Foundry Furnace

Please note: Although no incestuous contact occurs in this story, it does contain incestuous themes.

*****

Cole and I had been living together for about 6 months. After that first weekend fuckathon we hadn't spent a night apart. I had moved into his place and we considered ourselves an established couple. I'd told my folks about him during our weekly phone calls and they were anxious to meet him.

The weekend before Thanksgiving that year we were sitting in our living room, me reading a magazine while Cole read a book. The phone rang and when I answered it was my dad.

"Hey, Bud, I'm calling to see if you and Cole are going to make it up here for the holiday." he said.

"It's all set, we got extra days off at the foundry so that we can spend some time with you two." I replied.

"That's a relief, we were afraid you couldn't make it."

I heard him turn and relay the message to my mom and then she got on the phone. We talked for a minute and then she asked to speak to Cole. I was surprised, they'd never really talked before, and he'd always spoken with my dad.

I handed him the phone and I could hear both sides of the conversation by standing up close to him.

"Yes, Ma'am, this is Cole." he said.

"I wanted to make sure that you know you're welcome to come with Bud and spend the holiday with us." she said.

"He told me, Ma'am, and I do appreciate the invitation. I don't have any family to speak of, myself."

"Well, I'm expecting you to make yourself right at home." she replied. "I do need to ask you one thing, though."

"What would that be, Ma'am?" he asked, looking quizzically at me.

"Are you and my son having a sexual relationship?" she asked.

I could hear my father groan in the background and most of the color drained from Cole's face. That wasn't something that you talked about in polite company at the time, especially with your boyfriend's mom.

He audibly swallowed and said, "Well, yes Ma'am, we are."

"That's all I needed to know." she said. "Thank you for telling me. I wasn't sure if I should make up the big double bed in the guest room or the singles in Bud's old room. The guest room is a lot more comfortable and I wouldn't want to separate the two of you."

Cole was smiling, relieved, and my mom then said, "Put that son of mine back on the line."

When I was again holding the receiver she said, "I like that young man's manners. And he has a very nice voice. I can't wait to meet him. What time will you be getting here?"

"We're heading out early morning, two days before Thanksgiving." I said. "I don't expect there will be much traffic so we should pull in early afternoon. Can we bring you anything?"

"Just your big old selves." my mom said. "I can't wait to have the two of you home and safe under my roof."

* * * * * *

Cole and I pulled into my parents' driveway at just after noon on the appointed day. Before the car had even stopped, my dad was out on the porch to greet us.

"Is that your dad?" Cole asked.

"It sure is." I said and hurried toward him as he came down the steps.

Daddy grabbed me and hugged me so hard that I lost my breath, and then he kissed the side of my face and said, "I'm so glad to see you I could spit."

While daddy hugged me, Cole got out of the car and came up to us. Daddy let me free and turned to Cole, then wrapped him in a bear hug, too, while kissing his cheek. When he had squeezed him enough, he held him out to arm's length.

"You must be the famous Cole I keep hearing about." daddy said. "My son forgot to mention how damned handsome you are."

"I could say the same thing." Cole replied. "It's easy to see where that boy got his looks. It's a good thing I didn't meet the daddy before the son or I might have tried to break up your marriage."

"It's not nice to tease an old man." daddy said but I could see he was pleased.

While we talked, my mom came out onto the porch. I could tell immediately something was wrong, in the time I'd been away she'd lost weight and she just looked peaked. As we walked toward the porch, Cole looked at me behind daddy's back, cut his eyes at daddy and made a silent "Wow!" with his mouth.

When I hugged mom I could feel how thin she'd gotten, her bones even seemed to have shrunk.

She held my hand and said, "I've never been so happy to see anyone in my life. Introduce me to your friend here."

I introduced Cole and she gave him a good hard once over.

"You two go on in, I want to talk to Cole for a minute." she said.

With my heart sinking, I followed daddy into the house. We shut the door and both simultaneously glued our ear to the panels.

"I just want to know if you care about my boy." mom said.

"Well, sure." Cole replied. "He's my best friend."

"That's not what I mean. I mean do you CARE for my boy. You know what I'm asking."

