Barney had to be careful not to speed. He was so excited to get to his destination, but needed to curtail his emotion.
His rusty, 1970 Vista Cruiser Station Wagon, a car he shared with his mom, sounded like it might stall at any moment, but it kept puttering along, much the same way young Barney Bussett displayed such a persistence in accomplishing his task. His solo expedition was about to be rewarded. With a simple sign.
"Welcome to Dripping Springs," the boy said triumphantly as he read aloud the message on the old green and white road sign. "Ah, Gateway to the Hills of Texas...I made it. I can't believe I'm here."
The two-hour car ride was well worth it. Barney was making - what he felt was - a very important trip.
"The birthplace of my goddess," he said happily aloud.
It was a dry and windy day, as clouds of dirt and dust blew across the deserted road. But to Barney, everything about it was warm and welcoming.
And his car pushed along as the boy read from a piece of note paper bearing specific directions.
********************
Back in Temple, the Parker house was full of spirit.
Carrie and daughter Janet sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast with Ms. Krendall and daughter Madison, getting into a heated but all-the-while friendly discussion about local politics.
"She wasn't born in Texas," Carrie repeated for the up-teenth time, with much more emphasis. "If you weren't born in Texas, then you're not a Texan."
"Jeez, Mom, that's kind of smug," Janet kidded her mom, as the girl popped another home fry into her mouth.
"I'm not saying you can't LIVE here," Carrie stressed. "It's just...if you want to run for mayor, then I feel you should have lived here your whole life."
Carrie was at her best, and looking her best. She loved a good debate, and sat confidently at the table, casual in a pair of khaki shorts and a white cotton tee.
Rebecca Wanstedt was the woman that had become such a topic of discussion at the Parker kitchen table on this lovely morning. Ms. Wanstedt was running for mayor of Temple, and she was also a dear friend of Krendy's.
Although Carrie supported some of Wanstedt's policies and plans to improve the town, she couldn't get past the simple fact she was a transplant from Oklahoma City.
The issue shed light on Carrie's love of Texas, and Temple, and of course her family in particular. She always wanted to protect herself and her loved ones against any outside influences that could change their dearly-treasured way of life.
"I swear, Carr," Krendy told her friend, calling her Carr for short as she often did, even in a small but intense debate like this one. "If you would just give her a chance, you would love her. She could really make Temple better."
"Easy for you to say - you live in Houston," Carrie fired back gusto, smiling as she took a bite of crispy, buttered toast.
"I pleaded with her to move to Fall Creek - when they were starting that new development," Krendy argued, as the two young girls at the table rolled their eyes at one another, hoping this political discussion would soon end. "I would have loved to have her as a neighbor. God, you're lucky she lives out your way now."
Somewhat bored by the discussion, Janet and Maddy entertained themselves by making funny faces at one another. It was a spirited way to start the day.
But their mothers, however, were still caught up in their discussion.
"What would you say if I set up a meeting between you two, with you and Rebecca?" Krendy suggested to Carrie, proud that she had such pull with the mayoral candidate.
"Fine. If it will make you happy, Krendy, I'm all for it," Carrie teased, taking her plate and some of the other dishes over to the sink.
Deborah took that as a moral victory, but wasn't satisfied.
"What do you girls think? Are you as stubborn as my dear friend here, and wouldn't vote for Ms. Wanstedt simply because she's not a native Texan, or are you more liberated and advanced in your thinking and would realize she is simply the best person for the job, regardless of her place of birth?" Krendy asked, speaking both fluently and confidently.
"Krendy, dear, please don't break your ankles when you're getting down off your soap box," Carrie teased her buddy.
Deborah, in turn, tossed a wash cloth at her longtime chum.
"I'd vote for her," Maddy simply said, running her hand along her right leg, enjoying the feel of her cotton pajama bottoms.
"There, ya' see?" Krendy responded. "And what do you think, Janet?"
Carrie's precocious daughter, who was busy running her hands through her hair as she pondered how to wear it on this day, was somewhat caught off guard by the question.
"I don't know, Aunt Deb," she mumbled, tossing another home fry into her mouth. "I can't vote."
Both of the girls, still dressed in their PJ's, kept cracking smiles at one another, basically saying 'why are they asking us such serious questions. It's summer time for crying out loud?!'
"Hypothetically, darling," Krendy persisted. Janet took a deep breath and exhaled, groaning a bit, and then brought her hands down from her hair, letting them loudly smack her thighs.
