The trip to Montana was great, but there's nothing quite like coming home when you've been gone for a while. The look and feel, and even the smell, of our house cheered me up. I was tired, and I knew the others were, too. Kyle and Tim each went home to visit with their parents, but I figured they'd be back pretty soon. They loved Sunday mornings at our house when we were all together, and we had a lot of reminiscing to do. The first thing I like to do when I come home from a trip is unpack. Rick thinks that's a bit compulsive, but I like to get it over with right away. He sometimes leaves his suitcase untouched for several days after a trip, but I want mine empty and put away immediately. After I unpacked, I went out to the den. Rick was there with Jeff and Tyler. "How was the trip," Jeff asked. "Fabulous," Rick said. "You wouldn't believe how beautiful that place is." "It's in the mountains, isn't it," Jeff asked. "Yeah, and they are spectacular," Rick said. "How was your trip?" "We had a great time," Tyler said. "The Keys are really neat." "We ended up stopping in Orlando for a couple of days on the way home," Jeff said. "Ty had never been to Disney or Universal." "I figured you guys might do that," I said. "Was it packed?" "Yes, and very hot," Jeff said. "Were you surprised," I asked. They just grinned. "Kev and Rick, Ty and I made a decision on our trip," Jeff said. He was pretty serious, and I wondered what was coming. "What was that, Jeff," I asked. "Ty and I want to live together. In our own place," he said. "Congratulations, guys," I said. "That deserves a hug," Rick said. He got up and hugged the boys, and I did, too. "That's a big step, but it's a good one," I said. "Have you found a place yet?" "Not yet. We just got home last night," Jeff said. "I hope you guys don't think I'm not happy here, because I'm very happy living here." "Jeff, we know what this is all about. This is about growing up, about becoming fully independent, about becoming your own person," I said. "You and Ty will always be an important part of this family, man. You know that," Rick said. "I'm going to really miss living here, but . . . " "But you guys are in love, aren't you," Rick said. Jeff got a little shy and sort of embarrassed. "Yes," he said quietly. "Two people in love need to be together, and they need privacy," I said. "Jeff, what you're doing is absolutely normal and perfectly appropriate. You guys have the finances covered, I guess." "Oh, yeah," Jeff said. "That won't be a problem." "Are you going to live on the beach or in town," Rick asked. "The beach," Ty said. "We both work here, and, except for college, town doesn't really offer us anything." "Do you think Kyle's going to be pissed off," Jeff asked. "Why should he be," I asked. "Kyle and I are very close, you know?" "Oh, I know you are. But, Jeff, Kyle has never, ever wanted anything but for you to be happy. He'll still see you here, and I suspect you'll get tired of seeing him at your place, too," I said. "I hope so," Jeff said. "Jeff, I don't think there's any question about that," Rick said. "We might want to get a two-bedroom so we can have a 'little brother' room," Ty said. "When Kevin and I first lived together, we had one bedroom that was officially my room," Rick said. "If you can swing it, I'd sure recommend you do that at first. Even though you guys are in love, and I guess want to spend the rest of your lives together, right?" "Definitely," Tyler said, and Jeff agreed. "You're going to still need personal privacy. I never slept in my room, and I probably didn't go in there, even, more than a few times except to get things, but it was nice to have when I wanted it. Or when Kevin wanted it." "Rick's got a good idea there, guys. I don't think either one of us needs private, personal space anymore, but it was good to have at first," I said. Alex and Cody came into the room at that point. They sat close to one another on one of the sofas, and Alex took Cody's hand. "Hi, guys," I said, grinning. "What's up?" "Hi," Alex said, and he held up his and Cody's hand. "Are you guys an item now," I asked, beaming. "I guess we are," Cody said. "Congratulations. Wow! This is turning into quite an occasion," I said. "Why? What else is going on," Alex asked. Jeff told him about his and Tyler's decision to live together, and they both seemed very happy for them. Justin and Brian came downstairs, and we went through everything again. We told the guys who hadn't gone with us about the Montana trip, and Jeff and Tyler told us about their trip, too. "I miss Kyle and Tim," Jus said. "I know," Brian said. "Me, too." "I'm calling them," Justin said. He dialed a number but got no answer, so he