Country Boy Ch. 01

This story centers around a young boy and his troubles while growing into a man. There is almost no sex in this story. Anyone involved in sexual situations are at least 18 years old. Enjoy and be kind when you vote.

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I was only ten years old when my father was taken from my life. He worked in a small foundry in our town in southern Indiana. You know the type, a small family run business, usually only employing four or five people. Anyway he was moving a large, for them, heat of metal when something exploded hot molten metal all over my father. He must have died horribly within a few moments.

My mother was racked with grief for several months after the funeral.

Since I was only ten I understood that my father was dead but I didn't fully understand the ramifications of his passing. My mother ceased to be the happy go lucky woman that I had known all my young life. She morphed into a woman that only rarely smiled and even more rarely laughed.

She sat me down in our kitchen a week after the funeral and explained life as she saw it while she scrubbed the pans from our meal.

"You and I are all we have now Rafe. Together we will have to support ourselves and make sure you get an education. I'm a thirty year old widow with a young son so I will have to be both a mother and a father from now on until you become a man. That's a lot to expect from one person but I have a plan." She moved one bright copper pan to the drain rack and attacked the next one.

"Old man Winters down at the Feed and Seed is going to start me working in the office tomorrow. The books have gotten too much for him. He needs the help and we will need the money, so starting tomorrow we will be spending our days there." I looked up when she said we.

"You mean I have to work with you too?" I asked.

"Yes Rafe. I can't afford a sitter for you anymore and when I explained my problem to old man Winters, he told me to bring you in with me. While you are too young to work on the clock, he or one of his workers will show you the workings of his business and maybe give you a few tasks to keep you occupied. While I'm not real happy with you being around his grinding mill, old man Winters assured me that you would never be in any danger. As I told you we are all that we have. I don't particularly like this but it's the only option we have now as I see it." She finished her pots then turned around.

I looked at my mother. She had a plain face. At one time she might have been pretty but time and the grief of losing a husband had taken its toll on her. She was a bit heavy, her large breasts had begun to sag. Her hips had blossomed with age and for the first time I noticed her face had begun to age and wrinkle, probably from dealing with the grief and worrying about my future. To my ten year old eyes she looked, old, for the first time ever.

"Don't worry about me momma. We will be okay. I promise. I know you are worrying about us but we will be fine. You'll see. I'll make you proud of me." With that statement I got up from my chair and hugged my mother. I inhaled her scent. Dove soap, the fried chicken we just ate and something else. The undefinable womanly scent of my mother.

Morning found us at Winters Feed and Seed before opening time. My mother was introduced to another woman about her age named Rose Evans. She would show my mom the books and both women would watch the counter for walk in business but most of the business was at the dock where the custom ground feed, hay or straw, or the seed and fertilizer for the crops was loaded on the customers truck or on the company's truck to be delivered. When my mom went to the office with Rose, Mr. Winters took me to the back room where the days business was about to unfold.

He sat me on an old wooden barrel and said, "Rafe I want you to just watch what is happening. Don't get off this barrel and you will be safe. There will be people moving around soon and you might get confused but soon you will catch the rhythm of the place. I am putting Charlie here in charge of you so if you need to go to the restroom or something just let him know. Got it?"

"Yes sir. Sit here and watch. Listen to Charlie." I repeated.

He patted my knee as Charlie opened the big dock doors. The day had begun.

Charlie was a huge old black man. He was old, probably 60, 6' 6" and over three hundred pounds. His arms were huge from constantly moving straw, hay bales, or the bags of feed or grain around. He could easily lift two one hundred pound bags with practiced ease. I watched in awe as he took care of the first customer. It took him only twenty minutes to load a ton of feed. That's twenty, one hundred pound bags. I watched silently and was amazed that one man could do it so effortlessly. He had several more orders to fill and finally the morning rush was over and he came over to me.

"How are you holding up son. Do you need a break or something to drink? I know I could use a Pepsi." he told me.

"Yes sir. I would like a drink." I said.