Cole was silent for a moment and then he said, "Since you ask, I'd have to say I've never cared for anybody as much as I do him. I probably care more for him than I care about myself."

"God bless you, you sweet man." mom said and dad and I jumped to the other side of the room as she came through the door holding Cole by the hand.

When they were in the house, she turned and put her hand up to play with Cole's blond curls.

"My son surely found himself a looker." she said. "I can see why you caught his eye."

"More like he caught my eye, truth be told." Cole said.

"Well, you both look like a picture out of a magazine together. I feel like you just stopped in from Hollywood." daddy said.

My mom suddenly realized that dad and I were standing there and she said, "Get on with you two big lunks. I've got a tray all ready in the kitchen and I think the two of you can manage to tote it in here."

She still hadn't let go of Cole's hand and she pulled him toward the sofa in the living room saying, "You come in here and warm up and we'll talk. You must be cold after that long drive."

"I'm pretty cold after that long drive, too." I said to daddy.

"Let your mama have her new toy." he replied, ushering me into the kitchen.

When we returned to the living room, Cole and mom were sitting practically knee to knee, he on the sofa and she on the adjoining loveseat. She was holding both of his hands in her lap and they had their heads together, deep in conversation.

"I'm going to get jealous in just a minute," I said.

"Oh, hush." Cole replied. "You've had these folks all of your life, it's my turn, now."

We sat the tray down and they went back to their discussion. Daddy and I each poured ourselves a cup of coffee and when I walked over to the front window, he followed me.

"What's the matter with mom?" I asked in a low voice. "She doesn't look like herself."

"That's one of the reasons I wanted to see you." dad whispered. "I'll come and see you boys after she goes to sleep tonight."

The rest of the day sped by. Mom insisted on showing Cole the family albums and Cole insisted on laughing at the pictures of what a gawky little kid I'd been. There was a picture of my dad in his army uniform when he was young and Cole said, "Now there's a handsome heartbreaker if I ever saw one. I bet he had to beat the girls off of him with a stick."

"I did the beating and you see who was the last girl standing. "mom said as dad blushed.

"All I had to do was pick the prettiest and the sweetest." dad said. "The first time I laid eyes on your mother I said to myself, 'I'm going to marry that girl!'"

Around 8 o'clock mom yawned and said, "All of this excitement has worn me out. I think I'll make an early night of it."

"I'll think we'll do the same thing." Cole said. "Driving is harder than working."

Mom went on to bed and dad showed us upstairs.

"I'll be back in a little while." he said before he left.

Cole and I stripped down to our briefs and sat in bed talking.

"So, you like my parents?" I asked.

"I wish I had grown up with parents like that." he said. "And why didn't you ever tell me that your daddy is a hunk?"

"I guess I just thought that I was the only one who thought so." I replied.

I then told Cole the story that daddy had told me the night before I left town about how he had had a special male friend back during the war.

"It's easy to see why." Cole said. "That man still could turn heads at Hollywood and Vine."

About an hour later, daddy knocked and came into the room. Cole and I were sitting in bed with the blankets around our waists, bare chested, and I saw daddy look us both over and smile.

Cole had a set of weights in the basement at home and he and I usually spent part of each evening working out with them. It had made a difference and we both looked pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Daddy sat on the edge of the bed by me and said, "You already noticed the difference in your mother. You know she's always had a weak heart and I finally forced her to go to the doctor last week. It seems like it's gotten a lot worse."

"Is there anything we can do?" I asked.

"Her heart is just wearing out." daddy said. "She just needs to rest and avoid excitement and the doctor said her heart could last for years. I just wanted to tell you in person instead of over the phone."

"I'm glad you waited." I told my dad. "It doesn't seem so scary hearing it like this."

Daddy leant over and kissed me goodnight, then did the same with Cole.

"You boys get some rest." he said and got up to leave. He looked at us from the doorway and said, "Seeing the two of you there like that makes me wish I was twenty years younger and single. I'd jump right in there between the two of you."

"You wouldn't have to be any younger or more single for me to invite you in, either." Cole said. "The only thing stopping me is I'm afraid your son would chop my head off if I made a play for his daddy."

Daddy made a dismissive motion with his hand and shut the door behind him.

