried, "Thank you dad."

There were times when Jerry really enjoyed being a father and the 
relationship that he had with his son. He put his arms around his 
son and hugged him tightly amazed at how his son had thought to 
thank him first before even touching the bike. He answered, "What 
are fathers for?"

Pulling back, Bill wiped the tears from his eyes and answered, 
"Raising my allowance?"

Abe laughed at the joke relieved that the emotional moment had 
passed for the most part. He felt a little tightness in his chest and 
didn't feel very manly. He looked around and noticed that Jenny 
and his mother were both wiping tears from their eyes. Even Henry 
was watching with a soft look on his face. Martin put a hand on his 
shoulder and, in a quiet voice, said, "Your friend is very happy."

"Yeah," replied Abe.

"I remember how happy you were when you got your scooter," 
remarked Martin.

It was a timely reminder of how happy he had been. If his scooter 
had been lost under the circumstances in which Bill had lost his, he 
would have been just as emotional getting a new one. He smiled 
and said, "It's time for the Salt and Pepper scooter gang to take to 
the road."

Everyone laughed at that announcement as Sharon replied, "Oh no 
you don't. No gang talk around this house."

Jerry brought out a cake and a couple six packs of cola as Bill and 
Abe examined the new scooter. The evening turned into a party 
with the males in the living room talking about the bike, cars, and 
work. Jenny and Sharon went into the kitchen. Sitting at the table, 
Sharon asked, "Did you find the Polaroids, yet?"

"No," replied Jenny wondering what the other woman talking 
about.

"Oh, good. I don't want you to get the wrong idea about them," 
replied the black woman.

"Wrong idea about what?"

"My sister used to live in this house until she was locked out by the 
landlord. When Jerry moved in, he found a stack of Polaroid 
pictures of my sister in various states of undress. Some of them 
were very explicit."

Jenny didn't know how to respond to the news. Reserving 
judgment, she said, "Oh."

It was clear to Sharon that Jenny wasn't quite sure what to make of 
the news. She said, "Jerry tried to return them to me, thinking that 
they were pictures of me. You should have seen him standing there 
blushing and unable to look at me."

Jenny very well knew the sight of Jerry being off-balance around 
women and she laughed at the image. Much warmer, she said, "So 
what did you do?"

"I laughed and told him to keep the pictures."

"You didn't?" asked a shocked Jenny. She would have taken the 
pictures away in a minute.

"Oh yes I did. My big sister is a holier than thou bitch that never 
failed to use a chance to rub my youthful indiscretions in my face. 
I'll admit, I get off on the idea of a white guy jacking off over her 
pictures," replied Sharon much more defensive than she had 
intended. 

"Oh, so he still has them?"

"As far as I know, he does," answered Sharon with a smile.

The idea that Jerry was looking at naked pictures of another 
woman disturbed Jenny more than she was willing to admit. He 
hadn't attempted to sleep with her and yet he might be jacking off 
to the pictures of another woman. In a way, it hurt. She said, "I 
don't know how I feel about that."

"Girl friend, look at it as an opportunity. Just think of how you can 
use those pictures to work him up into a real sexual frenzy." 
Sharon practically shivered at the idea and said, "Now I just have 
to find some way to get Henry to notice me."

The idea of using pictures of another woman as a means of 
exciting Jerry moved her mind into unexplored territory. It was so 
bad, that she almost missed the statement about Henry. She leaned 
forward and said, "I've been working on Jerry for more than six 
months."

"Working?"

Looking at the door to see if anyone could hear her, she whispered, 
"We haven't even been to bed yet."

Shocked, Sharon sat back and exclaimed, "Shit. I always thought 
that jokes about white folks being sexually repressed were just 
jokes. I'd have been all over him by now."

Shrugging her shoulders, Jenny didn't know what to say. She knew 
that Jerry was very worried about touching her with his rough 
hands. To be honest, she worried about what it would be like to 
have his calluses rubbing her sensitive vagina. Confessing one of 
the barriers, she said, "He's worried about the roughness of his 
hands."

She knew that his hands were rough, but that didn't slow Sharon 
down at all. She said, "His tongue ain't that rough. You better start 
banging him before some other young lady moves in on him."

Jenny laughed in embarrassment, nodding her agreement at the 
black women's assessment. She wasn't all that comfortable 
discussing sex with another woman, but Sharon treated it like it 
was a normal act of life. She noticed the time and said, "Hey, we 
better get in there and turn on the television."

"Why?"

"To hear Jerry's interview," replied Jenny impatient to see him on 
television. It would be interesting to see how he looked on 
television.

Wondering why Jerry would have given an interview on television 
that day, Sharon said, "Okay."

