Watching Brad

[upyrkilt469]

Another great chapter, Neil. Thanks and am looking forward to next week.
Vic[/COLOR]

 

[ukbrit]

When is Ted going to learn?? the guy is a bit of a control freak, it seems its always me me me he still thinks like a married guy and that Brad should be the little woman at home. In a way, I hope something happens to Ted and Brad takes charge and saves the day making Ted realize just how mature Brad is, but I think Ted would see it as a dent in his ego and pride.
This is a first rate story, and I must admit to being late for work several times catching up with the story, but then I am the boss so its a perk of the job....
Waiting for next chapter with baited breath.......

 

[sheep]

Ted is going to lose Brad to the more laid back chill sheep if he continues to treat him as a teenager and not a fully grown man

 

[Kyanimal]

Actually, I'm rather surprised how much of ME You've managed to put into Ted!!

That sense of "Command"/"Control"/"Responsibility", once it sets into one's psyche, is one TOUGH barrier to get past! No matter how Capable you may know the people around you to be!! And, Yeah!, it can also, surrepticiously, become an "Ego Thing"!

I've learned that it Must be pushed/shoved aside, stepped past, in order to prevent shutting out those that are most needed to be let in!!

We avidly read your stories, Neil. We get caught up in Your characters, who become "Real" for us! And, don't fully realize, that all the time, You are actually Teaching us something!!

Thank You!!

Keep smilin'!!
Chaz

 

[phoenix72]

love Ted and everything but if he keeps pushing Brad away...he's going to push him right out the front door.

 

[BlueD]

Go Brad, go! Gotta beat Ted in this game....

 

[Trent0n1]

Mmm.... Ted just hasn't figured out this partnership deal yet, has he? He really is treating Brad like the little woman. He won't want to keep this up for too long!

A great story Neil....thank you!

Trent

 

[gsdx]

WATCHING BRAD
Part 189​

Somehow I managed to get a few hours of sleep that Monday night following our dinner with Grant and his wife, but the sleep was restless and filled for the most part with quickly-forgotten dreams. One remembered dream, however, stuck with me for many weeks following. It was a variation on my little chat with Warren that past Saturday when I'd escorted him to the bathroom during Lindsay's birthday party.

It began pretty-much the same, but it took a sudden drastic and unexpected change midway through:

"Why are you being so stubborn, Teddy? Why are you objecting so much about the big house? The kids love it and they've even told you which bedrooms they want. You're the only one who doesn't seem to want it. I can tell by Bill's expression that he's not buying that mortgage crap. There's more to it than not being able to afford the mortgage."

"That's all it is, Warren," I insisted. "You just have to believe me."

"But look at all the help you're going to get. Your friends and family are all willing to do whatever it takes to build it. It's got to be more than not being able to afford it."

"Look, Warren," I said sternly, "just drop it, okay? Come on. Let's get back out to the party."

Warren just stood there, staring me down. His eyes burrowing into me made me feel extremely uncomfortable. Warren was one of the few people who could do that. It was like he was crawling right into my head and reading my mind. "Holy, shit, Teddy! You're pissed off because you didn't find the house yourself, aren't you? You're pissed because the kids found the house and everyone else made the decision to build it instead of you!"

Fury brewed inside me and I found myself having great difficulty keeping the lid on it. "I asked you to drop it, Warren," I warned him, suddenly angered and on the offensive, "and now I'm telling you! Drop it! Just drop it!"

"No, Ted! Not this time!" Warren's voice rose to match mine in volume. "You're hiding something from me and I'm not going anywhere until I find out what it is!"

"I'm warning you, Warren!" I shouted back at him. "Mind your own fuckin' business!"

"Your family is my family, Ted de Villiers, and that makes what happens to it my business! Now tell me what the hell is going on here!"

It was odd. I could see myself as if I were some innocent bystander watching the events unfolding before me. I stood away from myself and I could see the anger filling my face, turning it red and frighteningly hard and vicious. I watched as my hand balled themselves into fists, ready to attack if necessary. "You want the truth, Warren!?" I screamed. "I'll tell you the fuckin' truth! I'm bloody sick and tired of everybody telling me what I want! And I'm fuckin' sick and tired of people like you telling me how to take care of my family! I'm sick of this shit, Warren! This is my family, and it's my responsibility to make the decisions for them! Not yours! Not anyone else's! You hear me!? They'll live in whatever house I decide they'll live in! It's no-one's decision except mine! Now get the hell off my back and leave me the hell alone!"

