The Good Doctor 39

Sometimes mom is like one of those mines from World War II. You know the ones that everyone has forgotten about but they’re just hanging there tethered to the bottom of the ocean and just waiting for a ship to come by.

I came home from work and walked into the kitchen looking for Jase and she slipped up behind me and yelled, “Eric! What did you do at that dinner thing that you went to with Pete?” She had the biggest fucking fork that I’d ever seen in her hand. What the hell is she asking me that for and what the hell does she already know and what the hell was she gonna do with that fork?

“Ma! Are you tryin to kill me? Cause I gotta tell ya this whole sneaking up behind me and yelling thing is probably the way to do it!”

I ignore her question for a moment and yell, “Jase!” I really need cover here and she won’t stab me if I’m holding Jase.

“I dunno what you’re talking about! I told you, I ate dinner!”

“NOT according to Maddie Schwartzenberg!” Thank God Jase is coming and my mother can only hiss, “She said that you were swimming NAKED in the pool and running all over the place!” Who the fuck is that woman?

I scoop Jase up in my arms and start beating a hasty retreat but I turn to ma and holding my thumb to my mouth tilt my hand up and make a glug glug glug sound. “Ma, the woman had five,” I hold up my hand with five spread fingers for emphasis, “five double Martini’s and that was before she downed that bottle of Merlot at dinner. They practically had to carry her outta the dining room after she upchucked. You need a more reliable spy.” Well obviously whoever this Maddie is she’s a total bitch and two can play at that game. I could see a look of uncertainty spread across my mother’s face. There’s nothing a woman likes more than distrusting another woman.

“Frankly, Mom, I’m a little surprised that you’d believe a drunk over your own son…….and she’s not even Italian!” And with that I turn, with all the righteous indignation that I can muster and take off for my room.

In my bedroom I set Jase down on the bed while I strip down to my boxers and he tells me about his day, which he loves to do in great detail. And actually I love hearing it. There’s something about the way he enjoys telling me all the stuff that happened that makes it really cool to hear.

Ten minutes later I flop down on the bed next to him stare him in the eye and say, “Grandma is really bustin my chops here. You got any idea what’s up with her?”

He smiles at me. “What are chops?”

“It’s a figure of speech. Means that she’s given me a hard time………like always.”

He shrugs and rolls over onto his stomach and props his head up on his hand exactly as I’m doing and I have to smile. He gets in these moods where he likes to copy me.

“How come you’re smiling dad?”

“Cause of this cute little boy that I know.” I reach over and ruffle his hair and kiss his forehead.

He smiles. “That’s me isn’t it?”

“Maybe I know all kinds a little boys. They’re all over the place. We try to keep em out but I think they come up through the drains.” He laughs and I laugh.

I get outta bed and lift him up and carry him into the bathroom while I blow raspberries on his neck, he squirms and then I sit him on the counter by the sink. “Keep talking I just gotta take a sixty second shower but I can still hear ya.” I toss my boxers into the hamper.

On second thought I lift him down. “How about getting me a fresh pair of boxers?”

“What color, Dad?”

“You pick. Okay? Whatever you like.” He runs off and I take my shower.

I’m toweling off when he comes back with a pair of bright yellow boxers with happy faces. I really thought that I had thrown those out.

I look down at him. “Those are the ones you like?”

He nods and says, “They look nice.”

“Well, they do look happy.” I slip them on and then my jeans and a tee shirt.

Jase is jumping on our bed while I’m pulling on the tee shirt. I hold out my hands and he hurls himself at me wrapping his arms around my neck and his legs around my waist. “You’re like a monkey, ya know.”

“I’m a little boy.”

“Sometimes that’s the same thing.”

As we walked like that to the kitchen I tell him, “Grandma can’t stab me while I’m holding you.”

He giggles. “Unless she sneaks up behind ya.” There is that.

My mother is in the kitchen working the stove, the sink and the refrigerator like Johnny Bench handled home plate. I wander over with Jase still attached and ask, “What smells so good? Smells like fish?”

“Cod and roasted potato’s with tomato and basil, and some spinach. It’s good! Something a little different. You can’t always eat meat. You hungry? I’ll fix ya a little something.” Jase was leaning over in my arms reaching for the bread and my mother tore off a piece and dipped it in balsamic vinaigrette before handing it to Jase. While he’s eating she kisses him.