The pair wandered into the living room. Without saying a word, 
Jenny went over to the television and turned it on just in time to 
catch the news teaser about Jerry. As everyone turned around to 
look at the television, Jerry asked, "Do we have to watch that?"

Grinning at his father's discomfort, Bill said, "All those in favor of 
watching my dad's television interview say aye."

Everyone, with a single exception, called out, "Aye."

"All those opposed say nay."

Jerry's lone voice called out, "Nay."

"The ayes have it," declared Bill with a laugh that was joined by 
everyone. By the time everyone calmed down the news story had 
started. It started with Helen interviewing the witnesses that had 
seen him rip the door from the car. There was a picture of the car 
and the door lying on the ground where he had thrown it. Then she 
interviewed the paramedic that had treated him. Finally, they ran 
the interview she had with him.

Watching himself on television was a very strange experience for 
Jerry. The contrast in the physical build of the petite reporter with 
his large build was jarring. She looked like a little girl standing 
beside him. His greatest fear was that he would come across as a 
stupid gorilla, but to his surprise he sounded like a thoughtful man. 

After the interview was over, Jerry went to the television and 
turned it off. Henry said, "Nice job. It helps give us big guys some 
good press."

"Thanks," replied Jerry.

The boys and Sharon had watched the interview open-mouthed. 
They stared at the image of the mangled car and the twisted bent 
door lying on the ground. It looked like Jerry had caused more 
damage to the door than the accident. When it was over, Abe 
looked at Jerry and said, "You really kicked ass on that door."

Jerry laughed at the comment and said, "I had better take Jenny to 
her car so that she can get home."

Everyone took the hint, but it still took five minutes before the 
house was cleared. Turning to Bill, Jerry asked, "Do you want to 
go with us?"

Glancing at the hopeful expression on Jenny's face, Bill smiled and 
answered, "No. I need to get to bed."

Jerry took Jenny out to the car and held the door open for her. She 
climbed into the seat and waited for him to get in the driver's seat. 
Once there, Jerry started the car and slowly pulled away from the 
curb. As he drove around the potholes, Jenny said, "Bill had a 
pretty nice day. You should be proud of yourself for making it that 
great."

Embarrassed at the comment, Jerry replied, "I did what I could."

"Sharon and I talked about you," said Jenny with a smile as she 
thought about some of the comments the black woman had said.

Wondering what they could possibly talk about, he asked, "What 
did she tell you?"

"Oh, she told me about some pictures that you found."

Jerry almost lost control of the car. Slowing down, he turned to 
look at her and asked, "What?"

"She told me about the pictures you have of her sister."

Shocked, he could hardly form a coherent reply, but at least his 
face, burning a bright red, was hidden in the dark of the car. 
"Why?"

"So that I wouldn't get upset when I found them," replied Jenny 
with a smile. 

He wondered why Sharon thought that Jenny would find them. 
They were in his house, locked in the room where he kept the 
tools. Then he realized that Sharon had assumed that Jenny would 
be spending the night some time in the future. "Oh. Did she say 
anything else?"

Curious how he would react to some of the other things that 
Sharon had said, she answered, "Yeah. She said that I had better 
drag you into bed before some other woman beat me to it."

"What?" asked Jerry, his voice breaking. He stopped the car at the 
corner realizing that he was about to run a stop sign. The last thing 
that he wanted was to be in an accident like the one that morning. 
He turned to look at Jenny and repeated his question. "What?"

"I only told you that because I think she's right," replied Jenny with 
a smile. 

Stunned, he stared at her wondering if she was playing with him. 
Clenching the steering wheel in his hands, he said, "I know that 
women don't enjoy sex. You don't have to do that to keep me 
around."

"Pardon?"

"Look, you don't have to sleep with me to keep me around. I don't 
want to impose my urges on you," replied Jerry in a tone that 
bordered on pleading. His ex-wife had told him how horrible sex 
was for women. After years of marriage, he had come to believe 
that sex was degrading to women and that they only did it because 
they had to do it. He couldn't even remember the last time that he 
had sex, but he didn't want to lose this relationship because he 
couldn't keep his cock in his pants. 

"Impose your urges?" asked Jenny shocked at his statements.

"Yes, I don't want to force you into sex," replied Jerry. 

"Now you listen here, Jerry Smith. I don't know what your ex-wife 
told you about sex, but most women enjoy it a lot. I know because 
I'm one of those women that enjoy it. I've been waiting for you to 
put the move on me for months and was beginning to worry that 
you didn't find me attractive," she said with much more passion 
than she had intended. Even as the words came out of her mouth, 
she was wondering why she was telling him that.

"Are you serious?"

She wanted to scream at him to make him understand. Instead, she 
ripped her shirt open, popping the top three buttons in the process. 
Looking at him, she said, "Look at my nipples. They're hard and 
erect at just the idea of you kissing them."

