Tank's Farewell

[Some of you have never known a man like Tank. I had the privilege. Perhaps this story of fiction mixed with events and feelings quite real will give you a glimpse into what Tank meant to me. I'm putting the story in Romance because from 1968 on it really was love.]

*

Weather.com gave me the bad news. The drive to Tank's funeral wasn't going to be fun. There was a big storm moving into the area between Salt Lake and the little town in South Dakota where he was being buried. The woman talking on the video said the storm would be dropping almost three feet of snow.

Mrs. Good-Times, my wife of thirty-six years, had already said she wasn't going and didn't see why I wanted to go. I explained it to her but she either was more dense or less caring than her usual self and said I was an ass. Tank had saved my ass three times in a year in South East Asia. He had a small piece of lead in his shoulder from the third time. Yeah, I was going. I'd catch and recatch hell for it, but I was going.

My truck already had the snow tires on. I had Mike at the station give it a fresh shot of anti-freeze and change the belts and hoses. He also changed the oil and checked everything else. I'd known Mike for almost thirty years and we served on a couple community service organizations helping kids over the years. He agreed to cover for me at the food bank on Saturday. I went to the market and bought emergency food, just-in-case rations. I boxed them and put them inside the cab high shell over the bed of my pick up. Two packing blankets, a big thermos of coffee, me, dressed like Nanok of the north and I was ready to go. Six hundred and seventy miles in three days was the goal.

Mrs. I'm-Happy-to-be-rid-of-him saw me off in her housecoat and slippers, without leaving the kitchen table or standing for her Good-Bye kiss. As I left town I used my cell to call our kids and they each said I was nuts to drive seven hundred miles to say good-bye to a dead guy. Sharon, the oldest even used the same tone of voice and words her mother had used. What was it people say about the fruit not falling far from the tree? I sometimes think Sharon was a graft directly from her mother.

As I drove east I thought a lot about Tank, Willi, Mike and Jose. Four men I spent a year with, not by choice but they were good companions and all five of us came back alive. Now that Tank was gone I was the last one still alive. Forty years since we came back and four funerals. I'd been at every one. Charlotte, my wife, had gone to the first funeral. She hated it and never went to any of the others.

Near home I always listened to the Oldies station on the radio. As I drove east I had the truck radio on that same station. Every fifteen minutes they gave the trucker's weather report. When I was seventy miles from home it started snowing. No biggy, I thought. It was light snow and dry. It came down at a slight angle and blew along the ground. I turned on the truck lights and cut my speed a little.

Two hours later the guy on the radio started sounding concerned. Two big rigs had fallen over up ahead. I'd still get by but the four lane was now one. When the traffic backed up and slowed to a crawl I looked at the map and decided I'd stop in Rock Springs. When I got to Rock Springs the weather guy said, "The storm will continue to intensify and by eight o'clock he expected the main roads to be closed. "Get off the road and hunker down. Once the roads close they probably won't open for three days."

"Shit!" I said. Before I left home they expected the storm to barrel through and be gone by morning. Now it looked like three days in Rock Springs, Wyoming. I saw a big hotel ahead and pulled in.

The people at the front desk gave me a big room on the third floor. Same price as a room with just one bed, but my room had two king sized beds. I used their luggage cart and hauled in my supplies. I was ready.

In my room I opened the drapes and saw that I was looking east. The storm was blowing from the west so I had a good view of the snow blowing off the roof and away from my side of the building. It wasn't pretty but better than the view on the other side of the building.

I watched the parking lot filling up. At about five-thirty I went downstairs to the restaurant and had dinner. When I went back to my room I used my new cell phone and called the wife. She laughed at me. "I told you not to go. Tank's already cold, he doesn't care if you come to the funeral. Well, enjoy your stay in Dip Shit Wyoming." She hung up before I could give her my retort, "Blow me!"

I watched TV for a while and kept the drapes open so I could see the storm outside. I expected to be bored silly by the time the storm freed us. I was wrong.

At almost ten-thirty the phone next to my bed rang.

"Mr. Peterson, this is the front desk. We need you to come down to the desk, please."

"What's up?"

"The storm has brought us more people that we can normally accommodate. We need to make some changes and we need to have a conversation with you and some others who have rooms like yours."