I woke up then, not because of the dream waking me but because the quick, lilting strains of Vivaldi's Four Seasons suddenly began to play on the clock radio alarm beside the bed as it reminded me it was time to begin the day. Brad lay beside me, as usual, stirring awake along with me.

"Morning, Pops," he said softly as he smiled at me.

"Morning, Tiger," I replied.

But something in my voice made Brad take note and he rocked up from my arm on which he'd been sleeping and onto his elbow, looking down at me. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said as I began to shake my arm. "Arm fell asleep," I lied. "That's all." The dream I'd just had melted away and I pushed it into the back of my mind somewhere, but not far enough away for me to forget. I could easily retrieve it later when I needed to contemplate its meaning.

"Sorry," he grinned as he bent down for our usual morning kiss.

Minutes later we were both washed, dressed, and getting the kids ready for the day. As we sat around the table eating breakfast, Brad said, "We'll have the garage cleaned out this morning, Ted." I'd rented one of those PODS storage units like the one Dad had rented when they moved from Crystal Beach. It had been delivered late Monday morning and set in the driveway at the house. David and Brook had come to help Brad and Mark move everything from the garage into the PODS. "Brook has to work today," Brad continued, "but David will be there to help us finish. Really, there's just that stuff on the shelves at the back and the tools and things on the north wall left to go. Do you want the shelves and racks taken apart and loaded, too?"

"Sure," I said. "If we can't find anyplace to use them later, we can always take them to Habitat."

"I have not been to that place," Dad said. "Where is it?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "No idea, Dad," I said, "but I can find out if you want."

"As can I," Dad said as he went back to eating his eggs.

"Daddy," Justin interrupted us as he held out his plate to me, "my bangers are too big."

* * * * *

Despite already having a pretty good idea what the results would be, I kept my promise to Brad and faxed the estimates to my accountant, including the maximum budget I had passed to Grant on a piece of paper almost a week earlier. By noon, the results were faxed back to me at my office. As I suspected, the numbers didn't surprise me, but they left me in deep contemplation for much of the afternoon as I tried to formulate a plan as to how I would approach the topic when I got home.

Fortunately, I was given a bit of a reprieve in that David and Mark were now in Maple Grove, having finished storing the complete contents of the garage intp the PODS unit and were staying for dinner. They had come to Maple Grove after finishing in the city to work on Mom's landscaping - namely digging out the pond and constructing the waterfall. They were on such a roll that they were still working on it when I got there and hoped to get in a few more hours after dinner. David would, of course, return the next morning, Wednesday, to go with Brad and to buy the plants and the pump, conduit and cable. If their luck and the weather held out, they would be able to complete the entire thing by Thursday night. The flat rocks which they needed to build the waterfall had been delivered quite some time earlier - almost two weeks before our wedding in fact. The pond should have been finished before our wedding, if you recall, but it had been delayed when Brad and Mark had helped Dad build the sand box, swing set, and climbing fort in the back yard instead. Now, with the house virtually cleaned out, finishing Mom's landscaping had become a priority.

The twins were sitting on the grass in the front yard when I got home, watching the three adults ‘installing a hole' as David liked to say. I joined them in watching and even had a bit of a mini wrestling match with them before flopping down on my back in the shade of the tree in complete submission as they sat on one arm each and planted their hands firmly on my shoulders, effectively pinning me to the ground. I struggled feebly for a few moments before crying ‘Uncle', then pulled them to me and smothered them with kisses.

We had something of a pseudo-picnic that afternoon, spreading a blanket out on the grass and sitting there with the plate of food we'd carried out. Lindsay remained inside with her grandparents, but the twins, of course, joined us outside. Brad asked me if I had received the quotations and I told him that I had but, for the most part, the conversation centred around the pond and its construction. It had been decided by Mom that no fish would be added to it. She was content with the waterfall and whatever nature happened to find a home there, especially if the surrounding gardens invited butterflies and hummingbirds so she could sit on her bench in the shade and enjoy it. Brad assured he they would come. David even offered to make her a custom bench instead of buying a kit and assembling it, which pleased Mom to no end.

After dinner, the twins helped me carry the dishes back into the house, then we rejoined the others outside again, helping where we could until it was time for me to get the boys into the house for their baths.

