I had come to feel about Charley like I'd never felt about another human being. His happiness and well-being were all that mattered to me. I hadn't yet put a name on how I felt about and toward him, but Chess had told me that I was obviously head over heels in love with his son. That pretty much described me, I guess, but I would have said heels over head.

During Charley's nine days in the hospital, I was a welcomed member of the Hill family. Chess treated me as one of his own sons. Tom was a bit aloof in an amiable way. Robert? I couldn't decide what his problem was. He was friendly, yet I still got the feeling that he'd like to punch my lights out. Gloria was reserved, at times amicable, at times nearly cold. I felt like she thought I was a threat. To her? To Charley? I didn't know.

Then came the day that Charley was to be released. Gloria wanted to take him into her home and take care of him. Charley wanted to go home and let me take care of him. How did I feel about it? Well, I was willing, even a little eager. Some of the willingness was lust. I couldn't wait to get him alone and naked. Charley admitted in private that he felt the same way. He surely didn't present it as an arguing point with his mother.

Chess basically settled the argument by pointing out that Charley was going to be in a wheelchair until his neck and shoulder muscles healed enough that he could use crutches. That meant a lot of lifting him in and out of the chair. He also pointed out that all of the bedrooms were upstairs in their house where at Charley's everything was on one floor.

Charley got to go home and a battle royal was begun between Gloria and me. She praised me to his face, and then behind his back double checked and criticized everything I did. I felt like a hired servant and I didn't like it, but for Charley's sake I hid my feelings and put up with her. I knew if I were to complain to him, it would only make me look small in his eyes.

After two weeks I guess the wear was beginning to show. She arrived early one morning just in time to join us for a first cup of coffee. Charley needed to sit on the bowl. I helped him into the guest toilet right off the living room and assisted him in getting seated. When I returned to the kitchen Gloria started in on me. She'd made a cursory check of our bedroom and was accusing me of being lazy for not making the bed as soon as we got out of it.

When he was ready, I lifted him back into his wheelchair and moved him back into the kitchen. I hid my anger from him. Gloria smiled sweetly at me and told Charley I must really love him to take such good care of him. I was standing behind him, so he didn't see my look of disgust at her two-faced hypocrisy. He turned and pulled me down to hug me. As he kissed me on the cheek I glanced at Gloria. Her expression was malevolent. Even with Charley's arms around me I felt at that moment that I was in a losing war. As I straightened up and Charley turned back to the table Gloria syruply said, "You boys are just so sweet together." I was still inwardly fuming from her dressing me down about the bedroom. Charley grinned at her and then at me, unaware of what was going on. I went into the bedroom to straighten it.

When I finished and walked back into the kitchen Gloria smiled sweetly at me. She'd won another little battle. I made and served breakfast and then bathed Charley and helped him dress. He gave me several curious looks while I was doing this. I suppose it might have alerted him that I was disturbed about some thing when I didn't play around with him. "Jake is something wrong?" he asked me at one point. I blew it off by saying that I was uncomfortable with his mother in the house.

All the while Gloria sat at the kitchen table and perused the morning paper. She moved into the backyard to sit under the big Elm with him while I cleaned up from breakfast. I stood at the kitchen window and watched the two of them wondering what they talked about. Rather than go out and join them I sat down at my PC. I propped my elbows on the table and stared at the blank screen unable to formulate a sentence. I must have phased out. The next thing I knew Gloria was standing there wanting to know when I was going to fix lunch. "You may serve it outside at the picnic table," she said and went back out.

I stood there and fumed for several minutes until I calmed down enough to do it without destroying the kitchen in anger. I fixed a light lunch of tomato soup and melted cheddar sandwiches. Gloria disdainfully scanned the table. "You could at least have put down some place mats," she said.

"I don't have any," Charley said. I wondered why he lied. "Sit down, Jake. This is fine. Come on, Mom, you don't need a place mat."

Gloria sat down clearly unhappy that Charley had interfered. "Is this going to be enough for you, son?" She asked.

"It's fine, Mom. I'm not very active right now, you know." Gloria didn't miss the little smirk I couldn't keep off my face.

"I mean you're a grown man." She persisted. "A little bowl of soup and a meager sandwich isn't very much."

"Really, Mom, it's plenty."

Gloria ate half a sandwich and some of her soup and then excused herself, leaving us alone. Charley watched me as I ignored him.