dialed another one. "Hey," he said by way of greeting. Pause. "Nothing. What are you doing?" Pause. "I thought he was going to his house." Pause. "Well, y'all get your asses over here." Then he hung up. "You're so polite and sweet on the phone, Justin," Jeff said. Justin laughed. "Dave, Chris's brother, was scared of both him and Kyle because of how they talk to one another," Brian said. "He was scared of me?" "Yes. He told me that. Of Kyle, too," Brian said. "What did you tell him?" "I told him it was all an act and that you two were the best of friends," Bri said. "I'm scared of you, too," Cody said. We all laughed. "Yeah, right. So you and Alex are boyfriends now, huh?" "It looks like it," Cody said. "We're both bellmen now, too." "Cool," several of us said at the same time. "There are a lot of changes going on around this place," Justin said. "I don't know if that's good." It suddenly occurred to me that he really didn't like change. I guessed that was a hold-over from the abuse he had been subjected to in years past. He really didn't show much insecurity or deep-seated anger, but I also guessed there was some below the surface. "Everything's going to be all right, Bubba," I said. "You're not going anywhere." "I know," he said. Tim and Kyle came in, and we had to get them caught up to date on the family happenings. They were both pleased for Jeff and Tyler and for Alex and Cody. Since the entire family was finally present, we gave out the souvenirs we had brought for them. We had bought something for Seth with the intention of sending it to him, but we gave it to Cody instead, for whom we hadn't planned. Oh, well, I thought. "Jeff, are you still going to fool around with the Web site," Kyle asked. "Of course," Jeff said. "I'll bet you've got some good ones from the trip, huh?" "Yeah, some real good ones, I think," Kyle said. He and Jeff went off to the study to work on the pictures. Justin, Alex, Cody, and Tyler went out to the clubhouse to shoot pool, and Tim and Brian turned on the TV for a few minutes and then went out to the clubhouse, too. "Babe, they're growing up and moving on," Rick said. "I know. I'm happy for Jeff, but I'm sure going to miss him around here all the time," I said. "Me, too. He'll still be around, though, don't you think?" "Of course. He'll always be part of this family. I know that. But I'll still miss him," I said. Rick got up from where he was sitting and moved next to me on the sofa. He put his arms around me in one of his tender hugs. I wasn't depressed, exactly, but I felt tired and sort of washed out. Jet lag, maybe, I thought. "We haven't really talked about the new kid," I said. "Tyrone Williams said he wants him here in time to start school. That's a week from Monday." "Damn. I can't believe how fast this summer's gone by," Rick said. "Don't you remember when you were a kid you thought the summer was the longest time in the world?" "Yeah. You're right. It has gone by fast. We probably need to get him this coming week," I said. "Were you thinking we'll put Sean in Jeff's room after Jeff is gone?" "Shane. His name is Shane, not Sean," I said. "Oh, shit. I hope to God I don't make that mistake when he's here." I chuckled. "Let me call Tyrone and see when he can get him here. I think he's in Kentucky staying with his grandfather or somebody," I said. I dialed Tyrone's cell phone number, and he answered it after three rings. "Hi, Tyrone. This is Kevin Foley." "Hi, Kevin. How was the trip?" "Great, man. Can I put you on speaker so Rick can hear, too?" "Yeah, that's fine. Hi, Rick." "Hi, Tyrone. How you been?" "Fine, thanks. I guess you're calling about Shane, right?" "You got it," I said. "Well, there's been a change in plans." "Oh? What's up," Rick said. "It turns out Shane's grandfather is not sickly, like we first thought, and he and the boy have really bonded. He wants to keep him, and Shane wants to stay there." "Well, that's good, isn't it," I asked. "Yes, it's very good, at least for Shane. But I tell you, guys, I've got another one I need help with. This kid was living with his mother, and she got arrested yesterday for possession with intent to distribute. Since she was already on probation, she'll be in jail for the next six years. Solid. I need a place for the kid. The gay kid." "What's he like," I asked. "His name is Denis Morgan, and he's fifteen, just like Shane. Unlike Shane, though, Denis has been in a couple of scrapes with the law. Nothing really major. Chronic truancy, shoplifting, fighting at school, which actually involved assaulting a police officer. He's on juvenile probation." "He hit a cop," Rick asked, incredulous. "Yeah, but it wasn't as bad as that sounds. He was