Later, with David and Mark gone home and the kids asleep in bed, Brad and I sat outside under the pergola on the back patio with a bowl of pretzels on a small table between us and a bottle of beer in one hand. It was a lovely, warm evening and a whispery breeze blew in overland off the lake, bringing with it the all-too-familiar seaside scents mixed with the earthy smells of summer in the country. We were holding hands with the ones which weren't holding a bottle of beer.

"So," he said after we'd sat in silence for quite some time, "what's the verdict on the mortgage quotes?"

"Exactly as I expected," I told him, but offered nothing more. "I just don't see the big house happening, Brad."

"I told you I can get a part-time job and help with the payments until I graduate next year."

"When would you study if you're working every night or at weekends?"

"I'd find the time," he assured me. "I've done it before, you know. I really want that house, Pops."

I drew in a deep breath into my lungs and let it out slowly. "I'm sure you do, Brad, but right now your education is more important."

"I can manage both," he insisted. "I know I can."

I released Brad's hand and turned to face him. "Look, Tiger, I know how much you want to help make that house happen for the kids, but it's your graduation year and it's going to be tougher than the last two years put together. You're going to need every spare minute you can find in order to get your diploma. We can manage on my salary for now if we build the brick-front. It's not as big, but it's got everything we need, including a basement, four bedrooms, and two and a half baths."

"But it's not what the kids want."

"They're not the ones paying for it," I told him. "They'll get over it."

"So we don't even have a say in the matter?"

"Yes, you do, and I've listened to everyone and taken it all into consideration. But you have to face the fact that, until you graduate, I'm the sole breadwinner and I have to do what I think is best for everyone concerned, even if it isn't what everyone wants."

Brad fell silent for a few long and tense moments before settling back in his lawn chair and looking out into the darkness. "So that's it, then," he said finally and quietly. "You've made your decision."

"Yes, I have," I said as I settled back into my own chair.

Beside me, Brad drew in a huge breath through his nostrils and held it. It was a long time before he let it out again.

* * * * *

With David's extra help and seemingly endless muscle, Brad and Mark had finished building Mom's pond and waterfall before lunch on Thursday. The conduit had been implanted into the ground and the electrical cable had been threaded through it and attached to the pump. The aquatic plants had been sunk into the pond as instructed by the salesman at the nursery. All that remained was for David to design and build the bench and for Brad to finish the landscaping around the gently-splashing pond.

Nothing more was said about the new house and I thought the matter was ended until I came home from work on Friday and Brad greeted me outside with a huge grin on his face and his eyes alight with excitement. The twins were with him, eager to be picked up. Ignoring the boys' pleas, Brad wrapped his arms around me instead and almost crushed me in his bear hug. He kissed my neck then pushed away from me and quickly bent down to snatch Jeremy up into his arms as I picked up Justin. The sparkling eyes and the huge, chipped-toothed grin remained on face. It was infectious and a grin soon spread over my own face and the faces of my sons.

"What are you laughing at?" I asked as Brad stood there saying nothing.

"I don't want to jinx it," he said softly as he held up his left hand and crossed his fingers, "but I might have a job."

"Daddy."

It was very difficult trying to keep the smile on my face but I did it. I didn't want to start anything with the twins right there.

"It's not a ‘for sure' yet," he said. "I go in tomorrow afternoon for an interview. I've been working on my résumé since I got home so I can take it in with me."

"How?" I asked incredulously. "I mean where?"

"Daddy!"

"Our grocery store," he began to explain as we walked into the house. "Mom asked me to stop there to pick up a few things when I drove Mark home and I saw the ‘Help Wanted' sign in the window. It's in the deli department."

"The deli?" I laughed. "What do you know about slicing meat?"

"I'll learn, Pops."

"Well," I said as calmly as I could, "just don't get your hopes up too high, okay, Tiger? You might not get the job, you know."

"I know," he said, "but I've got just as much chance as anyone else does. I don't know how much I'll be paid or how many hours. . ."

"Daddy!"

"Justin, it's very rude to interrupt," I said angrily, letting my emotions come out to my son rather than to the one who had caused them to escalate in the first place. Justin's smiling face turned suddenly sad and his lower lipped curled down into a small pout. "Now, what do you want?"

"I missed you," he said in a mousy little voice.

"I missed you, too, my Sonskyn," I said as I hugged him and gave him a quick kiss. I did the same for Jeremy. I set Justin down and sent him off to get washed up for dinner with Jeremy hot on his tail.

