by M. T. Pope
I picked the baby up out of the car seat and cuddled him in my arms. He was the spitting image of Kyle. I couldn’t help but say I was glad with the way that my daughter’s life had turned out. She had everything that I pushed her to have: home, family, husband, stability.
“So, how was Kyle acting when you talked to him today?” I posed the question to Tasha, who sitting in a chair diagonally from me, as I cradled baby Farrow in my arms, kissing and nuzzling him.
“He seemed ... better.” She shrugged. “I don’t think he is over me insinuating that he wasn’t a real man.”
“You what?” My voice escalated and startled Farrow to the point that he started to cry. I rocked him as I spoke my next words. “You said he wasn’t a real man? How could you? That was low.”
“Well, I didn’t mean it, Momma. He was just going on and on and it slipped out. I didn’t mean it. You know how I was raised: with tough love.”
“That doesn’t even matter. The fact that you even hinted at it might mess everything—I mean, your marriage—up. How could you be so careless?”
“I’m sorry, Momma. I don’t know what I was doing.” She slumped over a little bit. I could see that she was worried. I would be too if I called my man’s manhood into question. Knowing his history he could ... well, you know.
“You sure as hell don’t.” I was a little pissed. “Look, I’ll take the kids on the next weekend he gets leave and then you can try to smooth it over with him. Girl, you better put it on him and sex him like you never have before. Before he thinks too much and ends up in somebody else’s arms.” I didn’t want to say a man, but she knew it, because that would not be pretty. I needed to let her know what was at stake here. I was always about the truth. Always.
“I know.” She shook her head. “So are you still going to talk to Daddy about his temper?”
“Mamma will work her magic and see. No promises though.”
“Thank you, Ma.” She got up off of her chair and came and kissed me on the cheek. The things that a parent will do for their child are so immeasurable.
Chapter 9
Kyle
Mr. Telephone Man
I lay in my bed thinking about my life and all that I had been through. My wife calling me out like that the other night really made me think about my past now, and how things had gotten so messy over the last few months. I couldn’t even call anyone. My parents disowned me when I told them that I was gay. I told them the first week that I moved onto the campus of Virginia State. I never thought that they would cut me off but they did. They cut me off like a chicken’s head before its deep fried. I had no one I could go to so that I could get things off of my chest. Even when I proposed to Tasha and called them and left them a message on the answering machine they never responded. I guess they may have thought that I was pulling their leg or something. Being an only child and a castaway was not a good look at all. I felt so all alone.
I got up out of my bunk, threw on some sweatpants and a T-shirt, and went outside. Even though we weren’t supposed to be walking around the base at night, I did anyway because I needed to get me some fresh air. I looked up at the sky as I walked and wished that everything in my life was a little different. But I knew that I was only asking for the easy way out. I knew that that was not going to happen.
Have you ever gone down memory lane in your life and seen nothing but confusion? That was how I saw it right now: misery. And, as they say, misery loves company. I just didn’t want to be a part of that company anymore. I was mainly talking about the sergeant at this time. He was miserable and I knew it. I don’t know what was going on between him and his wife, but I knew that he was messing with things between me and my own. I walked over to one of the only pay phones on the base and dialed my house.
On the fourth ring my wife picked up.
“Hello.” She sounded groggy, but still sweet to me.
“Hey, babe.” I was huddled up on the pay phone like I wanted to be with her at this moment. “What are you doing?” I knew that she was half asleep but I asked anyway.
“Dreaming about you.” She spoke softly. I heard a hint of seduction in her voice.
“Really?” I asked because I wanted to be sure. As a man, I needed that assurance of being needed and wanted. After what she said to me the other day I felt like the truth was seeping out of me somehow. I mean, I didn’t want it to be the truth, but it was. I was having sex with her father. When you are doing dirty things and playing the role of innocence, things begin to unfold without your permission, and that was what I was thinking when she said “a real man.” Not that I didn’t think that I was a real man, but because the world set the criteria for how a man should act and what a man should do. But I knew that I was a real man, because I took care of my home and my family. I just had some issues, just like the next man.
“Yes, Kyle.” I heard her shifting in the bed. “You are my man.” She said it with such authority and confidence. A brother sure was turned on right now. I shifted my growing erection in my pants.
“I know that’s right.” I smiled. I felt a lot better hearing that she was dreaming about me, no matter how corny it was. “You making me horny, you know that?”
“Me too, baby,” she whispered into the phone. “Can you guess what I’m doing right now?”
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that she was pleasuring herself.
“Damn, baby. You got me hard out here at this phone booth.”
“Pull your dick out for me, baby,” she moaned. “I want you to fuck me over the phone.”
I did as I was told and pulled out my dick right there at the phone booth. It was after midnight and I knew that nobody was around. I just hoped that there were no cameras around to catch me, because I didn’t want to get into any trouble for doing what I was about to do outside.
“You got it out?” she asked.
“Yeah. I got him out.”
“Now, pull on him and imagine him digging deep into my baby girl.” That was our nickname for her womb.