"Ok, I'll be down."

When the elevator doors opened I thought I was at a convention. A man standing just outside the elevator directed me to a room just off the crowded lobby. When all the guests they had invited to the meeting were in the room someone closed the doors and a man wearing the sport coat logo of the hotel stepped to a microphone and spoke to us.

He told us all about the storm and how the hotel wanted to help as many people as they could to remain inside and as comfortable as possible. That would mean that they were asking us to share our rooms with the people in the lobby. They would make every effort to let us choose who we shared with, and not cause divorces or murders in the process. Some laughed but we all understood what he was saying.

He outlined how the process would go. He would call us out of the room and into the lobby one at a time, in room number order. We would say how many people we could take and then people would step forward. If we accepted them the hotel staff would assist in getting their things and them to our room.

I sat and got comfortable. They were going in room order. I was on the third floor. Many people went to talk to the guy up front. I heard some of the conversations. A woman traveling alone who had a room with two queen beds wanted to know if she had to accept a man into her room. The answer was no, but she might be asked to take three women, two in the first round but she might get a call later if they needed a bed for another woman.

A man asked if he could take a woman to share his room with one king bed. The answer surprised me. "If one volunteers, yes, you can accept."

One by one room numbers were called and people left the room. By midnight there were about thirty-five of us left in our room. My room number was 312. When they called 311 I saw two large truckers stand and walk through the doors. Those men needed a queen bed each!

My number was called. I walked into the lobby. It looked to me like the numbers would work out about right.

The man with the microphone asked if there were any questions anyone wanted to ask me. A man asked, "How many beds in your room?"

"Two king sized." The man with the microphone answered.

A woman asked, "Are you married?" Some laughed. I held up my left hand and said, "My wife is not traveling with me." More laughter.

"Are you a Christian?" Another woman asked. I nodded. She walked up to me and whispered, "I've got two daughters traveling with me. Would we be safe with you?" I nodded again.

She faced the man with the microphone and said, "We'll accept him, if he'll accept us." I hadn't seen the daughters but I said, "Sure." The woman hooked my arm and we moved through the thinning crowd towards the elevators. A bellman followed us with a luggage cart filled with soft luggage. It wasn't until we got in the elevator that I saw the daughters. One word says it all: HOT!

Mom was wearing an overcoat and hat so I had no idea what she looked like, really. The teen daughters were dressed warmly in jackets, tights, skirts and boots.

On the way up to the third floor I was introduced to the daughters. Teri and Ayla. On the way down the hall to 312 I asked Mom if she had a name or was "Mom" it?

The oldest daughter, Teri said, "Her name is Crystal. Crystal Franklyn. We're going to South Dakota and we're supposed to be there tomorrow. We won't make it in time."

I opened the door and they swarmed inside. I asked the girls to go into the bathroom and allow the bellman to deposit the luggage in the room. I gave him a ten when he was done and he left. The girls came out and looked the place over. Crystal asked how I wanted them to set up.

I sat on the bed, on the side I wanted as mine. I said, "Ladies, as long as I have a path to the bathroom and this side of the bed, you can put your things anywhere you'd like. When I announce a need for the bathroom I don't mean in twenty minutes. I mean either move quickly or in one minute you will have company."

They hung their jackets in the closet. That gave me my first look at the three women I was living with. Teri was thin and moved like she had taken dance lessons for years. She seemed proud of her chest and her legs. Ayla wasn't proud of anything. She didn't stand as tall as her sister, wasn't as busty and her hair said "tom-boy". Crystal was all woman. Standing in the elevator I was aware she was slightly taller than my wife. Dancing she would have her head on my shoulder not against my chest. Her large breasts moved nicely inside the dark blue sweater she was wearing. Her legs sprang from slim hips and a pair of ski pants.

"Do you have kids?" Ayla asked.

"Nope, not anymore. They grew up and moved away. Sharon is thirty--three, Della is thirty and Nick is twenty-five."

"You on your way to see them?"

"No. On my way to say good-bye to an old friend."

"Oh. Sorry." Crystal said.

"I invited them to join me for a couple days, but they turned me down. I understand. They have their own lives."

The girls started hanging things in the closet and getting their things organized for a two day stay. Crystal and I watched.