He picked me up off my barrel perch and we went to the drink machine on the dock. He then selected a bottle for each of us.

"Let's sit on the dock for our break. I have found that I can cure all of the world's ills from right there."

I nodded as we sat on the dock edge and without saying a word I started to bond with this huge, scary, gentle old man. I was curious about this gentle giant because I had never met a person of color at school nor did my parents ever bring one home. I soon found out that people were just people, no matter what color they were. I learned that he lived alone on the other side of town. He had an eighth grade education and had never been married. He asked me how I felt about being without a Father.

"I'm ok, I guess. I worry about my mom though. She still cries at night when she doesn't think I can hear. I think she worries about me growing up without a father."

"That's understandable I suppose. Your mother is a good woman and as long as she stays here old man Winters will watch over you two so don't worry about her. It will be hard but life has a way of taking care of itself. You just need to never give up trying. Also if you never give the other guy an opening he can't hurt you."

I didn't realise it but I had just received an important life lesson.

The day slowed down after our break. We had no more customers so Charlie handed me a broom. He pointed to one side of the dock and told me to start in the corner and work towards him.

"Get used to using this broom. This place is always dusty from the straw and feed and old man Winters likes a clean dock."

I proceeded to do the best job I knew how at 10. I guess I did ok. When lunchtime came my mom came out of the office and handed my lunch to me that she had made earlier that morning. Charlie asked if I could have my lunch with him on the dock.

My mom looked at me and asked, "Rafe would you like to eat with Charlie or with me and Rose in the break room."

I looked at Charlie and said, "I think us men will take our lunch out here on the dock."

My mom seemed surprised momentarily and told me it was okay but not to get underfoot. She looked at Charlie and they both just smiled and she went back into the office.

The summer was well underway and I was becoming familiar with the way things worked on the dock. Charlie showed me where the hay or straw was kept, where the bulk grain was stored in huge bins, where the bulk fertilizer was kept. I was amazed when our first custom feed order came. Charlie patiently explained how the mill worked and then he showed me that each farmer had a special 'recipe' for their animals. My young mind soaked this up like a sponge.

After a few weeks of watching my mentor I wanted to help load some seed. The bags were only 40 lbs so with a nod from him I grabbed my first bag. When we finished I had such a feeling of satisfaction. I was working with men and doing men's work. I didn't realise it at the time but I slowed Charlie way down. He never said a word though.

Charlie was also the backup delivery driver when one was needed. Most of the customers wanted to pick up their own orders but on occasion we delivered. On those occasions old man Winters usually drove the ancient flatbed truck but sometimes he couldn't. I wasn't allowed to ride with them for insurance purposes so when the next time came for Charlie to deliver an order I was given instructions to help in the retail part of the business stocking, straightening and sweeping. It was while I was cleaning a small storeroom that I met my lifetime love and my life changed forever.

"Rafe where are you?" I heard my mom's voice as I moved and straightened several misplaced boxes in a small storeroom.

"In here mom." I called out. I was surprised to see my mother leading a girl about my age.

"Rafe I want to introduce you to Rose's niece, Dawn. She will be staying with Rose for the summer while her mother goes to Scotland to help a sick relative. She will probably be here all summer so I wanted you to get to know each other. Dawn this my son Rafe."

We said 'hi' as my mom was talking. I wasn't totally turned off by girls. After all I had several in my class but none of the farm girls I went to school with looked like my new friend Dawn. She was my age and physically very slim. She wore blue jeans, a t-shirt and converse sneakers on. Her pretty face and arms were almost totally covered by freckles but her most noticeable feature was her flame red hair. I have never, before or since, seen hair that color. She could literally brighten a room by walking into it.

"Rafe could you show Dawn where everything is? She will be helping up front while she is here."

I was happy to show my new friend around but I didn't want her to know it so I gruffly said I would. And proceeded to do just that. I took Dawn on the nickel tour into the bowels of the business. I showed her the different stockrooms, where the merchandise for the front of the store was kept. I took her to the shipping area and explained how things were done. She was quiet and didn't ask any questions until I thought we were finished and up front again. I was ready to continue with my original job when Dawn asked, "Rafe do you have a girlfriend?" This was the first time I heard her voice beyond her initial 'hi'.

