Bart and Chris
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 43

How Bad Was I?

When the second of the acts that were to be performed was started, Chris was practically creeping into the seating area.  He sat in his seat between Zack and me.  We both hugged him.  The second act was three second grade girls doing a tap dance routine which they had very obviously done before. It was really quite cute. 

Mrs. Greer commended the three girls and the assembled people responded by politely applauding.  The next performance was a fifth grade boy who played The Entertainer by Scott Joplin.  He was very accomplished and when he finished he stood up and bowed as if waiting to hear the applause.  I thought to myself, ‘He’s done something like this before.’

Mrs. Greer commended the three acts and thanked them for performing.  Beau and Becca motioned for Chris to follow them. He was gone in a flash. 

The next order of business was the introductions of the candidates for the election of officers.  Ty was the last person to be introduced and a lady stood, “Mr. Jefferson, isn’t it odd that young Chris was campaigning for you during his performance.”

Ty was rather terse in his reply, “I had no idea what Chris was going to do tonight.  He was simply stating what I told Dr. Plummer when she asked if I would run to be the president.  Before anyone asks, I’m a single parent with three children going to school here at the present time.  My oldest son is going to be booted on to middle school, but my youngest daughter will be starting kindergarten next year, so I will still have children in kindergarten, second and fourth grades.”

A gentlemen stood, “Mr. Jefferson, might I ask what you do to make a living?”

Ty was very polite, “I’m a lawyer.”

Mr. Robinson stood, “Ladies and gentleman, I’m Don Robinson.  My wife and I are teachers, but not here at this school.  We, like Mr. Jefferson, have three children who go to Belvedere.  My wife and I have had the opportunity to get to know Mr. Jefferson and his associates and I strongly recommend that you vote for him to be president of this organization.”

The lady who was opposing Ty asked, “Don’t I get a chance to explain my views of what the organization should be about?”

Mrs. Greer nodded, “You have the floor, Mrs. Oleander.  You have five minutes.  If you will recall, Mr. Jefferson was merely answering questions from the floor.”

Mrs. Oleander was dressed in a business suite.  “I, like Mr. Jefferson, am a lawyer as is my husband.  We have a son, Horatio, in Mrs. Howard’s class.  He comes home every night complaining that he’s bored because he never gets to do anything fun.  I think this organization should be about making this a fun place for children so they don’t come home complaining about school.  We need to spend the PTO funds on more fun things like games for the computer.”

A gentleman stood, “Mrs. Oleander, I thought schools were established to educate children and not provide babysitting services for parents.  Mr. Jefferson, might I ask what you did before you started practicing law?”

Ty answered, “Not that it has anything to do with this discussion, but I was a professional football player.”

The gentleman was relentless, “Mr. Jefferson, how do you work and take care of the children after school?” 

Ty looked at me, “I hired a nanny, except that he’s a man, so the children call him Nano Mark.”

Another lady asked, “Mr. Jefferson, do your children come home complaining that they are bored?”

“Not exactly.  When we get home at night, the children are bursting to tell us about their day.  We give them the opportunity to tell us about what happened during the school day while we’re eating dinner around the dining room table. They’re excited to come to school each morning.  Chris, whom you saw earlier, makes his Dad and brother get up and go running before he goes to school.”

Mrs. Howard approached the stage, “Mrs. Greer, I would like to say something, if I may.  I’m Horatio Oleander, Becky Jefferson and Chris Leavitt’s teacher.  Becky has always been a model student, Chris blossomed when he was adopted by Mr. Leavitt.  The two of them come to school with their spelling words and the bonus word memorized by every Thursday.  Not only that, but Nano Mark adds some words that I wouldn’t expect a fourth or fifth grader to know and they know the meaning of them.”

“They never complain and are the first to try to help other children if they need help.  Chris has tried to help the Oleander‘s son, Horatio, before, but Horatio always shut him out until today after Mr. Franklin got Horatio settled down.  Horatio was totally out of control when he arrived at school this morning.”

Mrs. Oleander was beginning to look a little peaked.  She took one last blast.  “What did this Mr. Franklin do to get him to settle down.  I suppose he took him into a closed room and had his way with Horatio.  Mr. Franklin was all Horatio wanted to talk about tonight while we were eating at the restaurant.”

Wilt stood, “I should sue you for slander, for that remark.  The entire time I was working with Horatio, we were in the entry way where anyone walking by could see us, until I took him for lunch and sent him back to his classroom.”