“Okay.” I closed my eyes and thought of her on the bed and me on top of her putting myself into her. I had the phone in between my shoulder and my ear. I stroked my dick slowly like I did her all the time.
“Baby, I’m putting you in me right now.” She gasped like she really felt me entering her. “Damn, baby, you thick and warm. Stroke me, baby. Stroke me!” Her voice escalated a little. I could tell she was working her clit overtime.
“I know ... I feel you too, baby ... I feel your tight walls around me.” I was rocking as I stroked myself. “You ... feel ... so ... goooood!” I moaned loudly as I stroked my dick intensely.
“Right there, baby, right there.” She was gasping for air. I could tell she was about to come. “Work the middle, Kyle. Work the middle, baby.” I imagined her on her back and fingers inside of her and the other hand working her clit while her torso was lifted off of the bed.
“Take this dick, baby ... take this dick ...” I thrust as I pumped my dick. Being outside had totally left my consciousness. I was at home, stroking my wife full speed ahead.
“I’m taking it ... taking it ...” Her voice was gruff. She was real close to coming. It caused me to stroke even faster.
“I’m coming ... I’m coming ... uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” she exploded, and then there was silence.
“Ahhh ... Ahhh ... Ahhh ... Ahhh.” I came all over the ground around the phone. There was silence on both ends for a few more seconds.
“Damn, baby.” I huffed a little. “That was some serious fucking.”
“I know, right.” I could see her smiling face and her body stretched out across the bed. It was just like I wanted to be right now.
“We got to do that more often,” I spoke as I tucked my dick inside of my pants. I looked around to see that I was still alone.
“We will, because Momma is taking the kids on your next leave.”
“Really?” I perked up even more than before. I mean, I loved my kids, but every parent
knows what a real break is, especially an overnight break.
“Yes, and we are going to have the house all to ourselves.”
“All right now ... I can’t wait.”
“Me either, baby. We are going do all the lovemaking we want to do and anywhere we want to do it, too.” My wife giggled as she spoke. She was a freak by nature. One thing I loved about her, among other things.
“Look, baby, let me get off this phone and back to bed. I am going to sleep like a log after that nut you just gave me.”
“I bet you will.” She giggled again. “Night, baby.”
“Night.” I hung up the phone and went to bed a happy man.
Chapter 10
Henry
Lightening Up
“Hey, babe.” I kissed my wife on the cheek as I entered my house and followed the same routine as we had become accustomed to since day one. I sat in my chair in the dining room, slipped off my shoes, and waited for my dinner to be served to me.
“Dinner will be ready in a moment.” She walked off and into the kitchen.
“All right,” I said, and then I picked up the newspaper that was sitting on the table waiting to be read by me. “Let’s see what’s going on in the world today.”
“Hey, baby. Here’s your dinner.” She set my plate of meatloaf, asparagus, and brown rice in front of me. It was one of my favorite dishes. She really did treat me well.
“Thank you, babe.”
She sat down in a chair diagonally across from me and watched me eat. She smiled ever so brightly. I knew that she had something up her sleeve.
“All right.” I set my fork down and focused all my attention on her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, babe.” She was lying and I could tell. Her eyes darted away from me momentarily and that was all I needed to see.
“Chrissy, spill it.” I spoke with authority.
“Well, since you asked.” I didn’t know why she was acting this way, but I knew she was conniving as could be at times. I didn’t know that until after I married her, but that was a topic for later on; I needed to know what she wanted now.
“Is everything at work okay?” She reached out and put her hand over mine.
I looked down at it and smiled. “Christine, why are you asking me about this?” My appetite was spoiled now. Hungry and angry was not a good combination on me. She knew this, too.
“Well, I got a call from Tasha and she said that Kyle kind of had some issues with the way you were treating him.”
“Oh, really.” That sniveling little punk can’t handle a little bit of pressure. I was beginning to regret fucking him.
“Yes.” My wife nodded her head. “She said Kyle is really upset about it. I think that you should ease up on him a little bit. Give him a little slack.”
“Ease up, huh?” I was talking to myself but looking at her. At this moment, I was pissed beyond belief. I felt betrayed to have a man call on his wife and mother-in-law to come to his defense. If he thought that I was rough on him, wait until he gets a load of me when we get back to the base. He hasn’t seen anything yet.
“Yes, please, babe. Do it for Tasha. Do it for me.” She got up and walked over to me. She walked behind me and blew on the back of my ear. She thought that she would soften me up with some sex, but I just wasn’t for it tonight. “Will you do it for me, soldier?” She now had her tongue in my ear.
“Not tonight, babe, I’m exhausted.” I got up from the table, removed my napkin from my collar, and walked out to the living room, up the stairs, and into the bathroom to get in the shower. I stripped down until all of my clothes were off. I folded them and placed them on the top of the wicker hamper and turned on the shower. Truth of the matter was I was turned on by Kyle wanting me to ease up. It meant I had control. I loved control. I breathed it more than I did air. I stepped into my shower after measuring the temperature with my wrist. I lathered up with some Irish Spring body wash and began to wash all over. Kyle’s plump behind popped into my head and pretty soon I was massaging my dick to a full erection. I leaned up against the wall of the shower and worked myself up really well. I even moaned Kyle’s name a few times. I knew that my wife was downstairs cleaning up after me and doing her housewife duties. I was up here alone. It didn’t take long for me to shoot my load onto the floor of shower and watch it go down the drain.