"Jake, what's the matter? I've watched the tension building in you since the day I came home from the hospital. You look like you're going to burst."

"Things will smooth out." I mumbled. "Don't worry about it."

"I am so sorry this happened to me. It's not fair to you. I can't blame you for feeling put upon. If I were you I'd have probably split before now."

"It's not you, Charley. I love taking care of you."

"So what is the problem? Why are you so uptight?"

"Look, I'll deal with the problem, you just mend. And don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

I didn't mean to snap at him. Frustrated, I picked up the dishes, putting an end to the conversation and left him sitting in his wheel chair at the table with the book he'd been reading. I put the dishes in the sink and went into the bedroom and lay down, trying to subdue my anger.

I hadn't been relaxing for five minutes when my reverie was interrupted by Gloria calling for me. Her strident sharp voice grated on my patience. I put a pillow over my head and groaned. As I started to get up she appeared in the doorway.

"What in the world are you doing laying down? The kitchen's a mess and you just abandoned my son in the back yard."

I lost it. Rolling off the bed, I stood up and stuck my nose in her face. "What is your problem? I am not a servant. The kitchen is not a mess. There is one griddle, one pan, three bowls, three plates, three glasses and three spoons sitting in the sink. They have been there approximately ten minutes. It won't hurt them or anything else if they stay there until dinner time. Charley is just fine. He has his cell phone. If he wants anything I'm just seconds away."

"Really, you have no business raising your voice at me like that."

"And you have no right to be talking to me like you do. Gloria, you're driving me nuts. When Charley's in the room you praise how well I'm taking care of him, but if he's not, all you do is complain about everything. I am not a servant in this house," I yelled at her.

"If you're so unhappy why don't you leave?" she yelled back.

Neither of us had realized that Charley had managed on his own to roll his wheelchair into the house. He rolled into the room as I declared myself not a servant. Neither Gloria nor I noticed the pain he was in from using the healing shoulder muscles.

"Is this true, Mother? Are you really treating Jake like a servant?"

Gloria looked startled and then she dissembled, becoming the injured party.

"Of course not, Son. I suppose Jake is just getting tired of taking care of you and is taking his frustration out on me."

I couldn't believe the woman's audacity. And I had played right into her hands. She knew I wouldn't defend myself in front of Charley.

"I can't take anymore of this." I muttered as I pushed past the two of them heading for the door.

Charley grabbed my arm. "Wait, Jake. Please."

I leaned my head on the door frame. "I give up, Charley, I thought I could endure. She wins. I'm sorry, but I'm out of here."

"Jake, please, just wait a minute. Mother, I was right behind you as you came down the hall. I heard every word. The way you called for him was shameful. I heard how you spoke to him. You don't even speak to, Rosa, your maid like that."

"Charley, you don't understand, Dear."

"I understand perfectly, Mother. This is my house. Jake is my lover and I want him here. You had no right in suggesting he leave."

"Baby, I ...."

"Mother, I want you to leave."

"Darling, you don't mean that."

"I do mean it. And I don't want you to come back until you can apologize to Jake for treating him so shamefully. And you can apologize to me for trying to come between us."

"I'm just trying to make sure you get the best of care."

"I'm getting the best of care despite your meddling and harassing my partner. Jake has been so good at taking care of me."

"Charley, I...."

"Just go, Mother. Not another word. Just go."

I had my back to her staring out the window as she left. I've no idea how she looked, whether she was throwing daggers at me with her eyes or if her head was hung in shame. I only know she left, and I was relieved. I stared out the window until I felt Charley take my hand. I closed mine around his as I turned to look at him. "I'm sorry, Charley."

"God! I can't believe that I just threw my mother out," he said with a laugh of relief while hugging me. "Why didn't you tell me what was going on?" He physically turned me to face him.

"I couldn't." I looked away from him.

"What do you mean you couldn't? Dammit, don't you realize you're more important to me than anyone? You know you can tell me anything."

That really made my heart soar, but I was still caught up in the battle with Gloria. I pulled away from him and turned back to the window. "I didn't want to look whiny, complaining to you. I did everything I could to impress her."

He sighed and rubbed my hip. "I should have been aware of what was going on."

My anger flared that he should try to take the blame. "How could you be aware of what she was doing? It was all behind your back."