fighting with another kid, and the cop stepped in to break it up. Evidently Denis threw a punch at the other kid, but he got the cop. Under those circumstances, I don't know that I would have arrested him, but the cop was a rookie and . . . " "And he arrested him," I said. "Exactly." "Do you ever do, like, trial placements," Rick asked. "In a sense, every placement is a trial placement, Rick. If a kid is acting out so much that he disrupts your family, you don't have to keep him." "I guess I knew that. We've just been lucky," Rick said. "Yes. You've been very lucky, but you and Kevin are also very good with kids. Justin Davis was a powder keg when he went to you, and you've handled that beautifully." Rick and I smiled. "By the way, Justin is starting college in a week," Rick said. "Wonderful." "Back to Denis," I said. "Can we think it over. We'll need the complete support of the kids on this one." "How many kids actually live there full time?" "Well, we just found out about an hour ago that the oldest one, Jeff Martin, is moving into an apartment. So that leaves Justin Davis, Brian Mathews, and Alex Stewart officially living here," I said. "I don't know Alex, do I?" "No, but we've told you about him. He's from New York and ran away. Hitchhiked here, in fact." "Ran away?" "He's eighteen," Rick said. "Oh, yes, I do remember him. So there are just three there?" "Well, Kyle Goodson and Tim Murphy are here a lot," I said, "but they don't officially live here." "Well, think about it and talk to the boys. But I really need to know something soon." "Okay, Ty. We'll get back to you as soon as we can," I said. We said goodbye and hung up. "What do you think," I asked Rick. "This one might be a bit of a challenge, but it sounds like his home life probably wasn't the best. Maybe the stability here will bring him around. I wonder about the truancy. We can make sure he gets to school, of course, and I'm sure the school people will cooperate with us in keeping us informed if he misses any classes," I said. "It's sort of ironic to be replacing Jeff with this kid, isn't it," he said. "Yeah. I thought that, too. You want to give it a try?" "You know I do," he said, smiling. "Let's get the kids in to talk about it," I said. We rounded up the eight boys who were in various places on the property. It was time for something to eat, so I ordered pizzas. They fixed themselves soft drinks, and we settled down to eat and talk after the food arrived. "Guys, we got off the phone with Tyrone Williams from Children and Family Services a few minutes ago, and he has a new boy he needs to place. His name is Denis, and he's fifteen. He's gay, and he's been in some trouble in the past. Nothing too serious, but you all need to know about it," I said. "What'd he do," Justin asked. "Truancy, shoplifting, and assaulting a police officer," I said. "Oh, and evidently he got in fights at school. That's how he ended up hitting the officer. He stepped in to break up a fight Denis was having, and Denis punched him." They were quiet, and it was hard to judge what they were thinking. "If he gets here and can't behave himself, he won't be able to stay here," Rick said. "Kevin and I are thinking we ought to give him a chance, but you guys are going to have to help us out with him." "He's gay," Kyle asked. "Yes." "If he got picked on at school for being gay, that could explain the truancy and fighting, don't you think," Kyle said. "Yeah, it could," Rick said. "And hitting a cop when the cop was trying to bust up a fight is a lot different than just walking up to the cop and punching him. I mean, that could have been an accident," Tim said. "Tyrone more or less said the same thing, Tim," I said. "I wonder what he shoplifted," Jeff said. "If he was poor enough, it might have been something to eat." "I knew we kept you guys around here for something," Rick said. "Listening to you all, he doesn't sound that bad." "Watch him turn out to be this meek little guy who wouldn't hurt one of Trixie's fleas," Brian said. "I hope you're right, Brian," I said. "Where are his parents," Tim asked. "He's been living with just his mother, and she got arrested yesterday for possession of drugs with the intent to sell them. She was on probation already, so they hauled her ass to jail," Rick said. "It doesn't sound like he was in a very good environment," Jus said. "I been there, too." "I think several of us can relate to bad environments, Jus," Alex said. "Brutal ones, even." "We'll fix this kid up, Bubba. I think it's kind of exciting getting a new brother," Kyle said. "So you guys are all cool with Denis joining the family," I asked. They all indicated their agreement. "If there's even a suspicion