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

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Chapter 59

Going Home

When we arrived at the hotel Mr. Carlisle announced, “We’ll be picking you people up at 6:30 in the morning.  That will give us time to stop by the studio and get your instruments and costumes.  Jeff we’ll be taking you with us, since your flight leaves thirty minutes after the contingent from Kansas City.  You might want to consider eating food at the airport since most of restaurants in this area don’t open until later on Sundays.  You could always have room service, but you’d be paying big bucks.”

We met in our suite so the people could plan what they wanted to do for the evening.   Chris was adamant, “Dad, I don’t want to go out of the hotel again until we leave for the airport.”

Steve asked, “Chris, why don’t you want to go out of the hotel?”

Jeff answered, “Chris has a good reason for not wanting to leave the hotel again, today.  Just leave it at that.  Mr. Leavitt, would it be permissible the teenagers, who want to, to go out and walk around and get something to eat if we all stick together?”

I looked at Mrs. Sweet and the Del Rios and they nodded yes.  I responded, “Yes, as long as you stick together and not make spectacles of yourselves.  You need to be in the suites no later than ten o’clock.”

The teenagers all opted to go, and made plans to meet in ten minutes after everyone had time to go to the bathroom and freshen up.  I looked at Bart when he returned from the bathroom and pointed to my wallet but he waved me off.  I assumed that everyone had money.  The only person I wasn’t sure about was the Jeff person.”

I thought to myself, ‘Why was it Jeff who jumped to Chris’ defense so quickly?’

After the teenagers had departed, I went to the mini bar that was in the room, “What can I fix you to drink?  We might as well have something to drink since it’s obvious that Chris isn’t going anywhere tonight.”

The two young boys were lying on the floor watching the big screen television.  They had headphones on so that the sound wouldn’t bother us.  Mrs. Sweet asked, “Why is Chris so opposed to leaving the hotel tonight.  Did something happen?  I hope it wasn’t caused by any of our people.”

I explained what had happened during the intermission at the theatre, and DoDo asked, “Mark, what do you know about this Jeff person.  He certainly came to Chris’ defense very quickly.  Roddy told us you gave him permission to spend the night with Jeff last night and asked our permission to do likewise tonight.”

I had to ask, “And what did you tell him?”

Mr. Del Rio started to laugh, “He said you told the two guys the same thing last night that we told them when we gave our permission.  I have the distinct impression that Roddy is finally feeling good about himself.  He told me in private about the shower/grower competition and what you told him yesterday morning.”

I guess I must have turned red because Mrs. Sweet picked up on it right away, “What was the shower/grower competition?”

Fortunately I was spared from answering by Chris coming and sitting next to me, “Dad, me and Tio are sorta getting hungry.  Can we go get something to eat?”

Mrs. Sweet answered, “There’s a café in the lobby where we don’t have to change clothes.  Why don’t we go there?”

We made plans to meet in the lobby in five minutes.  When we walked into the restaurant, a young man took us to a table, I’ll be your waiter.  My name is Alphonso.  May I bring you something from the bar while you decide what you would like to eat?”

Mrs. Sweet ordered martini.  The Del Rios both ordered a Rob Roy.  I decided I’d have a tall bourbon and water with lots of ice. 

Alphonso looked at the two youngsters, “And what would you like Messieurs?  Perhaps a Roy Rodgers or a Shirley Temple.  I’ll tell you what I’m going to do.  I bring you one of each so can decide which you like best.”

He returned with the drinks and the boys each had two drinks in front of them.  Chris looked the young man, “I thought you were going to bring us one of each to share.”

Alphonso winked, “I can’t have you two young guys sharing germs, now can I?” 

I could tell that Chris was taken in by the guy.  Chris looked at the young man. “If you were going to be eating, what would you order?  That’s what I’ll have.”

Alphonso looked surprised, “You might be sorry.”

Tio handed his menu to the young man, “I’ll have what Chris is having.”

Mrs. Sweet did the same, “I’ll have one those ‘You might be sorry things’, also.”

The result was that we had six people eating one of the ‘You might be sorry things.’  Needless to say we were not going to be hungry, during the night after the great food we had.  Alphonso pulled up a chair next to Chris, “Chris, I have the kitchen help catching ants for Farmer Bear.  Would he like his fish raw or what?  Where is Farmer Bear anyway?  Why didn’t you bring him with you?  I could have given him a bottle of honey to drink while you were eating.”

