What Happened to Baby Cameron?
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 2

Swapping Birthdays

Cam looked at Ellie, “Grandma Ellie, Ricky and Randy are going to be staying with us.”

Ellie looked at the two boys, “Why don’t you tell me who you are since Cam didn’t introduce you?”

Randy looked at Ellie, “Ma’am, I’m Randy.  I’m seven years old.  My brother’s name is Ricky and he is going to be six on New Year’s Day.”

Cam had a glint in his eye and I could tell he was thinking. “Ricky, why don’t me and you trade birthdays.  You can have mine on Christmas Day, and I’ll take yours on New Year’s Day”

Ricky had a funny look, “Why are we changing birthdays?”

Cam was determined, “I’m tired of not getting birthday presents on my birthday.  People think I don’t need any more presents because it’s Christmas.”

Ricky shook his head, “We don’t get Christmas or birthday presents.  Do I get to keep your presents if I get any?”

Ellie was trying to keep from laughing, “Why don’t you three young men sit at the counter.  I made some Chex mix because I thought that Cam might not be too hungry after the party.  I figured you could have it for an after dinner snack, since it’s nutritional.”

Cam climbed on a stool at the breakfast bar and dished up three bowls of the mix.  “Guys, come eat.  This may be all we get to eat tonight.”

Ricky and Randy climbed up on the stools either side of Cam and tentatively started to eat.  Ellie handed them each a glass of lemonade and motioned for me to follow her to the great room.  “I don’t suppose you would care to tell me what’s happening?”

I explained to Ellie how I happened to come in contact with Ricky and Randy.

Her reaction was not what I would have expected.  She pointed a finger at me, “Well, what are you doing about it?”

“Ellie, Hank was going to call Elaine Graham and the authorities to see what he could find out about the boys’ parents.  I don’t know what else I can do, until we talk to him.”

The three boys arrived and interrupted the conversation.  Cam started, “Dad, I’m going to take the guys to show them the horses.  They don’t believe that we have horses.  Grandma Ellie, thanks for making the snack; we ate a lot of it.  We put our dishes in the dishwasher.”

I sighed, “Cam, I need to go with you, since your other Dad said I wasn’t to let Randy and Ricky out of my sight.  Get your coats.”

We had just exited the house when we heard some horses coming.  Cam put up his hands, “Here come the galloping herd.  They’re a little early today.”

Four riders dismounted in front of where we were standing. Danny asked, “Grandpa, we didn’t know you were having company.  Who are the two boys?”

Cam put his hands on his hips, “Look, Danny, give me a chance and I’ll tell you who they are.”

Cam continued, “Everyone, listen.”  He pointed to Randy, “Randy’s seven.”  he pointed to Ricky, “Ricky is going to be six.  We’re going to switch birthdays.  I’m tired of having my birthday on Christmas.

Cam started to introduce the guys. “See the tall one with the blue eyes, that’s Danny, he’s 13.  All he wants to do is play basketball and be like my brother, Jacob.  He and his family live that way.”  Cam pointed to the south.

I’m going to interrupt Cam’s introductions to tell you about each of the boys.  Danny has been thoroughly checked by the medical people annually and he has been declared to be an extra healthy young man.  The reason I tell you this was he was seriously ill when he was eight and received a platelet transfer from my son Jacob.  

Danny now stands five foot eight inches tall and you can tell that he works hard around the ranch because his musculature structure shows it.  He and Lionel, who you will meet shortly led their middle school basketball team to the city championship, which they won.  On top of all that, he is extremely good looking and a very good student.

Cam continued, “The bully standing next to Danny is David.  You can see that they’re brothers because they look so much alike.  David is eleven and is in the sixth grade.  He wants to be a wrestler like my brothers Tim and Tad.”

Randy frowned, “Cam, how many brothers do you got?”

Cam shrugged his shoulders, “I have four brothers.  They all go to college.”

David was the spitting image of Danny, but was five foot two inches tall and his body was just beginning to mature.

David took exception to Cam’s introduction, “Ricky and Randy, I’m not the bully, Cam is.”

Cam looked at the Ricky and Randy, “Don’t believe David. Danny and David have two brothers and two sisters who are four.  They’ll go to school with us next year.”

Ricky looked up at me, “Mr. Michaels, are we going to get to stay here?”

“Ricky, I don’t know what’s going to happen.  We’ll just have to wait to see what Cam’s other Dad has to say when he gets here.”

Cam continued his introductions, “Lionel and Louie live in that house, that way.  They live there with their Dads and their big brother.  The tall one who is always playing basketball with Danny is Lionel.  They play here because we are in the middle of where they live.  Louie and David meet here to wrestle and beat each other up.”

Randy asked, “Why do they want to beat each other up?”

“They don’t really beat each other up.  They just mess around and no one ever gets hurt.  They’re really good friends.”