of drugs, Rick and I want to know about it immediately, okay, guys?" "That's not a problem," Kyle said, speaking for the rest of them. "We'll back him up at school, too. We won't let him get picked on, if we can help it." "Don't say the S word," Justin said, and we all laughed. "Why? I'm looking forward to S. First time in my whole damn life, too," Kyle said. We laughed. "I love school," Tim said. "Yeah, you would," Justin said. "Hey, you picking on my boyfriend," Kyle demanded. "Shut up, Kyle, you know I'm teasing him." "Come on, Davis, let's go a few rounds. I need to get in shape for that new Denis boy, in case I need to slap him around," Kyle said. "Brian, make Trixie bite him," Jus said. "She only likes big, meaty bones, Buddy," Brian said. "She'll be fresh out of luck with him, for sure," Jus said. "You don't know what to say, do you, Goodson? You're fucking speechless. I got your ass last." Kyle laughed. "Yeah, you did, you and your big, meaty bones." Justin might have gotten Kyle last, but Kyle got the laugh out of it. "Okay, we're truly home now," Rick said. "And you might know the first one would be a dick joke." Everybody laughed. "Speaking of dick jokes, I've seen some around this place," Kyle said. "Let it rest, Bubba. You got your laugh," Rick said. "Okay. For now," Kyle said. "I'm going to call Tyrone back to tell him our decision," I said. I went into the study to make the call. Tyrone was pleased that we said yes. I asked him what the kid had shoplifted, if he knew, and he said it was two candy bars and a paperback book. "Where is he now, Ty," I asked. "He's staying with a neighbor near Blountstown in Calhoun County. She needs him out of there as soon as possible, too. Can I bring him over tomorrow afternoon?" "Yeah, that'll be fine. We'll be home all day," I said. "It'll be around two tomorrow afternoon," Tyrone said. "Good. We're looking forward to meeting him. * * * On Sunday morning we did our normal routine for a weekend morning. Cody spent the night Saturday night, as I figured he would, but Jeff and Tyler didn't. "I miss Jeff," I said when we were all in the den. "Why? He's never up anywhere near this early on Sunday," Kyle said. "True, but I still miss him," I said. "I miss Chris and Dave," Kyle said. We all agreed we missed them, too. "What do you all have going on this coming week, fellas," Rick asked. "Just work for me," Jus said. Alex and Cody said work for them, too. "I have Freshman Orientation on Thursday," Kyle said. "Otherwise, I'm going to work on my pictures from the trip." "What exactly do you have to do to the pictures," I asked. "Do you know what PhotoShop software is," he asked. "Ummmmm, no." "You use it to manipulate pictures," Kyle said. "You know those watermarks I put on my pictures? I use PhotoShop to do that. You can do a lot more, though. I can improve the color, make them sharper and clearer, crop them, blow them up, add titles, if I want to. All of that." "Isn't that kind of like cheating," Rick asked. "No, not at all. I can do some of that same stuff in the darkroom, especially with black and whites. It's the finished picture that matters. Not how you got it that way," he said. "Are these only going to be for the Web site," I asked. "No, I'm going to print the best ones and send them to New York," he said. "You ought to try using that new laser printer we have in the office," I said. "That damn thing cost a fortune, and it's supposed to be the most advanced in the world." "I intend to. Were you surprised when my daddy knew to buy that particular one," Kyle asked. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, I was," I said. "Guess where he got the 4-1-1." "Oh, now it's coming clear to me," I said. "I figured Gene didn't know squat about that kind of stuff," Rick said. "I smelled the scent of Kyle in that deal from the start." "I ordered some really good glossy paper. Photo paper, really," Kyle said. "Two bucks a sheet." "Damn, boy, how many did you get," Jus asked. "A hundred sheets," he said. "I can't wait to use it." "Kyle, how much money have you made with your pictures," Brian asked. "A pretty good bit. I don't know exactly. And some of that belongs to you, too, by the way." "To me? Why me?" "Model fees," Kyle said. "You don't have to pay me," Brian said. "Shut up. Yes, he does," Justin said. "Yes, I do, Bri. It's only right. Anybody who's willing to let his hard dick be on display in a gallery in New York City deserves to be paid," Kyle said. "What!!?" Rick and I said in unison. "Got you last," Kyle said, and everybody laughed. "Guys, I gave you my word of honor that I wouldn't take any sexy pictures of guys under eighteen, and I live by my word," he said. "Hey, I'm