“He likes things a little bitter. You notice that? You were the same way.” There’s no mention of Maddie, which means she’s been dismissed as unreliable.

“I didn’t notice but you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right! You think I don’t see what my boys like?” Okay, when we become “her boys” things are definitely better.

Suddenly the door from the garage opened and Pete was there. Before he could even close the door his eyes met mine and it was like two pairs of laser beams locking on to each other. It only lasted for a second but it made my butt clench. He slid his briefcase into the hall closet and came into the kitchen. Damn he looked good!

He and my mother greeted each other like they hadn’t seen each other for years.

“Helen, that smells great!”

Jase got a kiss and I got a hug. He’s still a little worried about my mother’s reaction. Actually he could probably have his way with me on the kitchen floor, she’s just happy that he’s here.

I can also see that he’s stirred up about something and is trying to contain himself. It’s really pretty cute. I wonder what he’d do if I just grabbed his crotch? Probably explode through the ceiling. I picture something out of a Road Runner cartoon.

His eyes are dancing and I look at him and finally say, “What? You look like you just made out with the head cheerleader.”

My mother slaps me on the back of my head and says, “Shut up.” I’m actually so used to that that I don’t even react.

She looks up at Pete and says, “You do look excited. Did you get a promotion?” My mother has no clue.

Pete looks at Jase and says, “Jase would you take my jacket and throw it on the bed for me?” Jase thinks that’s the coolest thing ever and takes off with it towards the bedroom carrying it like it’s the Shroud of Turin.

Okay, now that we’ve got Jase outta the room.

Pete turned excitedly to my mother. “See, we’ve been thinking that Jase, when he gets older, that he’d like to be a doctor. I mean who the hell knows but we’re pretty sure.”

This is like injecting my mother with Crack or something and she almost seems stunned but recovers quickly. “A doctor? A doctor?” She slapped me on the arm hard! “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Ma! He’s only six!” She isn’t going to care that he’s only six. I look around for the subject of all this but he’s settled in the family room with the TV.

I try to explain to her. “This all started one night when we were putting Jase to bed and he was worried that I might die like Janet. So Pete got his stethoscope and did a little physical on me and let Jase listen to my heart. Jase got excited and said that he wanted to be a doctor and actually he’s pretty much stuck with it.”

Pete turned to my mother. “The thing is that if he does decide to do that we do want him to go to a really good college, don’t we?” He’s loving this. “I mean I would love to see him go where I went.” He looked from me to my mother.

My mother uttered the name that means more to her than anything else. “Harvard.” I didn’t go to Harvard and I turned out okay, although I’m pretty sure that mom wouldn’t agree with that.

Mom lifted her hands and touched Pete’s face lightly while staring pleadingly into his eyes. “Oh, this would mean so much to me if it could happen. A doctor……..from Harvard.”

Pete is now in full sell mode and talks directly to mom. “The thing is that it’s gonna be expensive and even though Jase is only six we gotta start saving for it now. So anyway,” He glances quickly at me, “I started a college fund for him.” He looked at me and said, “Now don’t get mad, Eric. I know that we shoulda discussed this but I was at the bank……………” He had pulled some papers out of his pocket.

Mom was now on familiar ground. She indicated me with a toss of her head. “Don’t worry about him. How much?”

Pete looked down into the envelope. “Ten thousand……..but were gonna have to save some more every month.” Holy shit! Couldn’t we all just kick in a few bucks a month and he could be a male nurse?

Mom’s jaw was set. “I’ll match it. I’ll bring a check tomorrow. So will Eric.” So will fucking Eric????

“Mom! I’m putting an addition onto the warehouse that’s costing me a fortune!”

She cocks a thumb at me and says to Pete, “I’ll give you his too. He can pay me back later.” Thank God! Later means never.

She turns on me. “You know you could take a little interest in your sons future!” There’s that goddamn fork again. “You will not ruin this for me, Eric!”

“Mom, will you just please put away the fork before someone gets hurt.”

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Jase was tucked safely into bed and I was lying on the sofa with Pete sitting on the floor while he leaned against the sofa near my head. He was eating chocolate chip cookies.