"And I might, too." I told Cole. "That is, unless you let me watch the two of you."

He grabbed my hand and placed it on his hardening cock.

"Now you're getting me all excited." he said. He slithered down under the covers and I could feel him pulling my briefs down and over my ankles.

"Maybe I'll just pretend this is your daddy's dick I'm sucking." he said from under the blankets.

* * * * * *

The next morning Cole and I were up before anyone else in the household. Cole had worked as a grill cook for awhile and he was anxious to start breakfast for the folks. By the time daddy came downstairs he had whipped up pancakes, sausage and eggs. I made the coffee.

Mom came bustling in behind daddy.

"I don't know how I could have slept so late." she said and promptly took over. Everything was prepared so all she needed to do was fix us plates and nag us to eat more.

"I want you boys to come by the shop later today." daddy said after he'd finished eating.

"I wondered how long you'd be able to stand it before you got your hands on those heads of hair." mom said to him. "You chop Cole's curls off and I'm going to lay into you with a two by four."

"I guarantee I won't cut them off. I'll make them look even better. I know just how these boys should be cut."

That's how, later that morning, we found ourselves sitting in daddy's shop. At first, the old timers were sort of cool but after daddy introduced Cole and said that he was staying over the holiday, they warmed up. I guess they were afraid they might get scalped.

I went first and daddy worked his magic. It was the best haircut I'd had since leaving town. I couldn't wait to see what he'd do with Cole and I wasn't disappointed. He cut his hair high and tight on the sides while taking only a little off of the top. The contrast of the loose curls on top with the sleek sides made him look like someone in a movie.

While daddy was doing his finishing touches, I told them I'd wait outside in the air. I was leaning against the front of daddy's shop when who should come out of the market next door but my old friend Troy. He visibly gulped when he saw me but then he walked up to me.

I heard the bell on daddy's door jingle just as I said, "Hello, Troy."

Cole stepped up next to me and he said, "Is this the famous Troy?"

He grabbed his head between his hands and was planting a sloppy kiss on Troy's forehead, just as Marcy walked out of the next door shop.

"What are you doing to him?" she screeched.

"And this must be the dainty Marcy." Cole said. "I was hoping I'd run into you two. You're my two new favorite people and I wanted to thank you both."

Troy and Marcy both looked at Cole as if he'd gone mad.

"If you two hadn't been such ignorant assholes, Bud would probably never have left this town and I never would have met him. I've waited for a man like him all of my life and thanks to you two, I found him and I'm never letting him go."

"We got married!" Marcy screeched, looking triumphant.

"Do tell." Cole said. "Has Troy started coming home late every night, yet?"

You could tell by the look on both of their faces that Cole had guessed right.

"I hate to break it to you, hon, but your husband is late because he's out looking for dick. If you hadn't been such a crazy, vindictive bitch, he and Bud would have just carried on together. Now you're never going to know who he's getting fucked by."

Troy had turned bright red and Marcy looked like a cobra that was about to attack.

"We're going to have a baby!" she screeched.

"I'd put that on hold if I were you, sister. Divorces are a lot easier to get when no kids are involved. Besides, I bet you and he aren't fucking nearly as much as you used to."

Now Troy and Marcy were both bright red and I knew that Cole was right again. Before Marcy could do anymore of her screeching I heard the bell on daddy's shop door again and he was standing between me and Cole.

"I see you've already met Bud's friend Cole." he said to Troy and Marcy as he wrapped an arm around each of us. "Isn't he a handsome man? He and Bud look like a pair of movie stars together."

He turned to me and said, "Your mom just called and she wants you two to bring home a pint of ice cream. She knows that apple pie is Cole's favorite and she just took one out of the oven and she wants him home to eat it while it's still warm."

He turned back to Troy and Marcy and said, "My wife and I just dote on these boys. Having Cole join the family is like gaining another son, without all of the mess."

He leant over and kissed Cole on the cheek, then did the same to me.

"It's true." I said. "I'm getting jealous because I think they love Cole as much as I do."

Troy and Marcy alternately looked furious, sick in the stomach and just plain frustrated.

"You fellows hurry on home now and don't keep mom waiting." daddy said.