eighteen," Jus said. "Me, too," Alex and Cody both said together. "Now wait a minute, guys, . . ." I started to say. "Kevin, I'm not going to do that. Give me some credit, man," Kyle said. "I know that, Kyle. We know we can trust you," I said. "Back to you, though, Bri, I owe you money. I was sort of waiting to give it to you when you got in the car market, but I can give it to you now, if you want me to," Kyle said. "How much is it," Brian asked. "It's a pretty good bit. Fifteen hundred," Kyle said. "How many pictures of him have you sold," Jus asked. "Just two," Kyle said. "Wow," Jus said. "How much did they sell for?" "More than that," Kyle said. "You're not going to tell me," Justin asked. It almost sounded like his feelings were hurt. "No, I'm not. Come outside for a minute." Justin looked puzzled as hell, but he followed Kyle out to the patio. "I wonder what that's all about," Rick said. "Yeah, me, too. Do you know, Tim?" "No, I don't know. I can guess, though." "Well, what is it?" "Kyle doesn't want Brian to know how much he sold the pictures for because he thinks Brian will think he's paying him too much," Tim said. "Do you think it's too much," Brian asked. "Nope," Tim said. "That's all I'm saying about it, and I'm not even sure that's what this is all about." "That would be just like him, though," Rick said. They came back inside in just a few minutes, and neither one said anything. "Well, did you get your business taken care of," Rick asked. "Yep," they said in unison, and that was the end of it. "When do you want your money," Kyle asked Brian again. "You keep it for now," Bri said. "Okay. Who's hungry," Kyle asked, and we ended family time with lunch.
It pissed me off when Kyle refused to say how much he had sold those two pictures of Brian for. I mean, it really wasn't any of my business, but I don't think you do your brother and best friend that way. I didn't know what the hell he wanted with me outside. "What's up," I asked. "Bubba, I didn't want to say this in front of Brian because I'm pretty sure he won't take the money if he knows, okay?" "If he knows what," I asked. "How much I sold the pictures for. He'll think it's too much, and he won't take it," he said. "Maybe it is too much," I said. "Look. Whose money is it?" "It's yours. Nobody's disputing that," I said. "You earned it." "That's right, and I can do whatever the hell I want to with it, too, now can't I?" "No question about that," I said. The boy was stubborn, but at least he was logical. "Brian's going to be sixteen in a few months, and he's going to need a car. I want him to have a few dollars, at least, to put toward it," he said. "He's been working all summer," I said. "I know, but that trip cost him something, didn't it? And he's not making tips like you and I are. He's making hourly, and it ain't all that much," he said. "Rick and Kevin will cosign a loan for him, just like they did for me," I said. "Yeah, but think about this. You were working at the time, remember? Brian's not going to be able to work during school, Bubba. For one thing, they shut most of the gift shops down, and for another he doesn't have transportation to get to work, even," he said. "Are you going to help Alex out with a car, too," I asked. "No. I don't love Alex like I do Brian. Hell, I barely know him yet," he said. Like I said, the boy had perfect logic. "Well, look, it's your money, and you do whatever the hell you want to with it. You won't hear any squawk out of me about it," I said. "And Kyle, you know something?" "What?" "You're a pretty damn good guy," I said. "Let's go back inside. I'm getting hungry." * * * Brian and I were the only two around when the new kid showed up with Mr. Williams around two o'clock that afternoon. We were both in the den. He was reading a book for school, and I was reading my history book for college. It was pretty interesting, but it went into way more detail than I needed to know. I figured if I read it now and read it again when the class started, I might actually remember something. The doorbell rang. Trixie had a bad habit of barking every time that happened, but Brian was trying to train her not to do that. He shushed her after only one bark that time. I wonder if she thought we couldn't hear the bell and needed her to let us know somebody was there. I went and opened the front door. It was Mr. Tyrone Williams and this kid that I figured must be Denis. "Hi, Justin," Mr. Williams said, shaking my hand. "Hi, come on in," I said. "I'm Justin Davis," I said to the boy and gave him my hand. He gave me his, and it was a limp fish. I was tempted to squeeze the shit out of it and tell him to shake hands like a man, but what kind