Between a Rock and a Hard Place

By R. L. Keller

Chip Morton walked into the bedroom in the big old farmhouse that had been his for as long as he could remember. But now instead of one bed it held two twin beds, an adjustment newly made to accommodate him bringing his roommate at the Naval Academy at Annapolis home this, their first year, for Christmas. They’d arrived late the previous afternoon and, while Lee Crane had met Chip’s family following Plebe Summer, Chip knew the slightly younger man was still somewhat nervous around his outgoing parents and boisterous sisters. He was, therefore, not surprised to find the dark-haired 17-year-old – Lee had graduated high school early and entered the Academy on a waver – sitting quietly on the bed assigned to him. “Hey, we’re not in Mother B,” he referenced the midshipmen’s dorm building, Bancroft Hall. “Come down and join the rest of us.”

Lee sent him a shy look. “Your sisters…”

“Are a pain to beat all pains,” Chip cut him off. “Ignore them.”

“A little hard,” Lee admitted.

Chip grinned. He was used to his younger siblings. Poor Lee had grown up in a fairly quiet household. His father had died when Lee was only five and he was raised by his increasingly busy freelance writer mother and her father, Lee’s grandfather, as his only family. There had, of course, been school friends and other youngsters in the Sea Scouts programs Lee had spent several years in – the reason he’d been admitted to Annapolis at barely 17. But Chip’s family was proving almost too much for the quiet teenager. And it didn’t help at all that the three girls had instantly decided that the darkly handsome Lee was ‘dreamy’ and tried to follow him everywhere. No wonder Chip had found him basically hiding in the bedroom. “Come on, junior,” Chip used the nickname he’d almost instantly dubbed Lee. “Mom’s got lunch ready.” Lee sent him another shy look. “I’ll protect you,” Chip assured him.

“Like you did at breakfast?” Lee challenged. The three girls had practically ended up in a catfight over who got to sit next to him.

“Sit next to Mom,” Chip amended. “She’ll protect you.” Lee frowned but followed his new best friend down the stairs.

For whatever reason, that meal went much better for Chip’s roomie. The gregarious blond had a feeling his Mom had ‘laid down the law’ – his sisters were still giggly but at least Lee could eat the meal in peace. Well, mostly. Chip had already discovered what his Mom was yet to – that Lee didn’t eat very much. Always a hearty eater, Chip filled his plate with the excellent food his Mom prepared. While Lee took some of everything – Chip suspected that it was the polite young man’s way of trying to fit in – he didn’t take very much of anything. Chip saw his parents frown and try to get Lee to eat more but even they finally surrendered. Chip had tried to explain to his Mom after breakfast that it was just Lee’s normal eating habits. From the expression on her face now, Chip decided that Lee was about to become her new favorite target! He mentally wished her luck – after six months Chip sure hadn’t had any.

As everyone was finishing up, Chip’s Dad asked his wife, “Got your shopping list finished?”

“A couple things to add,” she told him with a glance around the table that seemed to stay a split second longer on their guest. “I’ll have it done by the time you’re ready to leave.”

“Chip, why don’t you and Lee drive the Durango around front. You guys can help me. The last look at the list I had, we’re going to need at least two shopping carts to hold it all. If she adds much more we’ll need three.” His wife threw her napkin at him and everyone laughed.

The two boys grabbed their coats. While the sun was shining the temperature was running in the mid-twenties. There was about ten inches of snow on the ground that had fallen two days previous; the main roads were mostly clear, but not so much the lesser-used ones. Chip’s Dad had plowed the long driveway, and had picked up the boys at the airport using the family car. The choice of Durango today wasn’t so much for its 4-wheel-drive as it was the greater space for the mound of groceries he was being sent for.

“So,” Lee asked carefully as the pair headed for the back of the house where the vehicle was parked, in a fairly flat area about twenty feet from the garage, “just how many people will be here for Christmas dinner?”

Chip laughed. “Well, let’s see,” he started mentally counting. “The six of us, you, Uncle Matt and his family – that’s five more. Gram and Gramp, and they usually bring their neighbor, Bob, ‘cause he has no other family. Aunt Julie and her two kids… What’s that come to?”

“Eesh,” Lee muttered.

“You’ll survive, I promise.” Lee ducked and Chip punched his shoulder lightly as they reached the Durango. Chip jumped in and started it up, and then the pair spent a quick two minutes hand-sweeping off the windows from the light dusting of snow that had fallen since the last time it had been used before they both got in.

Lee had been glancing around. “How come your Dad parks it out here instead of in the garage?” The building that housed the family car was plenty big enough for another vehicle.

Chip snickered. “He’s got so much junk in there he can barely get the car in. Mom keeps threatening that the next time he has to go out of town she’s going to have a yard sale.” Both boys chuckled.

The rig was pointed in the wrong direction from the drive and, instead of backing up, Chip put it in gear, easing it forward and in a sharp turn to the left back toward the house. But he’d only gone about ten feet when there was a grinding sound from underneath the driver’s side door. “Rats,” Chip muttered. “Too close to the rock.” Lee sent him the appropriate raised eyebrow. “Did you see where the snow was in a small mound on this side?”

Lee shook his head. “Was busy brushing snow off on my side.”

Chip frowned. “There’s a sort of round-topped rock that Dad hasn’t ever gotten around to getting dug out. You can’t see it because of the snow. I thought that I was turning okay around it, but…”

“Slight miscalculation?” Lee got the chance to tease him.

Chip nodded. “Turned too sharp,” he admitted. He put the rig in reverse and tried to get himself unstuck. The Durango didn’t budge. “What the…” He gave it a little more gas but all that accomplished was to toss snow, and both boys got back out and looked.

In making the sharp turn, the Durango’s front wheels had very neatly gone right around the rock, now visible where the undercarriage had dislodged the snow covering it up. It was now directly under the driver’s side door area, high centering the vehicle just enough to completely stop any movement either forward or back.

“Suggestions, genius?” Lee asked innocently.

Chip threatened to throw a snowball at him, but finally smiled shyly. “Yeah. Admit I screwed up,” he told Lee, and the pair walked back to the house.

Lee actually felt bad for his friend over the next couple of minutes. The entire family laughed and teased the blond about only being gone for six months and already forgetting where the ‘pet rock’ was. Even Lee got in a few more jabs. Chip’s Dad finally stopped laughing long enough to get the tractor, hook onto the rear of the Durango, and drag it several feet to the side. That gave Chip enough room to finish the turn around the rock. He and Lee drove it around to the front of the house but his Dad refused to let him drive any further, to more teasing, and he climbed into the back seat for the drive into town, leaving Lee the front passenger seat where the brunet visited amiably with Mr. Morton the entire trip.

As the three men traipsed back and forth from the rig, bringing in the several dozen bags of groceries, Lee happily chatting with both Morton parents, Chip’s Mom snagged her son’s arm and kept him for a moment from heading out for the next load. “That was very clever, young man,” she told him approvingly. He just looked at her. “Don’t give me that ‘I didn’t do anything’ look. You knew exactly where that rock was.”

Chip grinned, shrugged, and headed out for his share of the next load, and his Mom chuckled out loud. It might take the occasional nudge from her son but his new best friend was going to fit in just fine.