"No why."

"No reason. I was just wondering." She said.

I looked at her with a question in my eyes and said, "Grab that broom. We need to get to work." We finished our day in silence and soon the store closed.

The following day I was taking my lunch break on the dock while Charlie was filling a custom order for some horse feed. I was accustomed to being alone while he worked with the dangerous machine so I was surprised when I heard a voice behind me.

"Rafe would you mind if I sat with you while we have our lunch?"

I didn't know how to answer her. She shouldn't be hanging around the dock. Men sometimes talked like men do and it wasn't appropriate for young girls to be around that. At the moment however there wasn't anyone else around so I said, "Yes" gruffly.

She sat primly next to me. Too close for my comfort but I didn't want her to think I was standoffish so I didn't say anything. She proceeded to tell me about her life and family.

She was from Chicago and an only child like me and her father travelled a lot. When he was home, he and her mom argued constantly. The only time there was peace in her home was when her father was working.

She went to an all girls private school in the city and hated it.

"How will I ever meet my husband while going to an all girl school? I certainly don't want to be a lesbian and marry a woman."

I was uncomfortable with her candor. I had heard about women marrying but at my age I was unsure how that could work. I sat silently and listened while munching my sandwich and chips. Finally Dawn took a bite of her sandwich and chewed for a minute.

"You don't talk much Rafe." She said after swallowing her bite.

"I do when I have something to say." I told her. She seemed to consider that.

"Rafe?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you be my boyfriend?" she said in a quiet voice just above a whisper.

"Are you sure?" I asked in an equally quiet whisper.

"Yeah."

"Okay then I'll be your boyfriend."

She held my hand then. Two 10 year olds in love quietly watching the world go by while sitting on a dock in small town USA.

We continued our routine of sitting together when we both had free time. My mom never said anything and Rose just smiled when she noticed how close we had become. When summer was winding down and fall was in the air we both had to go back to our respective schools. We had finished our last break of the day on the dock and Dawn asked me one last question.

"Rafe?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going home tomorrow. Are you going to miss me?"

"Well yeah, sure I'll miss you. Will you miss me too?"

"Oh yes. You are my boyfriend right?"

"Yeah why?"

She leaned over and kissed me. I had never kissed a girl before. Well, I have kissed my mom and aunts but not like Dawn kissed me. When she kissed me I felt a flutter in my gut like when you have gas. We kissed for maybe 30 seconds and then she stood up and walked away. I wondered what had just happened but I knew that I really liked it.

Summer was over and I was in school. Most of my fellow students were farm kids but a few lived in the small town near our school. Our house was in the country but my father wasn't a farmer. I used to ride the school bus when my father was alive but now my mom had to drop me off in the morning. Then she would pick me up and bring me to the mill after school. I would do my school work in the break room before I was allowed to go to my friend Charlie. Almost the first words out of Charlie's mouth was for me to stay in school.

"Don't be like old Charlie. I only graduated from the eighth grade before I had to get a job. You have a chance to be someone Rafe. Don't ever stop learning."

"I won't Charlie." I assured the kindly old black man.

Life seemed empty though. I missed my girlfriend Dawn. I had a few friends in school and some of them talked about the girls in our class. I couldn't believe what was said about a few of the girls that were starting to sprout breasts. They must have heard talk from the adults at home because I never thought of doing any of those things to a girl. When things got too weird I would just sit in a quiet area and wonder what my friend Dawn was doing at that moment.

In the afternoons after school Charlie would sometimes mention that I was daydreaming a lot, I think he knew I was in love but he never teased me about my love affair with Dawn.