of first impression would that have made? He said his name was Denis Morgan. "Bri, you remember Mr. Williams, don't you," I said. "Sure. Hi, Mr. Williams," Brian said. He stood up and shook hands with the man. "Buddy, this is Denis Morgan, our new brother," I said. "Hiya, Denis. I'm Brian Mathews." They shook hands, too, and I'll bet he got the same limp fish I got. "Let me go find Kevin and Rick," Brian said. "Do you know where they are?" "I'd check the clubhouse," I said. "Y'all have a seat. Would you like anything to drink," I asked. "Coffee, or a coke or something?" "Can I have a coke," the kid asked. "Sure. Mr. Williams?" "Nothing for me, thanks," Mr. Williams said. I got cokes for Denis, Brian, and me. "So Denis, how old are you?" "Fifteen," he said. "Oh. Same as Brian. When's your birthday?" "June," he said. At least he didn't have flapping jaws, I thought. "What grade are you in," I asked. "Ninth." He was a nice looking kid, but he really needed a haircut. I don't mind longer hair; in fact, I think it's pretty sexy. His wasn't meant to be longer, though. He just needed a haircut. Wait till Gage gets a load of you, I thought. "Oh, by the way. This is Trixie. She's our family puppy," I said. Where the hell was Brian and those other ones, I thought. The kid looked at Trixie and didn't even smile. Not a good sign, I thought. Denis looked like he was close to Brian's size, only he had light hair. He had a pretty good tan on the parts of him I could see. "So, Denis, you like to play sports or what?" "No." Okay. Unplug that half of my brain, I thought. "Do you like to watch movies?" "Some." Do you like to jerk off, I thought. He'd probably just say "yeah." "We just got back from Montana yesterday. We were out there visiting a friend of ours who stayed with us for a few weeks in the spring," I said. "How is Chris," Mr. Williams asked. "He was great. He's been taking a lot of therapy, and they're going to have him up on crutches in a little while. You ought to see how flexible he is compared to what he used to be." Brian came back in by himself. "I couldn't find anybody," he said. "They knew we were coming," Mr. Williams said. "I know. We all knew. Brian, call one of 'em on their cell phone. Tell them Mr. Williams and Denis are here," I said. My phone was on the coffee table, and Brian used it. We all had 'em, including him, but I didn't know where his was. "Kevin, this is Brian," he said. "Mr. Williams and Denis are here." Pause. "Okay, I'll tell them," he said. He hung up. "They're all next door helping the Crawfords with something. Kevin said to apologize for their not being here and to say that they would be here in just a minute." "Okay. I guess I'll forgive them, if they're helping a neighbor," Mr. Williams said. He chuckled, like that was supposed to be funny, so Brian and I chuckled, too. "Have y'all had lunch," I asked. I was so desperate, I was turning into Kyle. "Thanks, but we had lunch," Mr. Williams said. "I'll be right back," Brian said, and left the room. Shit! I thought. Where the fuck is he going, leaving me here with these two by myself. "Yeah, ole Chris is doing good. We're missing him, though. Him and his brother, Dave. Two really nice guys, that's for sure." "Did y'all make it to Yellowstone," Mr. Williams asked. "Yes, sir, we sure did. We spent five days and four nights there. Have you been?" "No, but I plan to go some day. National parks are sort of a hobby of mine," he said. "There are some wonderful Web sites about them." "So I've heard," I said. "I need to spend some time checking those out." Brian finally came back with a big bowl of Tick Supreme. He set it down on the coffee table in front of Mr. Williams, and his eyes got sort of big. He was a heavy man, and I knew it took a lot of calories to keep his weight up. He took him a handful of that stuff, popped it into his mouth, and I could see the contentment on his face. "Oh, this is good. Have some, Denis." Denis got him some, too. I could tell he liked it. Denis wasn't a swishy kid, exactly, but you could tell he didn't know anything about the business end of a baseball bat or a pool cue. "Have you read this book, Denis," Brian asked him, showing him the book he was reading for school. It was Lord of the Flies, or something like that. That's all it took. Denis finally moved parts of his face. "Oh, yeah. It's one of my favorites. The structure of that book is so good. The hunt scenes get progressively more violent until the end. I won't tell you about that, though, because I don't want to ruin it for you," he said. Holy God, we praise Thy name, I thought. "I hadn't thought about that, but you're right," Brian said. "I've been focusing on the