Todd never knew he even had an uncle until after his grandma dropped dead one Saturday afternoon while he was working at Home Depot. Homo Depot, his neighbor Kelly used to call it and when he said that Todd would blush crimson. It was the only job he could find after graduating high school last spring and although he lay awake some nights (alright most nights) wishing some hot dude would find him back in the paint and wallpaper department and force him to do nasty things, Todd hadn't spotted one likely homo in the six months he'd worked there. Maybe he just didn't know how to look (cruise, they called it on the websites Todd visited), or maybe he wasn't attractive enough. He was blond and small, with pale skin. Everyone always said what a nice smile he had, a big slash of mouth and a wide jaw, although someone (was it Kelly?) used to call him trout mouth. No, he was good looking enough, he thought, and eager to please (as his manager had written on his quarterly employee evaluation) but no one passing through paints and wallpapers seemed interested in making Todd please them in any way he day dreamed about.
Then Grandma was gone and Todd learned about Uncle Rusty, who showed up late for the funeral and within hours had scoured the apartment to pack up Todd's few belongings in his pickup and then they were off to Rusty's house three states away. Rusty wasn't much of a talker and the hours passed by silently as Todd wandered why he'd never known about his mother's younger brother before. His grandma had been his father's mother, of course, and she never approved of Todd's mother (OK they hated one another). So they never talked about the woman who died shortly after Todd was three, much less any relatives she may have had. Rusty didn't look like Todd's mom at all. He was tall, at least six four and raw boned, with a shock of dark red hair on his head and, from what Todd could see, covering much of his chest as well. He wore jeans and a cowboy boots and Todd could see, when he dared to glance over, that the man must be used to hard work, manual labor. His body was hard under the cover of his clothes and the boy felt a little guilty as he began to fantasize what Rusty might look like stripped down and towering over a kneeling Todd.
Rusty's little conversation with the boy consisted mostly of descriptions about what the Todd would be expected to do, chores around Rusty's cabin that needed doing. When Todd allowed as how he could cook, Rusty simply said "Well, it looks like you'll be good for something, then" and turned his attention back to the road. After a few minutes, as if to make amends for his abruptness, Rusty said "I'm sure with a little training there'll be all sorts of ways you can be useful to me". Somehow the way he looked the boy in the eye sent a shiver down the Todd's spine.
They finally pulled off the interstate outside of Marion, and Rusty pulled into a truck stop that looked to Todd like it had been there from the fifties. A few rigs sat in the truck parking and a peeling sign said "Good Eats Truckers Welcome Rest Relax Clean Showers and Beds", but only a few trucks sat in the lot and the gas pumps were idle. Rusty said "We're almost home, but I got nothing in the kitchen, so we'll stop off and have dinner here". As they strode across the lot towards main building, Rusty informed Todd "This is one of the businesses I am part owner of, so I eat here often".
The man behind the counter gave Rusty a nod as they entered and sat at one of the booths, then brought over menus immediately. "Hey Rusty, where you been man?"
"Well, I had business out of town, Dimitri. This is my nephew, Todd. He got orphaned and I had to go pick him up and bring him back here. How's business?"
Dimitri stared at the boy a moment and then back to Rusty. "Business is about what it has been, pretty slow I'd say. Not surprising since I been working with one man down these past couple of months. You know how that goes".
"Yea", Rusty drawled, "Kip was good for business wasn't he? Still I'm sure something will come along. We'll have a couple of burger plates and beers".
"Kid don't look old enough to drink", Dimitri commented, but left it at that. After Dimitri left, Todd asked "Who was Kip?"
"Just some kid we had working here until a couple of months ago. Customers took a shine to him"
"What kind of work did he do"?
"Well we service the truckers who come along the interstate so you could say Kip serviced the truckers, kept things clean and neat in the quarters back there" He pointed to the door at the side of the diner labeled "Rest Rooms & Truckers Lounge. "You know, just providing what the long haulers need in the way of comfort".
"Well, I'm going to need a job, I guess. Do you think I could to that job? What does it pay?"
"Don't pay much, but if you do a good job the truckers can be generous with the tips. I'd have to talk to Dimitri about it. We'll see". When Dimitri brought the plates and beers Rusty turned to him "Dimitri, little Todd here says he might be looking for a job and wonders if we might be hiring. What to you think?"
"Well, he looks like he might work out, but he'd probably need to be broken in first." Dimitri turned to Todd and seemed to smirk. "It's a lotta work. Truckers can be very demanding, you know. There's a lot of truck stops along this route and you really have to give them the service they expect." Dimitri snickered then looked at Rusty and Todd began to feel like there was some secret joke going on.
Rusty cut in "Well, we'll have to see how it works out. For the time being I'll be keeping the boy pretty busy up at the cabin. Bring us another beer Dimitri".
Dimitri turned to Todd. "Hmm. Lucky to have someone like Rusty here to help you out. Your uncle's probably got a list for you as long as my big cock, ain't that right Rusty?" Dimitri went off to the kitchen laughing as Todd blushed uncomfortably and a silence hung over the table. When Dimitri brought back another two beers Todd looked at his uncle "I probably shouldn't have this. Grandma wouldn't have liquor in the house and I'm not used to it"
Rusty smiled "Go one, drink it up. We'll make a man of you yet" and clinked his bottle against the boy's. Todd took a long swig even though he was feeling light already and almost stumbled when they got back in the truck.
Within a couple of miles of local highway they turned off the road onto a long dirt driveway and approached Rusty's cabin. It was starting to get dark but Todd could see it had a nice porch and, while rustic, was bigger than he expected, with a couple of outbuildings off to one side. "Leave that stuff in the truck and we'll get it in the morning", Rusty said as he led the way into the cabin and headed for the kitchen, where he pulled two beers from the refrigerator, handing one of Rusty, then led him back out to a couple of chairs on the front porch. "You'll be sleeping in the room off the kitchen. And there's a bathroom there. My room's upstairs".
The boy nodded "Thanks, Uncle Rusty. I appreciate it"
"Well I wasn't to happy at first about having you here, but hell, it get's kinda lonely here sometimes" Rusty led the boy out onto the porch and they sat in the semi darkness lit by the one light over the entrance.
"You don't have a wife or girl friend?"
"Ain't never found a woman who could take me, I guess".
Todd laughed at the thought that a handsome guy like Rusty couldn't have any woman he wanted. "Aww, you don't seem like you're that bad to me. I bet plenty of women would like you, find you good company".