A surprise visitor stood, “Mrs. Oleander, I’m Superintendent Roosevelt.  I can attest to the fact that Mr. Franklin and your son were in full view this morning, because when I arrived they were sitting in the open area and Mr. Franklin was trying to convince your son that he was special.”

A lady stood, “Madame President, I call for the vote for the new president of the Parent Teacher’s Organization and I move it be by a show of hands since it is the only contested position.”

Someone yelled, “I second the motion.”

Mrs. Greer handled the motion very well, “It has been moved and seconded that we vote for the president of the PTO and that the vote be by a show of hands.  All those in favor, please say aye.” 

There was  a resounding vote of ayes.  She looked up, “All those opposed, please say nay.  Hearing none, I would ask that all those who are here and would like to vote for Mrs. Oleander to please raise their hand.”

The only hand that went up was Mrs. Oleander’s.  Mrs. Greer commented, “One vote for Mrs. Oleander.  Those of you who would like to have Mr. Jefferson as your president, please raise your hand.”

I looked around and people were standing with two hands in the air and Mrs. Greer looked at Ty, “Mr. Jefferson, it is readily apparent that you are the new PTO president.  You might want to say a few words to your constituents after Dr. Plummer introduces the newest staff members.”

I figured that this was going to be a piece of cake, but that wasn’t exactly what happened.

Dr. Plummer and Superintendent Roosevelt approached the podium.  Dr. Plummer started, “We are excited that we will have the same professional staff that we had last year as far as we know, now.  We will be adding three other qualified teachers to pilot a special program in our school to take care of students with special needs.”

A gentleman stood, “I thought that was what special education teachers and school counselors were hired to do.”

Dr. Roosevelt looked at the gentleman, “Sir, the special education teachers are here to deal with children with learning disabilities.  The school counselors are here to work with all the students.  Their job is to help the children to be able to make intelligent choices.  They also work with small groups trying to help them become intelligent citizens.  This new pilot program, which is not costing the district any money, I might add, will be to help individual or small groups of children to resolve conflicts and feel better about themselves.”

“I had the opportunity today to watch all three of these people in action and I can honestly say that Belvedere is lucky to have this team on staff.”

Dr. Plummer took over, “The team leader is Mark Leavitt.  You saw his son earlier tonight.  Mark has been volunteering in our school plus he has been involved in the visually and hearing impaired program that has been presented throughout the district.  Mark, please come join us on the stage and introduce your staff.”

I went to the stage and before I could say anything,  A lady asked, “You’re not old enough to have a son as old as Chris.”

I wasn’t sure how to answer, but I decided to be honest, “Ma’am, I legally have a sixteen year son, as well as Chris.  They are my adopted sons.”

Mrs. Oleander jumped up, “You’re lying.  No judge in his right mind would grant a single man custody of two young boys.”

Ty stood, “Ma’am, I was at the hearing, and I can assure you that Mark is the father of Chris and Bart.  This has nothing to do with Mark’s employment here at the school, or in the district.”

I was a little rattled, but I continued, “I would like to introduce my assistant, Dr. Delores Del Rio or Dr. DoDo as she prefers to be called.”

A gentleman stood, “If Dr. DoDo has her doctorate, why is she not in charge of the program rather than you?”

Dr. Del Rio took the microphone, “Because I have no desire to be in charge.  I just happen to have four teen age adopted children living at home, whom I need to take of.”

I was almost afraid to introduce Wilt, but I did, “The last member of our team is Mr. Wilton Franklin.  He has his master’s degree in child psychology.   We are excited to have him on the staff.  He brings us the extra quality of being able to reach out to the young people of all races and sexes.”

When Wilt approached the stage there were several men in the audience who I noticed slouched down in their chairs.

Fortunately there were no comments and Dr. Plummer thanked us for attending the meeting and Dr. Roosevelt shook our hands.

Mrs. Greer returned to the podium, “Mr. Jefferson, would you like to make any comments?”

Ty went to the podium.  “Thank you, Mrs. Greer.  I just want to thank you and the other outgoing officers and committee chairs for the hard work that you have done.”

“I understand that you have been the president for two years.  I would like very much to meet with you so I can pick your brains, so to speak.  I want to assure everyone that I will try to do what my campaign manager, Chris, suggested and make this school the best possible learning experience and environment for not only the students but the staff as well.  I will be open to receiving any suggestions which I will bring before the PTO board.  Everyone needs to pitch-in and help to  make us an effective organization.”