“Damn.” I shook my head at the intensity of my session with myself. I was truly spent. I finished washing up and got out of the shower. I heard footsteps in the next room and assumed it was my wife getting ready for bed as well. I walked into my bedroom with a towel around my waist. She had a big smile on her face.
“You ready for bed, baby?”
“Yes, I am truly exhausted.” I went over to the bed and grabbed the underwear and T-shirt that she had laid out for me. As I sat there on the edge of the bed, she came over with some lotion and worked my arms and legs over really good. I rolled over and went to sleep a happy man a few minutes later.
Chapter 11
Kyle
The Quiet One
I was in the base’s barbershop getting my hair trimmed up, with a lot on my mind. Mainly how my day was going to go. For the last couple of days my father-in-law had been a little nicer to me than usual. I knew that my wife had something to do with it, and even though I told her not to, I knew she still talked to her mom about it. That was the one thing about my wife and her mother that bothered me the most: the closeness of their relationship. I mean, I knew that a mother and daughter were supposed to be close, but these two took it to a whole new level. They talked on the phone every day, they shopped together, cooked the same meals, and wore some of the same outfits. I mean, that was just plain ridiculous and too much for two people. I didn’t say anything most of the time, because I knew that being a military wife could be lonely with me being gone weeks at a time. And even though we only lived two and a half hours away from the base, she still couldn’t just pop up when she felt like it. All she had was her mom, the kids, and the phone calls during the week to get her by until I got off on leave.
“All right, soldier, you’re done.” The soldier cutting my hair broke me out of my train of thought. “See you in a few weeks.”
“Okay, see you then.” I got up out of my chair and walked over to one of the mirrors on the wall and surveyed my fresh cut.
“Nothing like a fresh cut.” The usually quiet soldier who spoke up in the mess hall spoke to me. The other day when the other guys were teasing me about how hard my father-in-law was treating me, he was the one who said that it would get better as soon as someone else new came along. After that, I started to notice him a little more around the base. It let me know that I needed to open my eyes up and pay more attention to my surroundings. He looked like a cool brother. But looks were deceiving, especially around here. I planned on staying a loner. It was better that way.
“Yeah, man, that is so true,” I spoke while still looking in the mirror. He was in another mirror looking at his fresh cut. He must have been in another chair at the same time I was. Again, I didn’t notice that until now. I rarely went into any part of the base and just stared brothers down. It was just something you didn’t do. In here, “don’t ask, don’t tell” was in full effect. You had to act a certain way, walk a certain way, and talk a certain way. Any deviation would send up red flags in people’s heads. Don’t get me wrong, I knew that there were some brothers on the base who were gay; you could see it in their eyes. I, being someone who had had experience with it, could tell. It takes one to know one, as they say. I kept it all to myself.
“Take it easy.” I breezed past him and out of the door. I was a computer tech on the base and I had a few that needed to be inspected today. A few feet away from the door, the guy jogged up to me.
“Dude, what’s the hurry?” He walked beside me and spoke.
“I have some work to do.” I looked at him briefly and then continued to walk and look straight ahead. “I need to get it done and over with.”
>
“Sarge must really be on you. You don’t play when it comes to your work and getting it done. I have noticed that about you. You like to be seen and not heard.”
“Is that true?” I was talking about the “Sarge being on me” part, when I stopped walking and looked at him.
“Yeah, man, you do ‘how high’ real well when it comes to Sergeant Harris.” He was smiling like it was a joke. I didn’t see it as funny.
“So what you’re saying is that I’m a topic of discussion around here?”
“Nah, people just take notice after a while.”
“Private Bryant,” I said, reading his name badge. “I mind my business in here, plain and simple. I would appreciate it if you and whoever else has me as a topic of discussion would mind your business as well. I’m on this base to do my job and not make friends. Tell them that.” I walked off and left him standing there with a dumb look on his face.
As I made it to one of the offices on base, the one I was supposed to be working in, I walked in with yet another problem on my mind. Is minding my business and staying to myself really bad for my army career?
I had been this way all of my life. It was the way that my parents raised me to be. A child is to be seen and not heard. I planned on passing those same ideals on to my boys. I was an observer and I was taught who to deal with just by watching people every day. I am so confused right now. Do I really need to be more outgoing? I thought that I was. I always smiled and spoke when I entered a room. I had brief conversations with my buddy Clifton. You know, wife and kids stuff and maybe a little talk about sports, but that was it.
I thought as I worked. The more I thought the less work I got done. After a while, I was just sitting at a desk by a window looking at the activities that where going on around the base: marching troops, Jeeps driving to and fro, and even some joggers running around the base.