"Crystal, I have a recommendation. Pretty soon every vending machine in the hotel will be empty and stay empty until we're history. I recommend you take all the ones and change you have and buy anything you're willing to eat. The restaurant downstairs will run out of food before dawn, I'd guess."

Crystal and her daughters gathered their money and went in search of food and drinks.

While they we gone I took a shower and shaved. I figured Crystal and I would be in bed together soon and even though I had no immediate hope of any action I wanted to be smooth and smell good. I was dressed again when they returned.

"That was a good idea, Mr. Peterson." Teri said as she dumped her armload of goodies on the bed. "We didn't know what you liked so we just got lots of things."

"In the closet I have a box of things I bring on the road with me when I travel. We can share."

One look at the clock and I said, "It's really late. I recommend we get some sleep. I also recommend you each shower before bed. I doubt if housekeeping will change the sheets in the morning. If we go to bed clean the sheets will still be Ok two days from now."

"Who goes first?" Ayla asked.

"I do," I said. "I did, while you were shopping."

"Ayla, Teri get your things and get in there. Take no more that two minutes each. I think the hotel may run out of hot water and I want some before it does." Crystal waved the girls into the bathroom.

Four minutes later I said, "I'm sure they will hurry better if you join them in the bathroom. I'll cover my face so they can get from the bathroom to their bed."

She opened her suitcase and looked inside. "Shit!" I heard under her breath.

"Problem?"

"Do you have a t-shirt I could borrow?"

"No nightgown?"

"No."

"Inside my brown duffel. There's a blue, a green and an orange one. Take your pick."

She picked green. When she was inside the bathroom I stripped down to my boxers and slid into bed. I wondered how Crystal would look wearing my t-shirt.

A minute later I heard Ayla ask, "Mr. Peterson, are you looking?"

"No. Do you want me to?"

"No!" Teri answered.

I put a pillow over my face and called out, "Ok, I'm not looking."

I heard the door open and them scampering into the other bed. When they were in and covered Ayla said, "Ok. You can look."

I looked and felt a stirring in my boxers. We heard the water shut off and Crystal muttering.

"Didn't you hang up your towels?" I asked.

"I forgot." Ayla said.

"Then tomorrow you'd have a dirty wet towel to use. I'm pretty sure Crystal hung the towels up. Perhaps you could thank her when she comes to bed."

"You aren't our Dad." Teri said.

"You're right. And, if you think about it you'll see that I'm also right."

I shut off the bedside lamp. Crystal opened the bathroom door and came into the bedroom. Reflected light came in through the window giving barely enough light for Crystal to get to the bed without tripping or falling. She climbed in and I heard Ayla said, "Thanks for picking up our towels, Mom."

Crystal said, "I started to, and changed my mind. If you want wet, dirty towels tomorrow why would I stop you from having just that?"

Teri asked in a hurt tone, "You mean our towels are still on the floor?"

"Yup!" Crystal turned to face me and whispered, "I heard you."

Teri jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. She ran back in a few seconds. Back in bed she said, "I didn't pick up your towel either."

Ayla ran to the bathroom and was back in seconds. She said, "Thanks a lot, Teri ."

I said, "Thanks to both of you. That was a nice show."

Crystal and I laughed while the girls were embarrassed. Things calmed down and we fell asleep to the sounds of the wind outside. Sometime in the night my bladder made an urgent demand that I answered by getting out of bed and using the bathroom. When I walked back into the bedroom a feminine voice said, "Nice show!"

"You're welcome." I whispered. When I got back in bed Crystal moved and in seconds she was spooned back against me. Looking past her I could just see snow bowing away from us against a lightening sky.

When I woke up Crystal was still backed up against me. My arm was over her and held her gently. Her breathing was soft and slow. She was content to be held just as I was holding her. I wondered how far away they would be able to hear the explosion if my wife were to walk in at this very moment. I also wondered why she'd be upset. She hadn't spooned with me in years. She wanted to sell or give away our queen sized bed and get twin beds!

For as long as my bladder would allow I stayed right there holding this woman I didn't hardly know. Savoring the warmth, the soft feeling of her ass against me, her back against mt chest and the smell of her hair. When the urge to purge got strong I moved an inch. I was going to move all the way out of bed and head for the bathroom, but when I moved that inch she stirred and her hand put mine over her breast and held it there. Our arms were under the blankets so I was pretty sure our two teen chaperones couldn't see what was happening.