"Hmm," was all he said. There was a moment of silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts, staring out the window. "You haven't been doing any writing either, have you?" he asked. I shook my head even though I knew he wasn't looking at me. He turned to look up at me. "Have you?"

"I can't write under such tense conditions."

"So that was what the conversation with your publisher was about?"

"You overheard that?"

"Just the last bit of it. Apparently not enough to have figured out that there was something wrong."

"I was just requesting more time."

"You shouldn't have to do that." He again turned me to face him, and hugged my legs, laying his head against my crotch. I let go of my anger and relaxed into him. God, it was good just letting him be the strong one for a bit. "I can use both hands now. My shoulder is nearly healed. I don't need the coddling anymore. You get back to writing. I'll ask for help when I need it."

That afternoon for the first time in weeks I succeeded in filling page after page, instead of just a couple of paragraphs or staring at the blank screen of my PC while fuming about Gloria.

Jake sat at his computer deep in thought, remembering the last month before he'd left UniCity. Although much of his memory of that time was not happy, one incident stood out. That was the evening he'd met a young man who instantly made himself at home in Jake's heart and became a dear friend. Jake lay back in his desk chair and remembered that time. Jim had just been hired to play nursemaid to a young fellow that had thrown himself in harms way when he ran in front of an oncoming car to push his employer out of its path. The young fellow whose name was Pete Peterson had just been released from the hospital and his employer, Dave Gates, the owner of the local bookstore across from the university, had given Pete and his young lover, Jason Warren, his unoccupied house to live in until they finished college.

Jim had immediately run into trouble with Jason. Jason was a spunky diminutive young man who looked like he was about fourteen, but was actually twenty years old. Jim was in the middle of cooking dinner, when Jason walked in to see if he could help. Before Jason could open his mouth Jim said, "Well it's about time you woke up. Peel those potatoes in the sink. And then cut them into one inch chunks."

Jason bristled at being spoken to like that. "I don't know who the hell you think you are. Just because you're Pete's nurse doesn't mean you get to boss me around."

If Jim had realized his mistake and apologized all would have been cool, but instead he grinned and said, "Feisty little bugger aren't you? Now if you would do as I ask we'll all have dinner a little sooner."

"You didn't ask, you told me to peel the damned potatoes. You're worse than a mother."

Jim towered over Jason with his huge hands on his narrow hips. "So do it and stop hassling."

Jason glared at the big man. "You may be five times bigger than me. And you may scare the shit out of me, but FUCK YOU. I am out of here. You can explain to Pete why I left," he yelled as he stormed out of the kitchen, picked up his books and backpack off the dining room table and left the house.

Jim stood stunned for a moment realizing that he'd just fucked up royally. He turned off the stove and went in to explain his mistake to Pete and asked him where Jason was most likely to go. Pete lost his temper, told Jim where to get off and then calmed down, told him that their dorm room hadn't been given up yet and that was the most likely place to find him. Jim called Jake, who lived in an apartment a couple of blocks from the dorm, and asked him to go talk Jason into returning.

A couple of hours later as Jason lay on his bed in the dorm, staring at the ceiling, still fuming over being told to peel potatoes as if he were a servant. "It was just too much. Damned arrogant asshole. Just because he's so big and I'm so small was no reason to put up with that kind of treatment," he muttered aloud. He regretted leaving without telling Pete, but he wasn't going to put up with that monster male nurse. And that was that!!

There was a quiet knock on his door. Jason's heart jumped to his throat as he wondered if Pete had come clear across campus, not thinking that Pete had his own key. He jumped off the bed and flung the door open ready to scold Pete for being stupid. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He stared up at a man that was six inches taller than Jim and just as muscular.

"Hi, Jason, my name is Jake. May I come in and speak with you?"

Jason looked up into a kind gentle face, and fell in love. Jake wasn't just handsome, there was something in his eyes that made him just about the most beautiful man Jason had ever seen. His soulful brown eyes pleaded to be let in. Jason let go of the door knob and stepped back. He couldn't make his vocal cords work.

Jake ducked his head through the doorway and immediately sat. He didn't want to intimidate Jason by towering over him. Except with Jason's diminutive size he still did. Jason backed over to his bed, never taking his eyes off of him, and sat down across from him. He drank in the big man's looks. The square chin, firm lips, straight nose and closely cropped dark brown hair made him perfect for a marine recruiting poster. Jason realized that Jake was speaking.