“To show their appreciation for all the hard work that Mrs. Greer and  the other officers have done, the staff would like to invite everyone to punch and cake in the media center.”

Mrs. Greer returned to the podium, “Is there any other business that needs to be discussed this evening.  A lady whom I had seen around the school immediately stood, “I move the meeting be adjourned.  A man behind her yelled, “I second the motion.”

Mrs. Greer looked surprised, “It has been moved and seconded that the meeting be adjourned.  All those who are in favor of adjourning the meeting please say aye.”

It was readily apparent that the majority of the people were voting to adjourn the meeting.

Mrs. Greer looked around, “All those opposed say nay.”

There were a few scattered nays.  One lady jumped up, “I call for a division.  Some of us have items that we want to bring up.”

DoDo leaned over, “I have the feeling this might be interesting.”

Mrs. Greer looked up to see who was speaking, “Mrs. Lucas has called for a division.  I ask all those people who are in favor of closing the meeting to please raise your right hand.  Mark and Witt, would you please count the number of raised hands?”

Witt counted one side of the room and I took the other.  We got together and informed Mrs. Greer of the count.  She went to microphone, “Will all of those persons opposed please raise your right hand?”

The no votes were easy to count.  We gave Mrs. Greer the count.  She went to the microphone, “The count is 168 in favor of adjourning the meeting with 12 opposed.  I declare this meeting adjourned.”

I was walking to the library with Dr. Del Rio and she asked, “Mark, this is none of my business, but who was that young man who was sitting on the other side Chris tonight?”

I leaned over and quietly said, “That’s Chris’ other Dad.  I kept waiting for Chris to say something about him but he carefully sidestepped the issue.  I’ll introduce Zack to you in the media center.  Zack also happens to be Mr. Jefferson’s foster brother.”

“Mark, you and I need to sit down and talk.  Does Wilt know about the relationships?”

“Yep and so does Dr. Plummer.”

DoDo started to laugh, “I think you and Wilt and I need to go drinking, so I can get to know your stories.”

“I know Wilt’s story and his life has been very different from mine.  He accused Zack and me of being born with silver spoons in our mouths.  I had to set him straight on that point.”

We arrived at the media center and people started to approach us.  Many of the people commended me on how Chris had done.  Some people asked questions about the program, and others just wanted to visit.

When people started to leave, Jason Berger approached me, “Mark, why don’t we go back to my apartment and have a beer?  I’d like to have a chance to get to know Wilt.  It would be better if I could talk to him with other people around.”

“Let’s check with Zack and Wilt.  Wilt’s riding with us, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

The two guys were agreeable even though they didn’t know what I knew.  We said our goodnights to Dr. Plummer and Dr. Roosevelt.  When I said goodnight to DoDo, she reminded me, “Mark, I need to know your and Wilt’s stories, and I need to know them now.  Where does Mr. Berger fit into the scheme of things?

“Dr. Del Rio, we’ll pencil you in for the earliest possible free moment.”

As we were walking to the parking lot, Jason spoke, “Wilt, why don’t you ride with me.  Mark, you and Zack can follow us.”

When we got into the car, Zack asked, “Mark, would you care to explain what’s happening.  I know Wilt’s story but what’s with Jason and why is he being so friendly.”

“Zack, just be patient.  I think this might be an interesting evening.  I have no idea what is going to happen.  Jason knows about us.”

We hadn’t gone very far at all when Jason pulled into the drive of a single family house and Jason pulled his car into a detached garage.  I parked on the street.  Jason and Wilt met us, and Jason mentioned, I should have told you to pull into the driveway and park behind me.

He took us to a covered staircase on the outside of the building and we went to the second floor.  He led us into an apartment that made Zack’s and mine look like a dollhouse by comparison.  I couldn’t imagine what Wilt must be thinking.

Jason started the conversation, “Mark and Wilt, get comfortable.  Take off your blazers and ties while Zack and I get us some beer and a snack to munch on.  I don’t have any other alcohol on hand.  I’m not big drinker.”

Zack and Jason returned with four Coor’s beers and two bowls of party mix.  Jason put two beers and a bowl of the mix on a table in front of the two loveseat sofas.  “Mark and Zack, why don’t you sit here and Wilt and I’ll sit over there so we can talk.  If anyone needs to use the bathroom, it’s through the middle door at the back of the apartment between the two bedrooms.  The bathroom is connected to the two bedrooms on either side, so if you worried about privacy, you need to make sure the doors are all locked.”