"Well," Brad said, still grinning and still beaming with excitement, "what do you think?"

"I think we should talk about this later when we're alone."

"It's always later, Ted," he said. His grin had disappeared. "Can we talk about it tonight?"

I couldn't say it. I nodded my head affirmatively instead.

"Promise?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "I promise."

* * * * *

"Maybe we should have waited until you graduated before we got married," I suggested.

"That wouldn't have changed anything, Ted," Brad replied quietly. We lay together in bed, naked except for our briefs. As usual, Brad lay on his side using my left shoulder as his pillow and my chest as his armrest. "We'd be single, but we would still be living together and the house still would have burnt down even if we were here instead of being in England. Nothing would have changed. We'd be exactly where we are now except we wouldn't be wearing these rings on our fingers."

I found an opening and I jumped on it. "Precisely," I responded, "which is why I don't want you getting a job until after you graduate next year. Taking care of your education has always been your parents' responsibility. Taking care of the family has always been mine. We can manage on what I make until then."

Brad shifted and propped himself up on his elbow beside me. I rolled to my side, facing him and propping my head in the palm of my upturned hand.

"Don't you see, Ted?" he continued. "The rules are different now. Getting married changed everything. I'm a married man now. I'm your husband and technically that makes me stepfather to Lindsay, Justin, and Jeremy. They aren't just your responsibility anymore, Pops. They're our responsibility now, and mine as much as yours."

"But. . ."

Brad held up his free hand to silence me. "I know what you're going to say, Ted. I'm too young. I know. That's how you think of me. But I'm not a teenager anymore. I'm old enough to drive and I'm old enough to drink. I'm old enough to get married and I'm old enough to go to war. I'm even old enough to make love to you and to let you make love to me. That means I'm old enough to make my own decisions. We have a chance to make a whole new start as a family, Ted. We can do that by building the home we all want, and I can help by taking responsibility and getting that job. It may not pay much, but it will help, and I know I'll regret it if we don't at least try it."

Brad's arguments were good and I wasn't sure how to rebut them. I said the only thing I could think of. "But you also have a responsibility to your parents. They've sunk thousands of dollars into your education and you're just going to throw it all away by screwing up your diploma."

"I won't be throwing it all away," he countered. I could tell he was becoming as annoyed as I was feeling. "I told you I'll manage somehow, even if I have to put my diploma on hold for awhile or take part-time courses. I can do this, Ted. I know I can. I want to do it. I want to get that job so we can take care of this family together."

I looked at him for a long time, staring into his green eyes which refused to blink and listening to him noisily sucking air through his nostrils and blowing it back out in anxious puffs through flared nostrils. Finally, after it became apparent that neither of us were going to back down, I said, "Then we have a problem, don't we?"

"No, Ted," Brad said, shaking his head back and forth. His voice was surprisingly calm. "Not ‘we'. I don't have a problem with me being a grown-up. You do."

And with that, Brad rolled away from me and faced the window. I rolled away from him onto my other side and reached out to turn off the bedside lamp. I lay there in the dark for several long hours before I finally fell asleep.

Brad ignored me for the most part the next morning and was unusually quiet as we ate breakfast. The kids sensed the tensions as well and were particularly well behaved, not at all certain what was going on but aware enough to know that they should tread very carefully that morning. Mom and Dad noticed as well, but it was Dad who questioned it. "Are you not feeling well, Bradley?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Dad," he replied with a small smile. "Just a little nervous about the interview this afternoon, that's all. I've never done one before."

"There is nothing to fear," Dad told him. "You will be asked some questions and you shall answer them. It is really quite simple."

Brad sucked a huge breath into his lungs and blew it back out through pursed lips. "Yeah," he said, forcing a nervous smile onto his face. "Simple."

"So, you're really going to do it, are you?" I asked softly.

"Yes, Ted, I am."

I nodded my acknowledgement and dropped the subject. Before I had fallen asleep the night before, I had decided that, were he to actually go to the interview, his chances of actually getting the job were rather slim. If the pieces fell into place as I hoped they would, my problems would be solved for the moment and I would have to do nothing. If not, then I would deal with it later.

‘Later' came that afternoon when I got home. Brad had been watching for me, apparently, and came outside with the twins in the lead. I knelt on the grass and greeted them with the usual hugs and kisses as Brad stood nearby. I didn't have to ask the question to know the answer. I could see it in his face.