I waited a long time before my bladder demanded I move or wet both of us. My hand squeezed her breast once and then withdrew. I rolled to my other side and got up, harder than I had been in years. My morning wood was back! Crystal was the inspiration.

As I slowly closed the bathroom door I heard two youngsters giggle. I'd been seen.

To minimize noise I sat, drained my radiator and flushed. By then I was limp and able to open the door without fear of them seeing something I didn't want them to see. They acted asleep until I was back in bed.

I faced Crystal's back and heard Ayla ask, "You like sleeping with Mom?" She whispered.

I nodded.

"You don't snore. Our Daddy used to snore." Ayla said.

"Grandpa was worse than Daddy." Teri said.

"Shhhhh. Crystal's still asleep."

"I'm hungry." Ayla whispered.

"Get dressed. Take twenty dollars out of my wallet and go see if you can get breakfast."

In almost total silence the two got dressed and took the twenty. They opened the door and closed the door with only the barest of noise, until the door clicked loudly as they were locked out. I could see the plastic key card on the night stand.

Crystal turned to face me and asked, "How do you feel about kissing first thing in the morning?"

"Depends. If it's one kiss or many. If it's limited to lips only or can I explore? Am I giving or giving and receiving?"

"I'd like it if the kissing went all the way home. I haven't been kissed in three years by anyone except those girls and my Dad."

We moved slowly and our mouths met. Just a second later her mouth opened a little and I was tongue touched. I gave her mine and she reached between us and found my interest rising.

"Is that for me?"

"Yes! If, you want it."

"Can you be gentle?"

"If that's what you want." I moved.

She moved and the instant my cock touched her opening I asked, "What about birth control?"

"When Ayla was born He paid the doctor to tie me off. She was six before I found out." Her hands helped me inside her. Then she held my hips and lifted her legs. My hips wanted to go fast. My head and heart wanted to go fast. She had asked for slow and gentle. We mated slow and gentle.

"Oh sweet Jesus, that feels so good! I'd almost forgotten how good sex can be."

"Me too."

Her eyes opened and she said, "Your wife doesn't like sex?"

"When we first got together I thought she would wear it out! Then she had kids and said, "I'm done. Pick a day of the month and you can screw me that day, but only that day and only once."

"God! I love how this feels. You fit perfectly."

"Do you like oral sex?"

"I don't swallow! Ever!"

"I don't mean giving I mean getting."

"No man has ever been there. They think it's disgusting. Don't you?"

I pulled back until I was out of Crystal, slid back down the bed and buried my face in her wetness. Instantly her hands grasped my head and she moaned. My hands lifted her legs, tilting her pussy up for better access to her treasures.

Four orgasms later she was done. Limp, wiped out, wasted. I didn't need to cum to be able to say this was the best sex of the last twenty years. I helped Crystal out of bed and into the shower. When we came out there was a knock on the door. I pulled on my Levis and opened the door. Teri said, "We've been knocking for ten minutes! Are you both deaf?" She brushed past me and Ayla followed her in.

Crystal came out of the bathroom in my t-shirt, wet hair, a towel wrapped around her waist. Ayla took one look and said, "They had sex! They showered together and that's why they didn't hear us."

"What did you have for breakfast?" I asked.

"Pancakes and sausages. They also had cold cereal but the only milk they have is buttermilk. Ugh!"

Crystal said, "Turn on the TV. See what the storm is doing."

It came on in the middle of the weather report. We gleaned that the major part of the storm had passed Rock Springs and was hovering over Rawlins.

"Crap. Even if the sun comes out we can't go. It needs to be clear all the way to grandpa's."

"Where is grandpa's?"

"A little town called Hot Springs, South Dakota." Crystal said, looking right in my eyes. I looked at her for a long time before I said anything. I turned to Ayla and asked "Do you live in Rock Springs or just grandpa?"

She looked at Crystal before answering. Crystal answered for her. "We have been living in Provo, but when Grandpa died and I asked for a week off for the funeral my boss said I could go, but when I came back my job would belong to someone else."