We squeezed past Troy and Marcy and went next door and bought a pint of ice cream, then walked back toward the house.

We were about halfway home when Cole said, "You love me, huh?"

I didn't know what to say, I hadn't meant to blurt that out.

"It's okay, asshole, the feeling is mutual. I'm just glad to hear it." Cole said.

"I've never felt like this about anyone before." I said.

"Me neither, so we'll have to just roll with the punches. But nobody could ever come between us." Cole said, and then he got a devilish grin. "Except maybe your daddy. All he'd have to do is give me the glad eye once and I'd be on my knees."

I punched him, hard, on his bicep as we both laughed and then I said, "I'm going to be keeping my eye on you two. If I see you sneaking off together, I'm following."

* * * * * *

That Thanksgiving was the best I'd ever had. My folks and Cole got on like a house on fire and we were both sad to leave and go back to work.

We had an interesting experience the week after Thanksgiving. Every Friday was payday and we all went up to the office to pick up our checks. Cole and I usually went together and this Friday we were alone in the office with the foundry owner.

"I see that you two have the same address on your checks." he said.

"That's right, we share an apartment." I replied.

"Is it just the apartment or is there more than that between the two of you?" he asked.

I could feel Cole swelling with anger beside me and he said, "Since you asked and if it's any of your business, yeah, there's a whole lot more between us."

The foundry owner grinned and said, "Calm down, son. I'm not asking just to be nosy."

He sat back in the chair and said, "You've never met my friend Billy, have you? He used to work here years back but that was before your time. Anyway, that was how we met. We share a house together, now. He mainly stays home and takes care of all of the bookkeeping and paperwork while I run the shop.

Maybe you fellows would like to come over to dinner some night. We don't get out much and it would be really nice to have some friends that we have something in common with."

We not only went, we had a great time and made it a frequent event.

That Christmas we spent the holidays with my folks again and even Cole noticed the change in my mom. It was as if she was just slowly fading away. She looked like one of those spun glass figures, like she could shatter from a strong wind.

The call that I had been dreading and expecting came in the middle of the night in mid-May.

When I answered my daddy said, "Bud, your mother is gone."

"How did it happen?" I asked.

"It was a blessing." he said. "She just slipped away in her sleep. The doctor said she probably never even knew it when she left. I was lying beside her and she just stopped breathing, it was that fast."

"Daddy, I'm so sorry I wasn't there."

"Well, I need you now, son. I need you and Cole to come home."

"As soon as I call my job we'll be on the road. You just wait for us; we'll be there this morning. I love you daddy."

"And I love you, too. I need you with me."

After I'd hung up I told Cole the news. He took it harder than me, it was the first time I'd ever seen him cry.

While we waited for a decent hour to call the foundry owner, I placed a call to my grandpa. Daddy's father lived further east in West Virginia. He'd been a coal miner most of his life but now he was retired and living on a pension. He lived in a furnished room in a boarding house and when I called, the landlady was a real bitch until I told her it was an emergency.

When grandpa finally came on the line I told him what had happened.

"Who's with my boy?" he asked. "Is he there all alone?"

"We're leaving at sunup and we'll be there in mid-morning." I said. "It came as a complete surprise."

"You tell my boy I'll be there as soon as can be. I need to find a way; I got rid of my old car. But I'll be there come hell or high water. You said we. Is your boyfriend coming with you?"

"Of course he is." I said. I wasn't really sure how grandpa would feel about that.

"He'll be a comfort to your daddy." grandpa said. "I've heard a lot about this boy and I look forward to meeting him."

"We'll see you there." I said and hung up.

When I told the foundry owner what had happened there was no problem with me and Cole taking time off.

"Take a week and if you need more, just call and let me know. I'm sorry for your loss." he said.

It wasn't quite light when we hit the road and it seemed like time moved slowly as molasses. After what seemed like days we finally pulled into daddy's driveway.

Daddy was out the door and at the car before I could open the door. He wrapped his arms around me and said, "I'll be alright now." He opened one arm so that Cole could share the hug and said, "My two boys are just about the only thing I needed to get me through this."

Cole and I were both crying and hugging daddy while covering his face with kisses until finally he said, "You boys stop now or you'll have me bawling. Let me look at the two of you."