"Jim can get kinda bossy sometimes. It comes with the job. And I guess he kinda looked on you as a kid 'cause of your size. He didn't want to leave Pete by himself so he called me and asked if I would come apologize for him. He said to tell you he will treat you with respect when you come back. And Pete needs you back there." Jake smiled at Jason and looked hopeful. "So will you come with me and we'll go back to the house?"

Jason was so mesmerized by Jake's smile he had a difficult time assimilating the apology that he had conveyed. He nodded his head, but didn't move. Jake grinned and held out his arms to him.

"Come're, let me give you a hug. You look like you really could use one right now."

Jason slipped off the bed feeling like he was ten years old, and stepped between the big man's legs. Jake gently enfolded him in his arms. For the first time in his life Jason felt what it would be like to have a father's loving embrace. Jason couldn't remember ever being hugged or even touched in a loving manner as a child by the man he called his dad. He relaxed into Jake's chest and hugged him back. "Yep, I could tell you need this," Jake murmured. " You and I are going to be great friends."

Jake smiled at the memory. He realized then that Jason was about the only person he really missed from Unicity. It would be good to see him again when he went back.

Charley's cell phone rang. I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner that evening after Gloria's banishment. Having left Charley ensconced on the living room sofa, I picked it up from the kitchen table and carried it to him and then headed back into the kitchen. When I heard him say "It wasn't like that, Dad." I stopped in my tracks to listen. "Dad, I heard the whole thing. You weren't here. You didn't hear the condescending tone of voice she was using."

Pause.

"For Christ's sake, she was on his case about not cleaning up the kitchen immediately after lunch, a few dirty dishes in the sink. He's not my goddamned servant, Pop."

Pause.

"I'm sorry."

Pause.

"Yes, but she is lying."

Pause.

"I'm well aware that it's my mother we're talking about."

Pause.

"Look, bring her over here and let's see if she tells the same story in front of us."

Pause.

"Hell, I don't know why she's doing this. Maybe she's jealous."

Pause.

"Alright, Dad."

Pause.

"Okay. Bye." I heard him snap the phone closed and I started toward the sink, wondering how Gloria had twisted the afternoon's events. "Jake?"

I turned back to the door. "Yes, Charley, I heard. Now your dad is upset. I'm sorry. I should pack and get out of here before I break up your whole family."

I thought he would at least put up a small objection, but he ignored what I said and tried to get up. "Would you give me a hand? This sofa is impossible for me to get off of alone."

I positioned the wheel chair so he could move into it once I lifted him off the sofa. He had other ideas. As soon as I had him standing on his good leg, he wrapped his arms around my neck and attacked my mouth with his.

After a couple of minutes of kissing him I picked him up and carried him into the bedroom and dropped him in the middle of the bed. I had his clothes off in seconds and mine quickly followed. I went down on him. I no sooner had my mouth on his cock than he was trying to maneuver me around where he could reciprocate. I go into overload when I'm being sucked by him and sucking him at the same time. I took him with me as I climaxed. After I got my breath back I turned around and collapsed beside him. "Isn't this worth the hassle of putting up with my family?" he asked as we lay side by side recovering.

I had to laugh. My feelings had been bent a little out of shape when he hadn't made any verbal objections to my suggestion about leaving. He had shown me first that he still needed help, and then sexually reminded me of what I'd be giving up. "Even without this, Charley, it would be worth putting up with the hassle just to be with you." I kissed him. "I love you, Charley."

"God, I love you, Jake." He rolled onto me. It took some effort with the cast on his leg. And kissed me back..

Two hours later, after recovering from a third climax, I sighed contentedly and stretched. "I guess I should go finish cleaning the kitchen." I groaned.

"Fuck the kitchen. Let's do it tomorrow." He turned off the bedside lamp and wrapped himself around me. I put up no protest.

With no Gloria showing up everyday, life became a little more blissful. Charley was getting around on crutches and could even drive his pickup. He drove to physical therapy by himself and took to hanging around the police station two or three hours a day. I completed the first draft of my book and started the real work of rewriting, editing and proofreading it.