A man approached, “Al, what are you doing sitting here bothering the customers?”

“Dad, this is Chris and Tio of the shows that everyone is talking about with Farmer Bear, and the Fab 10.”

Chris looked at the man, “Alphonso has been very helpful.  He hasn’t been bothering us.”

Our teenagers appeared, Bart came over to us, “We decided that there were too many weirdos out there, so we decided to come back here to eat.  What do you recommend?”

Chris looked up, “Alphonso, give them each one of the ’You might be sorry things’ and maybe we’ll get some sleep tonight.”

Alphonso went to get the drinks and we watched as he set two drinks in front of each of the teenagers,  He approached our table, “Can I get you anything else?”

Mrs. Sweet answered, “No, Alphonso, take care of our kids.  Please bring me the check.”

Mrs. Sweet handed Alphonso a card and he returned with a folder.  Mrs. Sweet took the card and signed the bill.  When Alphonso came back to take the folder, his eyes got really big.  “Ma’am are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”

Mrs. Sweet stood, “Look, kid, I never make mistakes.  Come on, Chris, let’s get out of here.  It's getting too noisy with all of the teenagers in here.”

Tio was walking with me, “Nano Mark, Mrs. Sweet was teasing wasn’t she?  The teenagers weren’t being that noisy.”

I had my arm around Tio, “No, they were actually very well behaved.  I think Mrs. Sweet wanted to let Alphonso know that he should take care of them.”

Tio looked up at me, “Nano Mark, this never happened when I was eating out with my parents.  They almost never left a tip.  How much did Mrs. Sweet give Alphonso?

“Tio, I have no idea, but I gather it was substantial.  He was very efficient and friendly.  Did you enjoy your meal?”

“Yes sir, when I had to go out with my parents, I always had to have the cheapest thing on the menu.  I was never allowed to say what I wanted.  My mother always ordered for me.”

When we arrived at the floor where the suites were located, Mrs. Sweet announced, “I think we can rest peacefully.  We know that our teenagers are in the building.  I’m sure they will be coming to the suites as soon as they finish eating.  Surely, nothing can happen on the elevators.”

Chris and Tio went to get ready for bed.  They looked so comfortable that I wanted to go to bed, as well.  Instead, I decided to wait for the return of the teenagers.  I turned on the television and flipped to the local news.  The anchor person was saying, “This afternoon one of our esteemed, and I say that with my tongue in my cheek, was caught molesting a preadolescent young man.  It is reported that two of the victims teenage friends restrained the man and turned him over to the authorities.  The persons involved were all from out of town and were attending the new production of Oliver which opened last evening.”

The suite door opened and I turned the television off.  The teenagers all came in, even the three young women.  Tory asked, “Why did Chris tell us to have the ‘You might be sorry things?’  It was a great meal.”

I grinned, “I guess that’s why he recommended it.  People, I hate to nag, but it is after ten.  I suggest that everyone go to their suites.  Tomorrow is going to come very quickly.”

The three girls left as did the two guys who were staying in the Del Rio suite. 

Roddy looked a little sheepish.  “I’m going to pack my things and take them to Jeff’s room.”

I grinned, “No problem, Rod, your parents informed me that they had given you permission to spend the night with Jeff.”

Everyone else had disappeared and Jeff came and sat down beside me, “Nano Mark, I wish you could have been my parent.”

Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival Roddy with his bag, “I’m ready to go if you are, Jeff.  Nano Mark, we’ll meet you in the lobby at six-thirty.”  The guys both hugged me as they departed.

Bart appeared in his briefs smelling fresh from his shower, “Dad, what do you know about Jeff.  It was the strangest thing when he pulled out a card and paid for everyone’s dinner tonight.  I thought Alphonso was going to pass out when he looked at the ticket after Jeff signed it.”

“Son, I have no idea exactly who or what Jeff is, except that he is a very talented pianist.  He seems like a person who needs a lot of love.”

Bart added, “He was the first person to notice that that man was trying to get Chris to do things today.  Man he had that man pinned up against the wall with his knee in the man’s back so the man was immobilized until I could get the security people.”

I started to laugh, “Before you young people arrived in the suite, I was watching the news.  It seems that that man was a city councilman.”