"Um. I have to stick with my mom on this one - gotta have Parker unity," the girl said, smiling at her mother. "If she's not born here, then...I can't vote for her."
Krendy's persistence hadn't resolved anything - the issue was still split amongst the four present.
"Oh fooey, then we have a draw," she said.
Knowing that there wasn't likely to be anyone else weighing in on the topic, Krendy tried to change the opinion of the ones in the room.
"Carr, look at me, she was born in Oklahoma, 10 miles from the border mind you, then moved to Galveston when she was five - oh you're not even listening," Krendy laughed. "I give up."
Carrie, her lovely figure perfectly accentuated by her summertime attire, finished washing some of the dishes and now dried her lovely hands with a paper towel.
"Just let it go, Deb," she told her friend. "That's enough debating for today."
Krendy, for the moment, decided to be passive. She crossed her right leg over the left one, fidgeted with her skirt for a moment, and took a sip of her mint-flavored tea. But goodness, the issue was eating away at her.
Only a few moments of silence followed before Krendy pushed the friendly argument further.
"We need a tiebreaker," she said aloud. The women knew there was one more person in the Parker household that morning, possibly still in his bed, asleep. But he had become a very celebrated and popular figure, even in his absence.
"Where's Dick?" Maddy asked with a big smile. Janet grinned happily at her friend, as they both thought the same thing. Their minds dwelled on Richard's sexy, naked form.
Carrie and Ms. Krendall smiled as well, glad that Richard was again a topic of discussion. But Carrie knew this wasn't a topic Richard would really want to weigh in on.
"Oh I don't think Dick would care one way or the other," the lovely brunette had to admit, knowing enough about the interests of 18-year-old males to realize this would not be a conversation he'd be passionate about.
But as if on cue, the sound of footsteps came down the stairway and into the kitchen, and the women smiled at each other as they knew who was about to make his first appearance of the day.
"Dick!" Madison said happily as she saw the young man stride into the room.
Madison then saw Richard's naked, tan body, and she showed her appreciation with laughter and applause.
He still had a natural tendency to at first cover his privates with his hands, but as his days of training wore on - and he also realized that the women had already seen him naked on multiple occasions anyhow - his hands quickly fell by his sides, and his large penis was unveiled for all to see. "That's so great," Maddy said aloud. "Every day - just walks around in only his birthday suit."
"Why shouldn't he?" said Madison's mom, as she then aimed her glance in Richard's direction.
Krendy then took a quick look around the kitchen, seeing that the three women - and especially the girls - all had eager grins on their pretty faces, hoping that Krendy - given her suddenly brazen nature the night before - might voice her appreciation for Richard's full-frontal nudity. And she did not disappoint.
She looked back over at Richard, crossed her legs, slapped her knee and offered the young man one piece of advice.
"Why dontcha just let that big dork swing free."
The room erupted into laughter, and Krendy had found a new passion.
She loved being the one making the crude remarks, craved the attention and adulation it brought her. She had worked so hard her entire life to maintain such a pristine, matronly image. And now she affectively played off that image so well, making comments that were both funny and sometimes of a frank nature, and these amusing comments were so delightfully surprising when they came from her mouth.
Krendy was affectively diversifying her personality. She could be the most well-spoken woman in the room, and then seconds later be the life of the party. Her candid remark about Richard's anatomy also was a refreshing break from the political chatter that had begun to bore Janet and Madison.
"I have to say - you are frickin' huge," Maddy said with an adorable laugh.
Young Richard, as he had come to do often in the past week, proudly swung his hips, gently making his large organ sway from side to side.
"Oh, brother. Hon, have you ever considered calling the Temple Historical Society?" Krendy asked, poking a bit of fun as she bit into her jellied toast with an audible crunch. "I'm sure in their rows and rows of books and ledgers containing all kinds of news and nuggets about the area, they could find a place to make mention of the possible record-breaker you got there."
Janet and Madison burst out laughing.
"No, I'm serious," Krendy persisted, with a chuckle, gesturing to Richard's huge, dangling organ, its flaccid state bigger than most erections. "I mean, sheesh..."
Carrie heard their colorful comments, but gave them only passing thought because she knew Richard was not one to boast about his size.
"We'll all agree to say it's a whopper, and leave it at that," Carrie smiled, as she casually glanced down at Dick's enormous penis, and placed a plate of eggs, sausage and home fries down at his place at the table.
"It's a big, healthy, beautiful penis," Krendy added with a grin, as Richard's aforementioned organ fell out of sight underneath the table.