I was thinking, ‘Ricky and Randy are going to think we’re a bunch of nuts.’  Lionel is nearly as tall as Danny and is a delight to watch on the basketball court because he is so agile and quick.  He isn’t as well developed as Danny, but he has been working on it.

Louie and David are rather evenly matched.  Both Lionel and Louie are going to be very handsome young men.

Cam started toward the stable and the guys were starting to play basketball when Tammy and Lindsey arrived.  Cam saw them, “Tammy and Lindsey, come meet Randy and Ricky.”

Ricky looked at me, “Mr. Michaels, are those Cam’s sisters?  He looks just like them.”

Before I could answer, Cam did, “They used to be my sisters, but they aren’t anymore because they got adopted by Aunt Cathy and Aunt Lori when my Dads adopted me.  We were not suppose to tell anyone that they are my sisters.”

Randy asked, “Why did you tell us then?  Is everyone here adopted?”

Cam shook his head no, “Danny and David haven’t been adopted.

The tall girl is Lindsey.  She’s in Danny and Lionel’s class and plays volleyball and basketball.  Tammy is in seventh grade and plays soccer and soft ball.  They come here to practice with Danny and Lionel.”

I looked at Ricky and Randy, “Do you guys know what adopted means?”

Both boys nodded yes and Ricky answered, “Yes, because we were adopted, too.”

I almost said aloud, ‘I need to let Hank know this new information.’

We went to the stable and Cam was explaining about the horses.  “This is my horse, Riki Tiki.  Maybe when my other Dad gets home we can go for a ride.”

We were interrupted by the intercom, “Steve, Kevin is on line one.”

“Hi Kev, what’s happening?  I thought that you would be airborne by now.”

“Dad, our plane had some sort of mechanical malfunction.  We are about to take off on another flight but we are going to be rerouted and will need to spend the night in St Louis.  We are scheduled to arrive there at two tomorrow afternoon on flight 270.  Call the Wrights and let them know what‘s happening, please.”

“Okay, son, we’ll meet you at two.”

While I was talking to Kevin, someone had put their arms around me and was manhandling my pelvic area and blowing in my ear.  I turned around and kissed Hank, “I’ll give you two hours to stop that.  Do the boys know you’re here?”

“Hi Dad. Ricky and Randy, this is my other Daddy, Mr. Rodgers.  Dad, what did Kevin want?”

I grinned, “Kevin and Cyndi won’t be arriving tonight.  They’ll be arriving tomorrow afternoon.”

Cam hit his hands together, “Good, that means we can go get Ricky and Randy some clothes after dinner.”

Ricky asked, “Cam, how do your Dads know who you talking to?”

“I call Dad Rodgers, Daddy since he’s the one who adopted me, and I call Dad Michaels, Dad.  They usually can tell which of them I’m talking to.   Dads, if Ricky and Randy get to live with us, will they have their own horse?”

Hank hugged Cam, “Son, if Randy and Ricky are going to live with us, they certainly may have the horses.  You need to go make sure the dogs have food and water.”

“Okay Daddy, come on, Randy and Ricky.”

As Hank and I were walking toward the house, I told him what Ricky and Randy said about being adopted.

He stopped, “I need to call Elaine right away and tell her this piece of information.  A Jane and John Doe were found shot today in a car that had been looted; all papers and the license plates are missing.  The police are trying to find out who they were.  They’ve sent their fingerprints to the federal authorities.  They suggested that we take the boys by the morgue to see if they are the boys parents.”

I shuddered, “Hank, I’m not sure that Ricky could handle that.  I don’t even like the idea of subjecting Randy to that, but he would probably be able to handle it better than Ricky.”

Hank went to the bedroom to make some phone calls.  When the guys returned from taking care of the dogs, I suggested, “Cam, why don’t you show Ricky and Randy the house and show them your bedroom since they are going to be sleeping with you.”

Cam started to pout, “But Dad, all three of us can’t fit into my crib.”

The three young guys took off, and I went to see if I could help Ellie.  She looked at me, “Steve, how long are Ricky and Randy going to be here?  They’re adorable.  When they came in from feeding the dogs, they hugged me and thanked me for the snack.”

“Ellie, it’s looking more and more likely that they are going to be here for some time.  Hank is making some calls right now.  We’ll explain what’s happening after the boys are in bed tonight.  Hopefully, we will have some idea of what’s going to happen.”

The boys were returning to the kitchen.  Randy looked at me. “Mr. Michaels, I’m so surprised that you can find Cam in the mornings to wake him up.  He must look like a postage stamp on an elephant.”

“Dad, Randy just called me a postage stamp.  Come on we need to set the table.  Grandma Ellie, how many people are going to be here for dinner?”

Ellie had to stop and think, “I think the usual people will be here.  No one told me differently so I guess there will be ten of us.”

Cam nodded, “We’ll be right back after we wash our hands.”

Hank resurfaced, “Elaine is going to meet us at the morgue at 7:30.  We’re to take Randy with us.  She agrees with you that Ricky is too young.”