"You got it, didn't you?" I asked.

Brad nodded. "I train tomorrow and Sunday afternoon and then I start on Monday."

I sent the boys into the house ahead of us, explaining to them that I had to talk to Daddy Brad alone for a minute. They ran on ahead as I rose to my feet. Brad and I stared at each other for a few long, tense moments. I spoke first. "I don't want you to take the job, Brad."

"Why?"

"I have my reasons," I told him. "Please, I'm begging you. Phone the store and tell them you've changed your mind and you don't want the job."

Brad's head shook slowly back and forth. "I can't do that, Ted. I won't."

Our staring match continued for a few more tense moments. "Then I forbid you to take it."

Brad's eyes widened in surprise. "You what?" he asked.

"You heard me, Brad. You're not accepting that job."

Brad squared his shoulders and lifted his chin. He set his jaw and his chest expanded as he inhaled an enormous breath. A calm, relaxed expression came over his face. And then he said softly, "Now you have a problem, Ted. A very big problem."

With that, he turned and walked back into the house, leaving me to stand there all by myself. I stood there in stunned silence as I watched the door close behind him, and then I followed. Justin and Jeremy were standing at the bottom of the stairs looking up them and holding hands. Mom was standing further down the hall at the entrance to the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. A very concerned look filled her face. Lindsay stood beside her looking totally bemused.

When the twins heard me coming up behind them, they turned toward me. "Why is Daddy Brad so sad?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know, Jeremy," I said as I gently rubbed his hair and smiled my best smile. "I'll go and try to cheer him up, okay? You stay here with Ouma and your sister."

I left them there and headed up the stairs to our bedroom. The door was open and I stepped inside. Brad was standing at the dresser beside the bed. A drawer was pulled open and Brad was taking some of the folded clothes out of it and piling them on top of the dresser.

On the bed was one of his small, open suitcases.

To Be Continued​

 

[BlueD]

Ted is so deserved what is happening right now....
poor Brad

 

[thermodynamics]

Ted......jackass. Too bad Brad's the one he's taking it out on. I hope this works out OK.

 

[PhoenixRising]

Ted needs his ass kicked.

 

[dougmc]

I agree with the comments, Ted needs to smarten up in one heck of a hurry

 

[ukbrit]

What a petulant child, Ted needs a smacking. What is Ted trying to hide from Brad?? Its not the fact money is short it may be that Ted has over reached himself emotionally and could be heading for a break down, it would not take much to push him. With all the things that have happened to him and the family i don't think Ted is really over his " episode " he had when he went to see his shrink.
The guy has got to chill more and stop trying to be the big" I am".

 

[Trent0n1]

Our staring match continued for a few more tense moments. "Then I forbid you to take it."

Brad's eyes widened in surprise. "You what?" he asked.

"You heard me, Brad. You're not accepting that job."

I repeat...Ted just hasn't grasped the concept of a partnership! He forbids Brad? You forbid a child....not a partner! Time for a reality check for Ted...big time!

You're most certainly entertaining us Neil....thank you so much!

Trent

 

[sheep]

I for one wouldn't blame Brad for running off to Florida to see Sheep again and lose himself in wild sex. It's a pity too because he really loves Ted for reasons that aren't evident to me.

 

[upyrkilt469]

I agree with everyone else. Ted is a real jackass and needs his ass kicked hard. /vic

 

[operafan]

I'm trying to guess what could possibly be in Ted's background to make him so unreasonable. Is this some mid-life crisis?

 

[harry113]

Thanks Neil, Great chapter .... building up to ?something big?!!!!
I totally agree with everyone else, Brad has grown up & takes his responsibilities seriously, but Ted is so afraid to give up total responsibility. He either has to grow up fast or he will tip himself over the edge !!! Marvellous writing!
Harry

 

[caddymac]

I have to agree with all the comments. Ted just doesn't get it. Brad is growing up fast and all too willing to do his share. I don't understand where Ted is coming from or what he is thinking at this point. TOOOO self centered.
Another good chapter that kept me to there to the end!!

 

[wyndhampaul]

Marriage is shareing. Why is it that so many couples fail to understand that that means everything. The good and the bad, the easy and the hard. Two equals are now one, not like the "Animal Farm" of yesterday in that one partner is more equal than the other.