When Lyle Quigley went to the grocery store that afternoon in June, he was expecting to pick up a few things he wife asked him to pick up and get back to enjoy the peaceful solitude of his house while the wife was at work.
At 64 the retired railroad worker was a long way from the reckless man he had been once not long ago, but then he saw someone that brought back memories of those times, days that he had attempted to leave behind. Some people though, never really change, even though they thought they had.
***
When Lyle Quigley first noticed the young man staring at him from the other side of the produce section, a shiver went through his body when he thought he recognized the fellow, but then he relaxed when he realized that couldn't be him.
This fellow looked like Donald Morton alright, but Donald must be in his early 20's by now, whereas the muscular young fellow in question was in his teens. There was a resemblance though, and as Lyle sneaked peeks at the casually dressed boy he cursed his weakness bobbing to the surface once again.
This lad was a strapping young fellow, Lyle observed, even more physically impressive than his old protege Donald had been, and that was saying something, Lyle recalled.
The boy in the brightly colored tank-top had to be over 6' tall and if there was an ounce of fat on him Lyle couldn't detect it, and judging by the way Lyle was inspecting him the senior wasn't missing much.
Already sporting a tan, the outfit the lad was wearing showed off much of his wonderful physique, and Lyle gripped the handle of his cart as he took in those rippling shoulders and bronze biceps which bulged even more than young Donald's had back then.
The same could be said for the lad's thick thighs and muscular calves that the shorts did little to hide, and as Lyle savored the surprisingly thick coating of golden hair that covered those legs he knew that when he got home he would need to take another shower because he was working up a sweat in the cool produce section.
"Move along Lyle," the old man mumbled to himself as he navigated the cart around the displays to get away from the temptation. "Nothing for you here."
Actually, Lyle knew that was not the case because there certainly was something here for him here, but that was in the past. No more of that stuff. He had sworn to himself that those days were over. He wasn't a happily married man but at least he was a married man - and for the last couple years he had been true to those vows at last.
Lyle's efforts to beat a hasty retreat were hurt when an old lady blocked one avenue of escape, but then when Lyle worked around her his progress was stopped by that very young man he was trying to get away from. A brief do-si-do followed in the aisle, but as Lyle nervously smiled and tried to move to one side so the lad could get by he realized this wasn't an accidental meeting.
"Mr. Quigley?" the boy said, looking at the old man with a toothy smile and an amused expression.
"Why yes," Lyle mumbled as he looked at the rosy cheeked lad.
"I saw you looking at me from across the way..."
"Oh yes. Sorry. My mistake," Lyle said apologetically. "For a second I thought you were somebody I knew."
"You mean Donald?" the young man asked, and when Lyle couldn't mask his reaction he added, "He's my big brother. I'm Ricky Morton."
"Oh, I knew he had a brother but..."
"Yeah, I was too young to go over to your basement and play," Ricky Morton replied. "But when Donald told me about how much fun he had I wished I could."
"Oh yes, the trains," Lyle added quickly, the rather elaborate set up in the cellar that was originally a hobby but became a lure over time.
"I guess Donald liked the trains too," Ricky Morton said with a cutting tone. "He didn't tell me all that much about them though."
"Uh - how is Donald these days?" Lyle said as he looked for avenues of escape. "Lost track when your folks moved to the other side of town."
"He's great. Just graduated from college. As a matter-of-fact, I'm going to State myself come fall," Ricky said.
"That so? My how time flies," Lyle said. "Well, you tell your big brother I was asking about him."
"I will. You know, while I guess I'll always be Donald's baby brother, in a lot of ways he's the little one now - or at least littler."
"Yes, you are quite the strapping young man," Lyle agreed as he tried not to look and failed when the younger Morton ran his hand though his shaggy locks, the bulging bicep and the generous spray of golden hair in the pale hollow of Ricky's chiseled armpit that was exposed with the movement too irresistible to ignore.
After Lyle forced his eyes downward he was faced with the prospect of the ominous bulge in the boy's shorts, even more impressible because they were so baggy, so instead he tried to look at the lad's eyes.
"Guess I'm a little bigger all over," Ricky said bluntly, enjoyed the helpless look in the senior eyes. "Hard to believe isn't it?"
"Well it was nice meeting you," Lyle told him but Ricky held the cart handle on place.
"I want to see your train set Mr. Quigley," Lyle said as he looked at the produce in the top basket.
"Oh, I don't play with them much these days."
"My brother said you didn't play with them back then much either," Ricky deadpanned as he took the cucumber Lyle had selected and looked it over with an evil grin. "You still like the big ones, don't you Mr. Quigley?"
"My wife - she gave me a list," Lyle stammered, holding the note up for evidence.
"So why don't you get those few things so we can go see your trains?" Ricky pressed. "I really want to see them."
"My wife - if she's home she doesn't like the noise they make," Lyle lied.
"From what I was told she didn't mind it at all," Ricky replied. "Word was that she would stay upstairs because she was afraid of seeing a spider in the basement, and the sound of the trains running was loud enough to drown out your whimpering."
"Please. Those days are gone," Lyle almost begged. "I've atoned for my sins as best I can and have turned over a new leaf. Really."
"Your mouth says one thing but your eyes say another," Ricky said softly as another shopper went by, causing Lyle to curse himself silently. "Besides, with me you won't have to do any training. I already know what you like. Donald told me so many times I know it by heart, and coincidentally, I like the same things my big brother liked so much."