Anyway, after several months of school I was thinking about my upcoming birthday. I was born the day after Thanksgiving and we had a short week at school. I would be 11 soon and I thought of myself as the man in our house. Don't get me wrong, I never was rude or demanding to my mom, after all she was still my mom, but our roles changed slowly after my father died. My mother asked my opinion more often. She actually listened and considered my opinions too. I didn't realise it but she was slowly grooming me for adulthood. Even at 10 she was slowly letting me make the decisions of a man.

Thanksgiving, our first without my father, was a somber time. My mother cooked a small meal and I helped clean up. That night I heard her sobbing quietly in her bedroom.

As a family, my mother and I had gotten much closer. She was still mostly withdrawn and quiet. I would catch her sometimes staring out of the kitchen window with a tear running down her cheek. When I saw her in her moods I would come up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist and squeeze her gently. Usually, she would just put her hands over mine in silence. I knew she was still grieving but at my age I had no idea what else to do.

As I said my birthday was right after Thanksgiving. My mom asked me what I wanted. I wasn't interested in all the electronic toys that kids my age wanted. We had a dvd player that was seldom used and netflix was far into the future so I just told my mom to save her money and maybe just buy me some clothes and boots for the upcoming winter. She looked at me and quietly said, "Rafe, I'm sorry that you have to grow up so fast. If your father were here you would be doing things with him but now all you have is your old mother."

"Mom! You are not old. We will be okay together. Just you and I. Don't worry about me." I told her.

"My man. My sweet little man," She said with a quiver in her voice. I thought she might cry at any moment so I went to her and wrapped my arms around her. She leaned over and put her head on top of mine while she released her grief.

When the Christmas break came around I had two weeks off school so it was back to the Feed and Seed again with my mom. It was the off season for farming but that was when we received some of our next year's inventory. Charlie was usually busy making sure that the stock rooms were clean and well organised, stock needed to be rotated so a helping hand was always welcome. We worked well together, I tried to do most of the lower work because he was so tall and I'm sure his back appreciated that.

We were taking a mid morning break on the dock when I brought up the subject of my mom and her mostly silent grieving. Charlie was thoughtful for a minute. And said, "Everybody grieves differently. Your parents had a lifelong love affair. Neither planned to be alone at such a young age. Your mom is only in her thirties and still very young. My point here Rafe is that you and your mother should remember the good things about your father and use the love that you had for him to become closer to each other. She is very vulnerable right now. She will need every bit of love and understanding that you can give her."

I looked at my friend and said, "Thanks Charlie. You helped a lot."

Spring was in the air. The local farmers were busy with the planting and calving season. The feed and seed temporally extended their hours and life was rolling along.

My mom had put her sad moods away and I could hear laughter coming from the office occasionally. Old man Winters was spending more time in the office than normal but if he could bring my mom out of her funk then I was okay with that. Charlie and I had the dock handled when I was out of school and life was good. I would be starting my summer break soon. Charlie was teaching me the basic operation of the mill and the way to complete each 'recipe' for the feed.

I was thinking of Dawn more frequently also. She would spend her summer again with her Aunt Rose. I didn't want anyone to know but I was aching to kiss my girlfriend again. Every time I remembered that kiss I felt those flutters in my gut all over again. I didn't know when she would be released from her school for the summer and I was afraid to ask so I just waited patiently for my girl. A few weeks later my wish came true.

When she arrived it was rather anticlimactic. I was out of school and would be at the mill full time. I was about to begin my day with Charlie and my back was to the office. Suddenly I got a whiff of her scent and I turned to see my red haired and freckled girl. My eyes must have bugged out as I took in the change to her body.

Dawn had boobs now. To be honest they were not that big yet but there was definitely bumps there where nothing had been there before. We quickly scanned each other in that way that everyone thinks is not obvious but really is. We had the deepest conversation then.

"Hi Rafe."

"Hi Dawn. So your here for the summer?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, sit with me for lunch?"

"Sure."

"Okay see you then?"

"See you then."

Romantic stuff, huh?

Dawn and I spent the summer together as much as we were able. We found a secluded spot to kiss and used it as often as we could and we slowly discovered our bodies. She let me touch her little buds but only on the outside. We were in love.