Wilt asked the obvious question, “Jason, do you live here alone?”

Jason nodded yes, “I do now.  My room mate moved out last weekend because he got married.  I either need to find a new roommate or move, because this apartment is just a little more than I can I afford by myself.”

Our conversation was interrupted by someone knocking at a door on the side of the apartment.  Jason went to the door, “Hi Grandpa Armour what’s up?  Come in and meet my new friends.”

The gentleman laughed, “Jason, I keep telling you that at my age nothings ever up anymore.”

They came to the area where we were seated, “Guys, I’d like to introduce you to my landlord, Grandpa James Armour.”

Jason introduced us to the elderly gentleman who hand snow white hair and resembled Zack.

We shook his hand as we were introduced.  When he was introduced to Zack he commented, “Son, you remind me of me when I was fifty years younger.”

Mr. Armour turned to Jason, “Are some or all of these gentlemen going to be your roommates?”

Jason shrugged his shoulders, “Grandpa, I don’t think Mark and Zack are planning to move.  They already have an apartment and two sons.  I was thinking of asking  Wilt if he might be interested in sharing the apartment with me.”

Mr. Armour looked at Wilt, “Let me warn you, young man, Jason is a snorer.  Me and Mary can hear him clean downstairs and we have to wear earplugs to bed.  Jason, the reason I came to talk to you was to see if you could drive me to the hospital on the way to school in the morning.  Tomorrow is the day I greet the outpatients and Mary has a doctor’s appointment.”

“Grandpa, I’ll be glad to take you to the hospital.”

Mr. Armour started to leave but turned around, “I almost forgot, Mary would like to go to the grocery store tomorrow, would you be available after school to take her?”

“Grandpa Armour, tell Grandma that I'll sneak away early and pick her up 3:30.”

Jason escorted Mr. Armour to the door.  When he returned, he commented, “I sure hope I can find a suitable roommate and don’t have to move.  The Amours have become very dependent on me.  They treat me as if I was a grandson.”

I looked at the clock, “Guys, we need to be going. I would be willing to bet that Chris is waiting for us to get home.”

Jason stood, “I’ll take Wilt home.  I still need to find out the rest of your stories.  I guess that will have to wait until another day.”

Boy was I correct in my assessment of what we might be facing when we arrived at the house.  Bart was on the phone in the kitchen, “Dads, go talk to Chris.  He’s really upset.  After you talk to him, we need to have a negotiations session.”

We went to the apartment and we went into the boys’ bedroom but Chris wasn’t in their bed.  We walked through the bathroom and heard Chris saying, “Farmer Bear, I guess I got our Dads in trouble.  They should be home by now.  Everyone else is home but them.”

I looked at Zack.  He shrugged his shoulders.  We went into our bedroom and plopped down on either side of Chris.  I hugged him, “We’re not in trouble.  We were visiting with Mr. Franklin and Mr. Berger.”

Chris looked up at us, “Dads, could you please just call and tell us when you are going to do something like that so we know where you are?  Dads, do you know how hard it was for me to not talk about Dad Zack tonight?  Me and Farmer Brown almost slipped a couple of times.  I know that we can’t let people know that you love each other or they would fire you.”

 Chris totally switched gears on us, “Dads, I think you'd better take me to a new school because Farmer Bear and I made fun of some of the teachers and they will probably hate me.”

Zack hugged Chris, “Christopher Warren Leavitt, you aren’t going to a new school.  The teachers won’t hate you and in fact you and Farmer Bear were the best thing about tonight’s meeting.  I strongly suggest that you and Farmer Bear get some sleep or you will be dragging all day tomorrow.”

We took Chris to his bed, hugged and kissed him, and he was overtaken by the sandman almost immediately.

Zack turned to me, “Let’s go face the negotiation team and then you have a lot of explaining to do to bring me up to speed with everything that is happening and has happened.

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  Who is in on this negotiation team?  That sounds serious, doesn't it?  That PTO meeting turned out to be a bit of a hassle, didn't it?

I hope that Wilt takes Jason up on his offer to have him as a roommate. They are both very nice guys. 

Like all of E Walk's stories, this one is full of surprises, and continues to hold your attention.  I definitely want more.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 07/31/09