Chapter 12 Chuck
CHUCK
“Hurry up, Daddy. The kitties are waiting.” We hadn’t been up more than twenty minutes, and he was ready to leave.
“Sweet boy, we haven’t had breakfast.” Wait, was he already dressed? Ugh, time to get up and deal with this.
Today Tae finally got to bring Oreo, Twinkle, and Simba home. They were little demonized balls of fur and absolutely perfect for my boy. He’d bought doubles of everything for them. One set for home and one set for the cabin. The cats had beds up north before we did.
The top-of-the-line cat carrier took up most of the back seat in the truck and the smaller, more portable one, sat on the floor.
It was lined, had a big fluffy bed, and a secure place for a small cat box.
He’d even bought collapsible food and water dishes to use in it.
Those three felines were spoiled rotten, and we didn’t even have them yet.
Every weekend we went up north to help Oscar and Trey with the cabins.
In the morning, I’d drop Tae off at Judy’s, then pick him up at lunch time and grab food for all of us.
The portable trailer was being removed today since the new mattresses for the beds were coming up with Tae and me for our cabin.
From then on the four of us could stay in it while we worked on the other two cabins.
Oscar was really getting into furniture making and made the bed frames and headboards for the three bedrooms in our cabins, plus had started on the living room furniture.
Next he’d tackle a dining table. With our cabin nearly done, he’d put Trey and I to work finishing the interior of Momma’s cabin, which she knew nothing about.
The plan was to surprise her with it when we all came up here for the holidays.
I only wish Dad was here to see how far we’d taken Ashwood.
He’d be proud, I know that without a doubt.
My father was a kind man with a nurturing soul. He always saw the best in people and loved to share his knowledge with others. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.
“Tae?” Everything we had staged in the kitchen to load into the truck was gone. “Did you load everything up?” There were several large, heavy boxes.
“Yup. We’re ready to go get my kitties now.”
“Sweetheart, we haven’t eaten and Daddy needs coffee.”
“Already made and in the truck. We can pick up breakfast along the way. See,” he held his hands up and grinned. “Easy peasy, let’s go.”
I definitely wasn’t awake, let alone caffeinated enough for this.
By the time I grabbed my wallet and phone, Tae was already in the truck and buckled in.
After I re-situated and secured the load he’d pretty much just tossed in, I joined him. “I just don’t know what to do with you today.”
“Nothing to do, Daddy. I already did it all.” And he was damn proud of himself for that.
The Taj Mahal of cat carriers covered the back seat. My boy and his Stitch merrily sang along with the radio up front and into the driver’s seat sat one very tired Daddy.
“Thank you for my coffee.”
“You’re welcome,” he sang. “Ooh, Daddy, there. They have good kids’ meals.”
Question was, did they do kids’ meals for breakfast, but I’ll leave that to the cashier to answer. “Good morning, we’ll have a number three and a chicken tender kids’ meal.” No reaction to a non-breakfast order, so we were good to go.
“Thank you, Daddy.” That boy was so wound up he couldn’t sit still,wiggling his hips and singing between bites.
“You’re welcome.”
Hopefully that’ll keep him busy while I finish waking up.
Now that we’ve done the drive as many times as we have, I no longer had to endure the are we there yet question.
On repeat.
He could gauge that for himself now.
As much as I wanted to drop the boxes off at the cabin site first, I knew better.
There’d be hell to pay if I didn’t get my boy to his kitties ASAP.
I believed he was truly ready for them, but the more research I did, the more I came to realize that one is never truly ready for a new feline.
They were unpredictable on a good day, and I had no clue what lay ahead for us.
We pulled up in front of Judy’s place and she came right out. “Morning Chuck and Tae.”
“Judy, I get my kitties today. I’m so excited!”
“I can tell,” she smiled warmly.
“Look at the nice carrier I got for them.” Tae opened the back door and Judy whistled.
“That’s pretty fancy.”
Each time I dropped Tae off, we brought supplies , and this time was no different. “We’ve got a case of litter and a couple large bags of food for you. Put them on the porch like the others?”
“That would be fabulous, Chuck. Thank you both, you’ve been a huge help with the rescue. You’re gonna be missed, Tae.”
“I’ll still come and help every time we’re in town, if that’s okay?”
“I’d love to have you. You wear the kittens out which makes the afternoons a bit calmer after they fall asleep. Tae, you’re the perfect owner for three kittens, I can say that with all the certainty in the world.”
Tae giggled. “I’m so excited. I bought two of everything, so they will have all their favorites at both our houses, and the cutest tiny collars.
” He pulled them from his pocket, surprise I hadn’t even seen these.
“Little cookies for Oreo, starbursts for Twinkle, and I actually found a Simba one for Simba.”
“Now those are adorable. You are such a sweet boy,” Judy was just as sweet as could be and my boy adored her.
“Thanks, Judy. I have a smaller carrier to use to bring them out in. Let me grab it.”
I swear, my boy thought of everything.
“Dr. Drew came by and checked them out. Said to make sure and schedule their neuters around the four- or five-month age range. He gave them their first shots and left the records for you, so make sure to take these with you for each vet visit. Then they can mark what they did on them and you’ll have accurate records. ”
So far, this town has impressed me.
I gave the house cat Tabby, short for Tabitha, who was indeed a Tabby, a scritch between the years. We’ve bonded over these last few weeks, I think.
“I got the food and treats you recommended and read everything you sent to me.” My proud little peacock was as prepared as any new pet owner could be.