Bart shuddered, “Dad, I’m with Chris.  I want to go home.  I’ll put one of the boys in bed with me so we can get a good night's sleep.”

When the alarm phone rang at 5:50, I reached over and answered, “This is Mark Leavitt,.”

I heard a giggling voice, “This is your friendly wake up service.  You need to get your butts out of bed if we’re going to get to the airport on time.” 

I recognized the voice, “Jeff, we’re not going anywhere for another forty minutes,”

“Me and Roddy figured you needed some extra time, since there are so many people in your suite.  We’ll see you in the lobby at six-thirty, hopefully.  If not, we’ll be leaving you behind and I don’t think Chris and Farmer Brown would be very happy.”

Chris was sleeping in the bed with me.  I started to tickle him and he sat up, “Daddy, please don’t do that.  I need to go to bathroom.” 

I started to tickle Tio and the response was totally different.  He looked up at me, “Nano Mark, that feels really good, but I need to go to the bathroom.”

I looked at Bart and he was awake, “It looks as if you’re already up, son.”

“Dad, keep the boys occupied while I go take care of this constant problem I seem to have.”

I put a tip on the coffee table for the maids and took the list of what we used from the mini bar.  When the eight of us from our suite arrived in the lobby, everyone else was assembled.  I was surprised to see Mr. Corbin and Mr. Larkin there.  Jeff, started to give us some lip.  I went to pay our charges.  The teenagers got off the bus at the studio and retrieved their instruments and costumes. 

On the way to the airport at Newark, Mr. Larkin and Mr. Corbin handed me some checks.  Mr. Corbin grinned, “We thought it would be appropriate if you would hand these checks to the young people while you’re airborne.”

When we arrived at the terminal, Mr. Corbin and Mr. Larkin accompanied us until our luggage had been checked by the security agents and we were directed to the concourse where our flight would be departing.  It just so happened that Jeff’s flight was going to be departing from the gate next to ours.

We said our goodbyes to Mr. Corbin and Mr. Larkin and went to clear the security check point.  Everyone had cleared except Chris’s backpack.  The TSA people had Chris dump his backpack and the only thing in it was Farmer Bear.  They put the backpack through, and it cleared,   They put Farmer Bear through the scanner and the person at the monitor was picking up a signal.

Jeff suggested, “Chris, take Farmer Bear’s jeans off him.  It’s probably the metal in the clips that’s causing the machines to react.”

Everyone’s attention turned to Farmer Bear when he whined, “Chris, I told you that creep just wanted to see my body.  Everyone is going to be running away if you take my jeans off.  They’ll be so afraid of what they see.  Put me on my stomach.  Better yet cover me with a tissue so everyone doesn’t faint when they see how good looking I am.”

It was as if the other passengers and the TSA agents were frozen  watching what was happening.  Chris undressed Farmer Bear and put one of the containers over him. 

“Chris, get me out of here.  I can’t breathe.”

Farmer Bear passed through and Chris stuffed him in his backpack.  For some reason Farmer Bear’s jeans kept sending off signals.  Finally one of the TSA people realized that the jeans had metallic thread in them.  We didn’t have much time before we were to board so we stopped and got a breakfast sandwich at a fast food place. 

Jeff stuck to us like glue until his flight was called.  He hugged me and whispered, “Nano Mark, I wish you could have been my Dad.”

I watched as he went to board his airplane.  Roddy was standing next to me, “Nano Mark, will I ever see Jeff again?  I really like him; he’s even more confused than I am.  I can’t imagine what his parents must be like.”

Our flight was called and we were some of the first to board because we were at the front of the aircraft.  We were in our seats when the other passengers boarded including our overbearing friend who still was wearing a bandage on his nose.

When we were airborne and were given permission to walk about I handed each of the young people the checks that Messrs. Corbin and Larkin had given me to distribute.  Bart looked at the checks, “Dad, this has to be a joke.”

The light came on announcing that we needed to fasten our seatbelts.  The pilot came on the intercom, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are on the final approach to the Kansas City International Airport.  Thank you for flying with us today.”

To be continued...

Editor's Notes: That was a very interesting adventure in New York, wasn't it. I wonder if they are going to see more of Jeff. He seemed to be a very nice person.  I hope it won't be long before we get another new chapter.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 11/20/09