The conversation was interrupted by the return of the three boys.  “Grandma Ellie, what do we need tonight?”

Ellie looked at Cam, “We need a salad plate and put the dinner plates in front of your Daddy so he can dish up the dinner.”

Cam licked his lips, “It smells like we’re having lasagna.”

Ellie grinned, “I figured that we should have something you like for a change.”

Ricky asked, “What’s la son ya?”

Cam looked confused, “It's sorta like spaghetti but it has big noodles and cottage cheese and some green stuff.”

Randy asked, “Does it come out of the can like spaghetti?”

Hank looked at me and we must have been thinking the same thing, ‘What kind of life must these boys had?’

Cam was trying to explain how Grandma Ellie made lasagna, “Guys, we almost never have things that comes out of a can unless we’re in a hurry.”

Chase, Freddie, Wayne and Justin arrived and Cam started the introductions, “Everyone, this is Randy and Ricky.  They are going to be staying with us.”

Cam pointed at Chase, “That’s Chase, he’s sorta Lionel and Louie’s brother.  The guy next to him is his friend Freddie.  They go to university, and are going to be finished pretty soon.  They help Uncle Justin take care of the ranches.  When they finally get finished with school,  they’re going to go live at Danny and David’s ranch.”

“Uncle Justin takes care of the ranches and makes sure everything is okay.  He and Uncle Wayne have an apartment behind where Riki Tiki lives.  Uncle Wayne works for Dad at the place where Danny and David’s Daddy bosses everyone around.”

The four guys were laughing and Chase quipped, “And Cam and Grandma Ellie boss all of us around.”

It was a real treat to see Ricky and Randy look suspiciously at the food.  However, once they tried it, they were practically licking their plates.

Chase announced, “Freddie and I’ll take care of the dishes.”

Hank looked at the guys, “Cam and Ricky, why don’t you make sure that they do it correctly.  We’re going to take Randy to get him some clothes.”

Cam looked as if he was going to ask something but didn’t. We departed with Randy and he had questions, “Mr. Michaels and Mr. Rodgers, why are you taking just me?”

I was driving so Hank turned around, “Randy, we think that your parents are dead.  We need for you to identify them.  We are going to be met by a social worker and she will make it possible for you and Ricky to live with us.  Will you be okay?”

“I think so.”

When we arrived at the morgue, Elaine was waiting and we introduced her to Randy.  Randy looked at her, “Mrs. Graham, please let us stay with Mr. Michaels and Mr. Rodgers if our parents are dead.”

A female deputy escorted us into the morgue.  When they pulled out the first body, Randy, looked at me Mr. Michaels, “I think I’m going to be sick.  That’s my dad.”

When the attendant pulled out the second container with Jane Doe, Randy started to cry.  I picked him up even though he was seven and he was clinging to me, “Mr. Michaels and Mr. Rodgers, can we please just go home.  I don’t want to do anything else tonight.  I don’t feel good.”

I took Randy to the van, while Hank explained what the boys had told us earlier.  When Hank appeared, he ordered, “Home James, I feel as if there is trouble at the ranch.”

When we walked into the house, Chase announced, “Your son and his guest are in rare form so you'd better brace yourselves.  With the two of them around, you’re never going to get old.  They’re in your bedroom waiting for you.”

When the three of us went into the bedroom, Cam and Ricky were lying on the bed in diapers and had a baby bottle in their mouths.  Cam looked at us, “Dad, we really need some new clothes.  These diapers don’t fit and look at the socks.  They don’t even fit our big toes.  Randy how many new clothes did they buy you tonight?  I suppose our room will be so full that we may have to sleep in the bathtub?”

This was what Randy needed, “You can sleep in the bathtub if you want, but I’m going to sleep in your humongous bed.  We didn’t buy any clothes for me tonight because we figured you two would steal them.”

Hank took over, “Why don’t the three of you take a shower in here and you can wear one of our tee shirts to bed until we can buy you some clothes that fit.  Do I need to come and make sure that you do get clean?”

Cam sighed, “Never mind, Daddy, we can take care of each other.”

When the three guys came out of our shower, we handed them a tee shirt after we made sure they were dry.  We went to the kitchen and they were sitting at the breakfast bar eating Chex mix again when the phone rang.  

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  I need to remember to write the words, “Editor's Notes,” when I start spouting off.  I forgot to do that in another chapter. Luckily someone else noticed and fixed it.

I have actually had people write to me and tell me that I need to do more ranting.  Maybe next time I'll rant.

It looks as if Randy and Ricky are going to be staying for good.  At least I hope so. I wonder who was calling.  I understand that the next chapter is in the process of being written.  Hopefully, it won't be too long before we get to see it.  In case you started reading this story without reading any other of E Walk's stories, you might want to know that this is a sequel to “We Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus.” If you haven't already read that one, you should probably do so.  It will clear up some questions you might have, as to how all these people got together. 

I can hardly wait for the next chapter of this great story.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher 

Posted: 08/28/09