After Gloria's banishment Charley's brothers took it upon themselves to make my life miserable. How they found out his schedule I don't know, but the first day, soon after he left the house I got a call from Tom, Charley's oldest brother. I didn't know Tom very well, but that didn't stop him from lecturing me about turning his little brother against his mother. I didn't contradict him or argue. I did apologize for the incident causing a rift, but I didn't apologize for anything I had done. He seemed to be appeased by that. At least he didn't say a thing homophobic.

And then the next day as soon as Charley left, Robert called. He was nasty, telling me he had me pegged the first time he saw me. Faggot was one of the nicer names he called me. I did make objections with him, and was told to shut my cum hole. I hung up on him. On the third day I let the answering machine pick up. About four days later Charley commented about there being an extraordinary amount of recorded hang ups on the machine.

The following Monday I started getting daily hate mail. I didn't say a word to Charley about it. Each day I put the notes in a folder next to my PC on the back side of the kitchen table where I worked.

On Saturday two weeks later, I went grocery shopping leaving Charley to his own devices while I used his pickup. One look at Charley when I walked in the door with my hands full of grocery bags, and I knew he was really pissed about something. He crutched up to me and shoved his fist, filled with the notes, into my chest with enough force to nearly knock the air out of me. I grunted.

"What the fuck are these? Why didn't you tell me about them?" I had seen Charley angry at his mother, but I hadn't yet until now felt his anger directed at me. But what I had done was for his protection. At least that was what I thought.

I stepped around him and put the bags on the counter. "It is obviously hate mail." I said and shrugged in answer to his second question.

"Why haven't you reported it to the police?"

I shrugged again. I had a feeling that if I opened my mouth I'd end up telling him what I thought about some of his family. I didn't want to inflict that hurt on him.

"Do you have any idea who sent them?"

"Yeah, I know who's doing it. I can't prove it though." I muttered

"Who?" Charley demanded.

"It doesn't matter. He's just doing it to harass me. He'll eventually get bored and stop."

"Jake, this person is breaking the law... the federal law." I shrugged again. He glared into my blanked face. "You're not going to tell me are you?" I could see the wheels turning in his mind. "It's obviously someone in my family, isn't it?" he asked as he continued to think.

I continued to stare at him, trying to show no response or emotion. He examined each of the envelopes. "They were all mailed here in Kirksville," he mumbled to himself. He took each note out of its envelope and spread them all out on the table. I turned to start emptying the bags. Muttering to himself, Charley jabbed one with his finger. "I knew it! Even though he's tried to disguise his hand writing by crudely printing these notes, he's given himself away with this R." He turned and looked at me. "How long has Robert been sending these things?"

I sighed, set the cans I had in my hands on the counter, rested my butt against it and folded my arms against my chest. "Since soon after your mother got the boot."

"Fuck!" He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and quick dialed. "Pop. Charley. I have an emergency. It's something you need to handle." He listened a moment and shook his head. "No, it isn't Mom, but she is involved." He nodded while he listened and then said, "Great. Thanks, Pop. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Charley studied the notes again. "Do you have any more of these?" He asked me without looking up.

"No. You have them all right there."

"I'm going to fry Robert's ass."

"Calm down, you can't go frying his ass, he's your brother."

"He had the audacity to call you a faggot and a cocksucker in front of other people," Charley yelled at me.

"Sal told you?" I calmly asked.

"Of course, she told me." He was still yelling

"Well, anyway, Robert apologized."

He shook one of the notes at me and said with a whispery hiss, "Some apology when he turns around and does this."

"He apparently feels that I have insulted your mother."

"How could you have insulted my mother. Christ!" He was yelling again. "You've always been polite to her even when she was ragging on you."

"Charley, calm down." I said, wrapping my arms around him. "Your dad will take care of it. That's why you called him." He was so angry he was shaking. I just held him and rubbed his back. Eventually, he calmed down and relaxed against me. I heard a car door close. "That's probably your dad now." I let go of him opened the front door before Chess could knock. He stepped in and gave me a hug. It gave me a warm loved feeling.

"How're you doing, Son?" he asked me.

"Great, Chess. You?"

"I'm fine. What's Charley's problem?"

"Me. I'll let him tell you. He's in the kitchen."

He gave me a questioning frown and went into the kitchen. I hung back and leaned against the door frame and watched Chess hug his son. I envied the warmth between them. But then Chess had just shown me the same warmth and love. The difference, I guess, was that Charley was his son.