It would have been a much more effective demonstration of her 
feelings if she hadn't been wearing a bra. As it was, a shudder went 
through his body as he stared at her bra-encased breasts. He 
reached out and caressed her breasts with the back of his hand, as it 
was the least rough part of it. The hard nubbin of her nipple was 
obvious. A sob fought its way up his throat as he said, "You're 
serious."

With a tender look, she took his hand in hers and held it to her 
breast. Her voice soft, she said, "Yes, I'm serious. On our next 
date, I want a little time alone with you."

He couldn't keep his eyes from her and nodding, emotionally numb 
at the implications. The car started to slowly creep into the 
intersection. Jenny said, "You had better pay attention to the car. 
Take me to my car and we'll talk there."

Jerry looked out the windshield and realized that half of the car had 
drifted into the street. Pushing the brake, he said, "Oh. Maybe you 
had better drive."

She took his hand from her breast and put it on the steering wheel. 
She said, "Drive me to my car."

Jerry turned as much of his attention to driving as he could. 
Operating the car only got about a third of his attention, as most of 
it was spent reviewing the conversation. He glanced over at Jenny. 
She was holding the shirt closed as they drove through the city 
streets. It was tempting just to look at her, but the other cars on the 
road demanded that he pay attention to the other drivers.

He pulled into the parking lot of the strip mall where the Chinese 
Buffet was located. He stopped next to her car and parked it. 
Hands shaking, he turned off the engine and looked around the lot 
in the silence that followed. Their cars were the only ones in the 
parking lot. 

After taking a deep breath, Jenny said, "Lean your seat back."

"Pardon?"

"Lean your seat back."

Wondering what she wanted to do, he wanted to question her. 
Instead, he tilted the seat back. She pushed him back into the chair. 
Her shirt swung open, but she didn't pay any attention to that. 
Instead, she slipped a hand down to his hard cock and rubbed it 
gently through his pants. She moaned as she traced its outline with 
a finger. 

Jerry was too scared to move, afraid that if he did anything that she 
would flee. With a quaver in his voice, he said, "You don't ..."

She covered his mouth before he had a chance to say anything else. 
With her other hand, she undid his belt. It took both hands to undo 
his pants and unzip the zipper. She finally freed his erect cock. 
Wrapping a hand around it, she stroked the length of it with slow 
languid movements. 

Jerry was close to hyperventilating, as he had never had a woman 
do this to him. His body shook under her touch and he moaned, 
"I'm going to come."

She kept up her smooth strokes along his cock, giving more 
attention to the head of his cock. It was amazing to her that such a 
big strong man was totally under the control of her hand. She 
wondered what he would do if she sucked his cock, but chose to 
save that treat for a later time. 

Jerry cried out as tears welled up in his eyes. When his hips thrust 
up off the seat, she covered the end of his cock with her other 
hand. It quickly filled with his come. When he started to move his 
hand down to stop her, she let go of his cock and sat back in her 
chair. She wiped the come off her palm onto her shirt, knowing 
that it was a lost cause since she had ripped the buttons off it. 
Leaning over, she kissed him with a gentle touch.

Still shaking from the experience, he said, "I love you."

"I love you, too," replied Jenny wondering if it was post-orgasmic 
bliss that was talking or if he really meant it.

It took two attempts to sit up and raise the seat so that he could 
look at her. His cheeks were wet with tears as he said, "You didn't 
have to do that."

"I wanted to do that," replied Jenny as he took his hand and kissed 
the calluses on his knuckles. After a minute, she stopped and 
looked up at him. She said, "I have to go home now, but I hope to 
see you for lunch on Thursday."

Jerry was speechless and stared at her with his mouth frozen open 
and wide eyes unable to believe that she had wanted to jack him 
off.  She took advantage of his open mouth and kissed him, 
slipping her tongue into his mouth. That woke him up and he 
responded with a passionate kiss. 

After the kiss, she gave his cock a good bye pat and, with a smile 
on her face, said, "You're a lovely cock."

She left his car and got into hers while holding her shirt closed. 
Jerry watched her drive off. He was still in shock at what she had 
done for him. After five minutes, he fastened his pants. The drive 
home seemed to take fly by and he found himself entering the 
house without really knowing how he got there. 

After a quick shower, he lay in bed thinking about the events of the 
day. It had been a busy day and tomorrow would come early. The 
door to Bill's bedroom opened, breaking the silence of the night. In 
a soft voice, Bill called out, "Thanks for the best day of my life, 
Dad."

Jerry smiled and replied, "What are Dads for?"

"Raising my allowance." The answer floated into the room as the 
door closed. 