symbolism, mostly." "Well, the hunt scenes are symbolic," Denis said. "They parallel the deterioration of the society on the island." "Y'all are way over my head," I said, "and I've actually read the damn book. One of the few I've read." "Denis, I can absolutely see what you're saying," Brian said. "It's beautiful the way Golding put that together. I'm going to have to start over, or read it a second time." "I read almost every book at least twice," Denis said. "I watch almost every movie we rent twice," I said. "Yeah, because you fall asleep halfway through just about every one the first time you watch it," Bri said. "Shhhh, don't tell my secrets," I said. Denis actually laughed when I said that. "So, I guess you like to read, huh?" "I love it," he said. "That's basically what I do. My mom and I live in a trailer. She'll be in the living room with her boyfriend du jour, and I'll be in the back reading." I didn't quite get all of that, but I'd ask Brian about it later. This guy sounded like he was smart as hell, and I knew me and Kyle were going to have to turn him over to Brian and Tim. "We have a pretty good library in this house," Brian said. "It's in the study, mostly." "You have a study," he asked, like he thought that was hot shit. "Oh, my God! I've dreamed about living in a house with a study. And books. And literate people." "Some of us are more literate than others," Brian said. He looked at me when he said that, and he looked so cute at that moment I could have eaten him up. "What does that mean," I asked. Brian just giggled. I looked at my watch, and they had been here a good half hour. "Did they say when they were coming, Buddy," I asked Brian. "What were they doing?" Just then we heard the siren of an ambulance pull up our street and go into the Crawford's driveway next door. "Shit. Somebody's hurt," I said. Just then, Kevin and Rick came in the back door, and then into the den. "I'm so sorry we weren't here," Kevin said as he came in. "Our neighbor's son had a seizure and went unconscious. We were trying to help out until the EMTs got there. It took forever. Sorry." "Which son," I asked. Those boys were good friends of ours. "Blake," Rick said. "Blake had a seizure," I asked. "Is he all right?" "We brought him around and he was coherent, but that was the first time he had ever done anything like that. We don't know what's going on," Kevin said. "Kevin and Rick, I hope the boy is all right," Mr. Williams said, "but I want you to know, your two sons have done you all very proud in being gracious hosts. Especially this big guy." He put his hand on my shoulder, and hearing him say that made me feel so damn good I could have busted wide open. Kevin and Rick were both just grinning their asses off, and I knew they were proud of us. "And this is your new son, Denis Morgan." Denis shook hands with Kevin and Rick, but I knew they got the fish, too. "Welcome, Denis," Rick said. "I hope you'll be happy with us." "Oh, I know I will be. There are readers here," he said. Oh-oh, I thought. At least I had a book out. "Well, Denis, I need to get going. Let's get your stuff from my car," Mr. Williams said. "I'll make an appointment with you guys to see about the paperwork tomorrow." Just then, Kyle, Tim, Alex, and Cody came in the house. We had to go through the whole introduction thing with them. "Come on, Kyle. Let's get his stuff," I said. "Can I have your keys," I asked Mr. Williams. He gave them to me. Once Kyle and I were outside, I said, "Jesus Christ, Kyle. This kid is a fucking brainiac," I said. He started laughing. "What are you talking about," he asked, still grinning. "You should have heard him and Brian talking about this book Brian is reading. Lord of the Flies, or something like that. They were talking about symbols and structure and shit like that. Hell, I read the book because Kevin wanted me to read it. I thought it was a damn stroke book that didn't quite make it, with all these guys running around naked on this island." He was laughing so hard he could hardly breathe. "A stroke book that didn't quite make it," he said, and he laughed some more. "You didn't really think that, did you?" "No, I thought it was a good book, and I was glad I read it, but I didn't get nothing like what they got out of it," I said. "I don't think books are really your thing, or mine, either," he said. "I know. Denis said he always dreamed about living in a house that had a study in it. I always dreamed about living in a house that had a stud in it." He doubled over laughing. "What'd you do? Take a funny pill, or something," he asked. "I don't know. I think Denis is going to be a challenge, but not the kind we thought he was going to be." |