"So what's wrong, Son?" he asked.

"Pop, look at these. Charley has been hiding them for the last two weeks."

He read one, pulled a chair out, sat down and read the rest of them. "Damn!" he exclaimed and turned to me. "Do you know who is doing this?"

I shrugged.

"He gave me the same answer," Charley said. The disgust was evident in his voice. He picked up one of the notes and handed it to his dad. "Look at this particular one. Note this particular R."

Chess studied it. I watched him blanch as he came to the same conclusion that Charley had. "But why? Why would he do this kind of thing?"

"Jake thinks he's doing it to revenge Mom's honor."

Chess turned and looked at me and then back at his son. "I wonder what on earth she could have told Robert that would push him to do this sort of thing?"

Chess went out on the back porch and made some phone calls. He came back in and asked, "Jake, is there any coffee in this house? I could sure use a cup." He sat down at the table with Charley

"There can be in about five minutes," I said, heading to the coffee maker.

Half an hour later Charley's family had assembled. Since Chess was a senior partner in his law firm and Tom and Robert worked with him, they had no trouble leaving work. Chess seated us around the kitchen table. I was on one end and Robert on the opposite end, facing me. His mother and Tom sat on each side of him and Charley and his dad sat on each side of me. Chess laid the folder containing the notes in the center of the table in front of Robert. "I want the three of you to examine the contents of that folder," he said.

Robert stared at it like it might explode in his face. He obviously knew what was in it. Gloria sat with her hands in her lap, her purse on the table in front of her and stared at her husband. Tom glanced up at his dad and then opened the folder, picked up one of the notes and gasped as he read it. "Jesus, this is serious stuff." He passed it across the table to his mother. Her eyes got a big incredulous look in them as she read it, but she didn't say anything as she passed it to Robert. His pallor made his tan look pasty as he glanced at it and laid it down. Tom picked up each one and read it, cursing under his breath and passed them on. They all ended up in a pile in front of Robert.

Chess' voice was so low, when he started speaking, that we had to strain to hear him. "I don't understand how such vile hatred could come from a member of this family. I just don't understand it."

"Are you suggesting that one of us wrote these things, Pop?" Tom asked, his voice incredulous. He obviously was unaware of Robert's activities.

"Yes, I am suggesting such a thing," he said softly. The volume of Chess's voice then rose about a thousand decibels. "Robert," he said, his voice like a crack of lightening, "would you like to explain yourself?"

Robert jumped and turned even paler. "What makes you think I wrote those notes?" He whined.

"Robert, there is plain evidence in those notes that clearly points to you. Do not dissemble to me, Son." I could see the love Chess felt toward his son even when he had done something like this.

Robert was like a little boy in a grown man's body. He slowly turned a dark red as he built up his indignation; his expression went from guilty to belligerent. "He insulted Mom, Pop. He told lies to Charley about her to make him kick Mom out of his house. I just wrote those notes to scare him into leaving. I wouldn't really follow through on any of those threats. You know that, Pop."

I glanced at Gloria. She had her head down where I couldn't see her expression. I wondered if she might be feeling guilty.

"Robert, did you stop to think that if Jake chooses to pursue a legal recourse, you could end up in prison? You'd be a convicted felon," Chess asked.

"Oh God, Jake, I didn't mean any of this." He gave me an imploring look.

Before he could give anymore explanation Gloria interrupted him. "Jake, why didn't you turn them over to the police?" she asked.

I looked at her incredulously. "Is that what you wanted me to do? You set your own son up to get me? You'd let Robert go to jail just to put a rift between Charley and me?"

Silence hung in the air like a pall of heavy smoke. Chess and his three sons stared at Gloria in shock. I felt a bit guilty for focusing their awareness on her. "Robert, did you stop to think what this would do to Charley?" I asked. "These notes only angered me, but they've really injured him."

Before Robert could reply Gloria asked, "If you didn't want Charley to find them why didn't you destroy them?

I couldn't believe that she was still attacking me. Chess and his three sons looked like they were watching a tennis match as they looked from Gloria to me and back to her. They were obviously shocked speechless by her behavior.

"I had no idea that he wouldn't follow through with these threats. If he did, I wanted the evidence to back me up when I went to the police. I hoped he would come to his senses first."

