CHAPTER 186: GETTING JAMMED IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES

Earl was sitting on the swing with Charlie when Madison came driving up in Mr. Zack’s speeder with Zack in the passenger side. He was pissed but knew that he’d better not show out, not in front of the big man.

Madison was so proud of himself—he had driven a speeder for the first time and done everything perfectly. He parked just where Mr. Zack had told him to park. He went to hand the key fob back when Zach stopped him.

"You keep that one, and when I call you, I want you up here as my driver. That’s your job here on the ranch—you’re going to be my go-to man and you’re going to be my driver. Plus, I have a few more jobs I’ll be assigning you in the near future."

Madison was very reserved and thanked Mr. Zack for the opportunity. "I will not let you down, and you can most definitely count on me, sir. Just let me know when you need me here and what time, and I’ll be here every morning that you need me, sir—anytime of the day or evening or night."

Earl looked at his son. "Just exactly where is your brother? You know Mason—where is he, Madison?"

"He is on a date, sir, with a gentleman, and you will not embarrass him by acting like a piece of gutter trash. He deserves better and you should think better of yourself." Madison looked at his father firmly.

Charlie almost couldn’t refrain from laughing, smiled and asked, "Out on a date with whom, Madison? Your dad deserves at least that much information."

"Yes sir, he’s out at Constantine’s having a milkshake and fries with Tim."

"Exactly who is this Tim character, by the way?" Earl popped off.

Madison cleared his throat. "He is having a malt and fries with Timothy Zachariah Spinelli—Mr. Zack’s son, dear old dad, and that is all you need to know. He will bring him to the front door and drop him off when they are finished having their date, and by the way, that will be the first of many dates for the two of them. You will not interfere like your dad did between you and our father. Maybe if you had gotten to live your life with the love of your life, you wouldn’t be so bitchy and you wouldn’t have thrown your legs up for every Tom, Dick, or Harry on the orbiter."

Earl sat there with his mouth open.

"Yes, dad, we know all about Shannon Mason O’Malley, and there are a couple of other things you need to know. There was a letter in our pod stuck in the lining—it was from father and it explained a lot. You don’t need to be bitter, grumpy, or bitchy about everything. We were your kids, and you should have had a backbone and stood up to your dad instead of letting him pimp you out to his choice of mate. Now I know why grandfather always doted on us every time he came in from the stars—he was waiting on you to stand up to granddad Walt. I respect you and I love you because you’re my dad, but you will not treat Mason, me, or any of the boys without respect."

Earl sat back on the swing, defeated.

"Have a seat, Madison. There are a few more things you need to know." Charlie’s voice was gentle. "Remember when I put you boys in that cubicle when we were attacked and told you to hide, and when I went back out? I was looking for your father. I couldn’t get down to engineering where the propulsion systems area was—I was searching for the only man I ever loved and who loved me even with my faults. I felt a burning pain in my side and I collapsed. I was in the infirmary when I came to. I heard about your uncle Stephen and your other uncles. I was recovering from my phaser shot and it cost me dearly. Your father and I were about to tell you boys that we were expecting number seven, but I lost him. With me not being able to find your father and everything else that went on, I decided to turn my emotions off and deal with all the problems around me and not the problem within me. I know I’ve been a horrible dad and I can’t blame anyone but myself because I wasn’t strong enough to stand up not only for myself, but for my children and their wonderful father who I’m never going to see again."

Zack cleared his throat and looked at Madison. "It’s time you know what to do."

"Dad, when Mason gets home, we need to take you somewhere. There’s something that you all need to see, and I will leave it at that. But for now, you don’t need to worry about Mason—he’s in good hands with Tim."

Three hours later, there was a knock at the door. Earl answered it and there stood Tim.

"Mr. O’Malley, I am bringing Mason home safely and I would like to ask your permission to see him on a regular basis. He will have my utmost respect—be assured that nothing shall take place without permission."

Earl was shocked at the proper etiquette this young man was using, and he could barely get the words out. "Yes, Tim, you have my permission to date Mason and you have my complete trust that you will be a perfect gentleman where he is concerned."

As Mason went to walk in, Tim leaned over and kissed him on his cheek and bid him goodbye.

Mason walked into the house and was a little thrown back by his dad’s attitude—this was a side of him he didn’t even know.

"Excuse me, am I in the right household? My dad actually told Tim that he could see me. Tim’s nice, yes, a perfect gentleman, but dad, what’s going on here? What do you know that I don’t know?"

"Mason, I found the perfect gentleman also, and when I went to my dad, he told me he was never going to be good enough for me. Even though he was human, had a wonderful job, and was well respected, your granddad Walt would not let us be together. We had to sneak around, and boy did we sneak. He was furious at me when I was pregnant with you, and when I got pregnant with Madison right after you were born, he blew a gasket. He threatened to beat the child from me—it was all I could do to keep Shannon from fighting with your granddad because he threatened his child’s life."

Earl continued, his voice softer now. "If Tim makes you happy and treats you as good as your father treated me, who am I to say no? I would be worse than my own dad. When you and him decide to take your relationship to the next level, don’t sneak around. Make sure my first grandson is conceived in a good bed and a home, not behind some piece of freight in the cargo hull like Madison and so many of your brothers were."

Madison looked at his dad. "Behind some freight in the cargo hull, really dad? Do you at least remember what kind of cargo it was, by chance?"

Earl started to snicker. "Mrs. Madison’s jams."

"Are you telling me I got my name from the side of a cargo container for Mrs. Madison’s jams? How original, dad. You got jammed behind Mrs. Madison’s jams and you named your son Madison?"

"Don’t you remember how you loved that stuff, Madison? You couldn’t get enough of it, if I remember correctly, son."

Everybody broke out in laughter.