The Powder Monkey

Chapter 9

On a fine fall day, Caleb announced that he was going to begin looking for a home for the two of them. Of course his family wanted to know why he wouldn’t remain in the home he had grown up in.

“Well, Mother, the sea changed me some, and I simply want to live a little apart from other people, although of course I’ll still fill my role as head of the family.”

His mother looked doubtful, but he was in charge now, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Houses were seldom sold in either Marblehead or Salem. Usually they were passed down from generation to generation, so it was nearly six months later when Caleb heard that the Phillips’ house was going to be sold. He investigated and found that the husband had died and his wife wanted to move the family back to Chelsea, near Boston, to be closer to her parents.

With the help of his lawyer, Caleb was able to purchase the home. He wanted a few renovations made before he moved in, so it was another two months before he and Zachary moved.

“Do you know what we have to do?” he asked Zachary. When Zachary shook his head, Caleb said, “We need to hire some servants. I never thought of that until now.”

Thinking quickly, Zachary mentioned his siblings in Boston. In those days, orphans were often hired and trained as servants. Through friends in Boston, Caleb soon learned that the girls were still in the orphanage and were available, he and Zachary made the trip to Boston to retrieve them. Although Zachary had grown a great deal since his sisters had last seen him, they immediately recognized his red hair and freckles, which matched their own.

While they were at the orphanage, Caleb had a private meeting with the director.

The girls traveled to Marblehead with their brother and Caleb and were soon ensconced as a cook and maid in the new house. They knew little about their duties, although Norah had been given some basic cooking lessons at the orphanage. The cook and maid from the Stanleys’ home pitched in to help train them, and soon they were acting as servants for Caleb. It had been agreed that Zachary would fill the role which Marcus filled for the Stanleys. He too pitched in to train the girls.

One night, when Caleb and Zachary were in bed together, Caleb said that he wanted to try something. When Zachary asked what it was, Caleb replied that he wanted to fuck his friend in the ass.

“Oh, no,” Zachary said in horror, “that was done to me once and once was enough.”

“But Max forced it and was brutal. I think I can do it gently.” Caleb told Zachary that he had brought some lard to lubricate his cock and his friend’s ass. They didn’t do it that night, but the subject had been introduced and Caleb was not about to let it go. The fourth time he mentioned it, Zachary sighed and said, “I can see you’re not going to give it up until we try. What do you want me to do?”

Caleb suggested that he get on all fours. He began to apply lard to Zachary’s anus, and then he applied it liberally to his own cock. “This may hurt a little at first,” he said, “but I think you’ll get used to it in time.”

Placing the tip of his cock at Zachary’s anus, Caleb pushed very gently. He met some resistance, but then he seemed to pass that. As he pushed in, he came to another spot of resistance, and Zachary winced in pain. Caleb stopped for a moment before very gently thrusting again. Soon he was all the way in, and he moved in and out very slowly. “Oh,” groaned Zachary, but he wasn’t complaining.

Caleb began to thrust more quickly until he knew he was going to erupt. He pushed all the way in just as his cock shot into Zachary’s ass. He remained for a few moments after he had finished and before he withdrew.

When they were lying facing each other, Caleb asked, “How was that?”

“Well, at first, as you were going in, it hurt, but after you were all the way in, it stopped hurting. It was amazing to feel you actually inside me, and I must admit I enjoyed it. Do you want me to do it to you?”

When Caleb agreed, Zachary knelt behind him, lubricated himself and Caleb, and inserted very slowly, just as his friend had.

”Oh my God,” he said when he was all the way in. “This feels wonderful. The best thing we’ve done yet!”

After that, they performed anal sex every time they were in bed together.

Nearly a year later, Caleb received a letter from Boston. Without explaining what it was about, he took Zachary to Boston, where they met with the director of the orphanage. The director told them that recently, a young, unwed girl had given birth to twin boys. The babies were available for adoption.

Caleb looked questioningly at Zachary. “Should we?” he asked.

“What will your mother say?”

“She won’t have a lot of say in the matter. In time I think she will accept the boys as my heirs.”

So it was decided. Although neither Caleb nor Zachary had any experience with babies, they officially adopted the boys and returned to Marblehead. Zachary’s sisters immediately fell in love with the twins. They both had had experience taking care of the baby orphans in Boston, so they knew just what to do. Soon, Caleb hired a nanny for the babies.

As predicted, Mrs. Stanley was not pleased with the arrangement at first. She finally concluded that Caleb had not married because, for some reason, he wasn’t able to consummate the union. In time she grew very fond of the little twins and treated them as her own grandchildren.

The newest members of the family were christened Caleb and Zachary Stanley by their two fathers. Zachary doted on his namesake. Whenever he could, he held the baby, and as time passed and the child became a toddler, it was often Zachary who kept an eye on both boys, making certain that they didn’t get into things that could harm them. The boys were fascinated by the stairs, so whoever was watching them had to be certain they didn’t tumble down the steps.

To all of the children, both the twins and Caleb’s siblings, the former powder monkey was known as Uncle Zach, and he was never thought of as anything but a full-fledged part of the family.

Some of Caleb’s ships had traveled to the orient and back, bringing, among other things, tea and pepper.

Unfortunately, the British had begun attempting to board American merchant ships during the Revolution, looking for ‘runaways’ from the British navy. They were also unhappy that the Americans were importing tea, which, to that point, had been a British monopoly. In 1812, war again erupted between the two countries, and some American merchant ships became privateers, trying to protect American ports and ships.

Caleb converted two ships he then had available so they could be used as privateers. One of the captains had become quite a businessman in his own right. He was originally from Spain and had stowed away on a ship when he was in his teens. Since nobody in America could pronounce his Spanish name to his satisfaction, he adopted the name John Anderton. Sadly, his ship never returned to port and Caleb had to conclude that he was lost at sea, perhaps sunk by a British warship.

After the war, American merchants were relatively free to travel the oceans of the world, although there were pirates in Malaya who occasionally attacked a merchant ship.

Caleb’s family grew and prospered. Zachary continued to admire Caleb’s business acumen. In 1819, Caleb’s mother died. His siblings had married and were raising families of their own, while the twins remained at home for the moment. Caleb trained them in the family business. Caleb and Zachary were quite amused that Caleb Junior developed a love of the sea and was soon sailing all over the world. Zachary Junior learned about the business of the family and was able in time to assume many of Caleb’s duties.

Zachary’s sisters also married but remained working as servants to Caleb and his family.

Caleb, and Zachary grew old together doting on all the members of their family.

One morning when Zachary was 82, he awoke to find that Caleb had died in bed. Of course he was sad, but he understood that death was a part of life.

When Zachary began to decline he told the members of the family who gathered around him that he was ready. He had had a good life and been able to join a loving, caring family.