"So you gave them to Charley," she said.

"No. I thought I had them safely hidden. I didn't want him to see what Robert was doing in hope, like I said, that he would come to his senses soon and stop. I guess I didn't hide them well enough."

"I wasn't snooping. I spilled some coffee and in wiping it up, I knocked the folder off the table. I'm sorry, Jake," Charley said.

"I kind of guessed something like that. It's my fault. I figured the safest place to hide then was in plain sight."

"So what made you think it was Robert sending these notes?" Gloria asked, attacking me again. I glanced at Chess. His expression was inscrutable. I couldn't begin to imagine what he was thinking. The revelations of his wife's and Robert's behavior must have had him in shock. I looked at Robert. "Do you want to tell her why?" He dropped his head into his hands and shook his head.

"A couple of days before I received the first note, Robert called me and verbally threatened me," I said, speaking directly to Chess. "From the things he said to me, there was no doubt that the notes were written by him."

Robert looked up at me with a strangled cry. He looked miserable as relief, confusion, fear, anger fleeted over his countenance. "So why aren't you telling them what I said?" He cried out and buried his face back in his hands.

"I don't know why you feel such antagonism toward me, Robert. I don't really know you. Repeating what you said would do no good. Enough hurt has been inflicted already. I won't salt the wound."

Silence settled over the table. Robert had his face covered. Gloria had her head down staring at her folded hands. I had my chin propped on my fists, wondering what was going on in Gloria's mind as I watched Chess, Tom and Charley exchanging glances. It was like watching a silent conversation. Tom was the first to speak up.

"Jake, I totally judged you by hearsay. I was wrong to have said the things I did. You must really love my little brother to put up with the rest of us. Pop seems to be the only one who has acted decently toward you. Please accept my apology." Before I could respond, he turned to his mother. "Mom, for the first time in my life I'm ashamed of you. The way you have manipulated Robert and me is disgraceful. I don't understand why you did it. It's obvious that Jake is a kind, honorable man. I can't comprehend your antagonism toward him." Gloria glanced up at me and then at Tom before she went back to staring at her hands. Tom turned his head to look at me again. "Jake, I'm proud to have you as my brother."

Charley gripped my arm. Chess was patting and rubbing my back. The love and respect in their eyes said what they felt. I leaned over and whispered to Charley to pass the pile of notes to me. I stood and took them over to the stove and turned on a burner and the exhaust fan. Laying each note and envelope on the grid over the flame, I let the fire consume each one.

Charley struggled to stand and get his crutches. He came over to the stove and wrapped his arms around me. Chess and Tom came over and embraced the two of us in a group hug. I glanced up and saw Robert standing a couple of feet behind Tom. I nudged Charley. "Robert, is needing some forgiveness." The three men stood back and let Robert and me face each other.

His expression said what he couldn't verbalize. I stepped up to him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He melted against me, sobbing into my shoulder. "I am so sorry. I am so sorry."

"It's okay. Do you think we can be friends now?" I asked, as I rubbed his back.

He pushed back and looked at me, incredulous. "You would want to be my friend after what I've done?"

"Yes."

"Are you some kind of saint or what?" He crushed me in another hug.

As he hugged me I whispered to him. "You need to make amends with your family. It's them you really hurt." He nodded against my shoulder and then stood back.

He and Charley studied each other for a few moments. "Charley, I really made a big mistake. Can you forgive me?"

"I'm really pissed off about what you've done, Robby. It'll take me a while to get over it. But, yeah, I forgive you." They embraced.

Robert turned to his Dad. "I really messed up, Pop. I'm sorry."

His dad clasped him to his chest and rubbed his back. "I love you, Son, even when you do things like this."

And then Robert turned to Tom. Neither said a word as they held each other for a moment.

As if orchestrated all eyes turned to Gloria, who was still sitting at the table. She looked right at me, ignoring her sons and husband. "If you're expecting an apology from me, forget it. Despite your magnanimity, I still believe you're going to end up hurting Charley." She stood and picked up her handbag, turned and walked out the door, leaving us all with opened mouths.

Charley's brothers apologized and hugged us both again before leaving. Chess stayed for a bit to make sure we were okay. He apologized for Gloria's behavior, assuring us that she would eventually come around, telling us that it was probably just the trauma of finally losing her baby to someone else.