He twisted his head around. “Wanna bite?”

“You mean the cookie?”

He grinned and swallowed. “That’s the offer.”

“Can I trade it for a kiss?”

“Always.” He twisted his head around and we kissed lightly.

I said, “Yum, chocolate chip breath.” He laid his head back against the sofa smiled and closed his eyes. I traced the edges of his right ear slowly with my fingertip.

My finger finished with his ear and traced his hairline down to the base of his neck and it sent a noticeable shiver through his body.

He murmured, “Careful now.”

“S’matter?”

He smiled. “Stirrings.”

I laughed. “You’re way too easy. Gimme five minutes and I could have you climbing the walls.”

He turned around so that he was kneeling in front of the sofa facing me and laid his head on my stomach. “Sweetheart, you could do it twice in five minutes. I’m easy were you’re concerned, all you gotta do is walk into the room.”

I ran my fingers through his hair and marveled at the silkiness. I said softly, “You’re a beautiful man.”

He gave me a frown but I insisted. “You are! You’re gorgeous!”

It clearly made him uncomfortable but he said, “You’re pretty gorgeous yourself.”

I kept stroking his hair. “Yeah but you’re beautiful on the inside too.”

“Okay, can we drop this?”

I laughed. “Only if you come up her and lay down with me.”

He groaned pathetically and said, “Geez, you make me work for everything.” He climbed up and over me so that his back was against the back of the sofa and I was facing him.

I scrunched down and got comfortable. “This is good. I like it when I’ve got access to all the good stuff.”

He smiled and pushed his left knee through my legs. “Me too.”

Pete traced my jaw line with the back of his index finger. “You’re not mad about the college fund?”

I had to be careful here, not because I thought that he did the wrong thing but because this was the sort of thing that I fuck up easily.

“No. You did what needed to be done. I wish that I had thought of it.” Okay now shut up shut up shut up!

“You would have.”

“Yeah, when he was in grad school!”

Pete said, “We’re gonna have to make sure that he starts learning the right study habits too.”

“I know, Pete. But let’s do it slowly. I don’t want him thinking that we’re ganging up on him.”

Pete put his hand on my neck while his thumb traced my jaw line. He spoke softly.
“ Sweetheart, I know that you’re worried that Jase is gonna get pushed and shoved into something that maybe he doesn’t want and isn’t prepared for or that, somehow, he’s not going to be allowed to be a little boy.” I started to protest but he stopped me with a kiss.

Naturally I tried to talk anyway. “Pete, it’s just…………..” He stopped me again.

“I won’t let it happen, Eric. There’s lots of stuff that Jase will need to learn but I promise you that it will never seem like a negative thing to him and that he’ll always have time to be a little boy.” How do I argue with that?

I smiled at him. “How about me? Do I get time to be a little boy?”

He buried his face in my neck and tried to give me a hickey. “Noooo, no, no!”

He laughed as I squirmed away from him. “You mean like more time than you’re already taking?” He pulled me back so that I was lying on top of him crotch to crotch and chest to chest with the side of my face on his shoulder. His hands were planted firmly on my butt.

I drop my knees down so that I’m straddling his waist and lean down and kiss him. “Wanna go to bed?”

Pete runs his hands up and down my back and then shoves them into the back of my jeans and grins. “So we talking fornication here?”

“I thought that there might be a little foreplay first but that’s the general direction I was headed in.”

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There are different kinds of fucking: the first is slide it in, pump as fast as you can until you get off, put on your pants and go.

The second kind, wells there’s probably lots of sub-categories, but the second kind is reserved for wives, boyfriends and people you actually like.

When I feel Pete beginning to move into me I tighten my grip on his arms that are planted like pillars next to my head. I’m holding my breath and slowly release it and look up into his deep blue eyes. He’s watching me, wanting to make sure that he’s not hurting me and making sure that he’s hitting all the right spots. My mouth opens and closes as he fills me and my hands tighten around his upper arms. Finally my head drops back against the pillow as I arch my back and tighten my legs around his waist and begin to thrust back against his cock.

I force my head up and stare into those eyes. They don’t change, the same love and concern is still there and I pull his head down so that I can kiss him while he moves steadily into me.