Judy threw her head back and laughed. “Tae, you are a breath of fresh air. Come on, let’s get your boys rounded up.”
“Hello, hello,” Tulip greeted us.
“Hello, Tulip,” Tae brushed a finger over her feathers. “Such a pretty bird.”
“Tulip’s a pretty girl,” the silly bird squawked.
It only took a few minutes to gather our three, but Tae had to say goodbye to all the cats. All thirty-five of them spread across three bedrooms, not to mention the house cats and Tulip downstairs.
“Sweetheart, you’ll be back to help,” I reminded him.
“I know, but they’ll miss me.”
“I’m sure they will, sweetheart.” How could anyone or anything not miss such a sweet, loving boy?
We got the tiny mewling furballs into their fancy carrier and headed toward the cabins. “I think for today, because we have a lot of work taking place inside our cabin, that it would be best for you to keep them in one room or in the tent.”
“Okay, Daddy. I don’t want them to be scared, or get lost, or hurt.”
“Smart boy.”
When we pulled up, Oscar and Trey came out to help us unload. “Boxes in the back go inside the cabin. It’s the new mattresses, linens and some stuff from home we wanted to keep here.” Plus, a million other things we’d ordered online. Having two homes was hard on the budget.
I helped Tae get him and the kittens situated inside the tent.
Had to admit, these furballs were adorable, but came with very tiny, very sharp, claws.
Prying them out of your pantlegs proved to be quite a challenge.
Once they were settled in and zipped shut, I went inside to help get the rooms set up.
“Whoever created these vacuum sealed mattresses is a genius,” Oscar said as he opened the first one. “So much lighter and easier to move than the bulky ones.”
“True and easier to transport. Crap, I wonder if we should wash the linens before we put them on the beds?”
“We have some detergent, let me grab it,” Trey said as he jogged out of the room.
“Betcha ten bucks we find him in the tent with Tae playing with the kittens,” Oscar laughed. “He’s been talking about them all day.”
“Maybe you guys should adopt one of your own.”
“Maybe.” Oscar didn’t confirm nor deny the ‘they’ part of my sentence.
“Oscar,” I pulled the mattress into place while he slid the plastic out from under it. “You do know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
He wadded up the plastic and stuffed it back in the box. “I know, I just. Ugh,” he flopped back onto the mattress. “I know, I do. It’s just hard to think of myself and what I want.”
“Oscar, you’ve taken care of others all your life. When is it your turn? If Trey makes you happy then I say go for it.”
“What will Samian and Tae think? They’ve known Trey forever.”
“They’ll be happy for you. That’s all they’ve ever wanted. Besides, Tae thinks Trey’s a little, and if he is, then that’ll give Tae another friend to play with.”
“I hadn’t thought about it like that. We’ve been, um, we’ve been seeing each other for years.”
“And Trey is okay with being kept as a secret?” Seeing both sides of this didn’t make it any easier, but even I knew that wasn’t cool.
“When you put it like that I sound like an asshole.”
“If you and Trey really care about each other you have nothing to hide, especially not from us. You know our lifestyle. You’re a member of the same club.
Samian is an adult with a very level head.
Hell, he played with the other littles at the wedding.
I don’t foresee any issues with either of your brothers, but for the first time in your life, you need to consider you first, and if that includes Trey, then you owe it to him to bring your relationship into the light. ”
“Fuck man, you’re right.”
“Do you love him?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Then show him that. He deserves to be seen.” Oscar stormed from the room and right out the front door. “Fuck.” Hopefully I didn’t just end our friendship let alone our business venture. I ran out the door, nearly trampling Oscar in the process. “What the…”
“Look.”
The two of us watched Tae and Trey play with the kittens inside the tent. Giggling and shaking toys in front of them that they tried to attack and mostly missed. Those little legs just couldn’t get high enough.
“If he’s not a little, he may be a hybrid little/middle like Tae is.”
“He leans more to the little side.” Ah, so Oscar was aware of this. “We’ve uh, we’ve been to the club a few times so he can play in the littles room.”
“Oscar.”
“I know. I’ll make it right, I promise.”
“Don’t promise me, promise Trey.”
“Fucker,” he grinned.
“Daddy!” Tae waved. “The kitties are having so much fun with me and Trey.”
Trey’s eyes were wide, like he’d just been busted doing something wrong. Oscar better make this right now. Trey shouldn’t be ashamed of who he was or about enjoying himself.
“That’s great. Trey’s been wanting to meet them. Are you having fun, Trey?” Oscar asked him. Trey’s head bobbed up and down, but he didn’t say a thing. “Can I talk to you for a sec, Trey?” Trey handed Oreo to Tae and carefully slid out of the tent, zipping it closed behind him.
“Trey, I’m sorry I’ve kept us a secret,” Oscar cupped the side of Trey’s face and Trey leaned into it. “I love you and I don’t want to pretend that we don’t exist. I’m your Daddy, and I promise to do a better job.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” Trey whispered. “I love you too.” They shared a sweet kiss. My boy had hearts in his eyes watching them.
“Why don’t you play with Tae while the Daddies get things finished up, then we’ll go into town for burgers. Okay?”
Trey hugged Oscar then slid back into the tent beside Tae. I had a whole new appreciation for my brother-in-law and for his boy, Trey.
Family.
Yeah, not associates or business partners. At least, not in this sense. They were our family and I was damn proud of the progress they had just made.