Benji in Control
by: E Walk
(© 2009-2010 by the Author)
 

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 15 

The First of Many

On Saturday morning, I started to play with Cole’s body parts.  He hugged me, “Douggie, don’t start something that we won’t have time to finish.  Doug, I’ll take the boys and get some clothes for Pete.  All he has with him are the few things that were in his backpack.  You can make the phone calls to the appropriate people while we’re gone, so Pete doesn’t hear what’s happening.”

Cole and I checked on the boys and Mark and Matt were in Benji’s bed and the other three guys were in Mikey’s room. Benji had his arm around Pete as if to make sure that he didn’t try to get away.  When Cole and I were sitting at the breakfast bar having our juice and I was having coffee, I asked, “Cole, have you had an opportunity to try to lift Pete?”

Cole looked confused, “Why would I try to lift him?  He’d probably be offended if I did.  Ten year olds don’t want to be picked up.”

“Cole, I think you’re wrong in Pete’s case.  I picked him up and kissed him when I got home yesterday and he started to cry.  I think he desperately needs to feel that someone cares about him.  The reason I asked is that I’m concerned about how light he is.  I think Benji weighs almost as much as Pete does.  When he went to the bathroom during dinner, he did indeed throw up most of what he had eaten.  We’ll need to make sure there isn’t something physically wrong with him.”

We heard voices on the stairs.  Benji was asking, “Pete, what do you want for breakfast?”

Pete asked, “Don’t you just eat cereal like everyone else?”

Mikey answered, “We almost never have just cereal.  Sometimes we have eggs and bacon, sometimes we have waffles and sometimes we have French toast.”

Benji said, “Let’s see what kind of cereals we have and then we can decide.  It’s easier to clean up when we just have cereal and juice.”

Mikey came running to me, “Good morning, Daddy.”

I picked him up and kissed him and handed him to Cole.  I did likewise to Benji and then I did the same to Pete.  Pete wrapped his arms around me so tight that I was sure that he was going to choke me.  I handed Pete to Cole and he got the same response.

Benji took control, “Mikey, get the cereals out while I get the juice and milk.  Dads, show Pete where to get the juice glasses and the bowls.”

Cole put Pete down and showed him where to get the juice glasses and the cereal bowls.  Mark and Matt arrived and after I hugged and kissed them, Benji had them getting the spoons and napkins.  I pulled out a package of English muffins since I really didn’t want cereal.  “Anyone want an English muffin?”

The boys decided that they would like have half a muffin with their cereal and Cole opted to take the other half of Pete’s.  Cole pulled out the peanut butter and jelly.  Pete asked, “Do you always have this much food?  At my home we only had one or two kinds of cereal and we drank juice that came from a can.  Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were for lunch.”

Benji responded, “We usually have more kinds of cereal here.  I guess Miss Patty was waiting for us to get home before she bought any more.  She was probably afraid it would get stale.  Please pass the peanut butter.”

Pete was sitting next to me.  He had one small bowl of cereal, small glass of apple juice and his half of an English muffin with jelly on it.  I looked at him, “Pete, are you sure you don’t want anything else to eat?”

“No, thank you, Dr. C.  I don’t want to get sick again.  I’m full.”

As the boys were taking their dishes to the sink, Cole announced, “Guys, we need to take the newest family member and get him some going to church clothes.  We can grab some lunch in town while we’re there.”

There were four resounding no’s from the boys.  Matt shook his head, “Dad, we’ve been eating out all week.  We’ll just come home and have some soup and sandwiches.”

I had been observing Pete and when Cole mentioned newest family member he suddenly seemed to freeze, “Mr. Cole, does that mean I’m going to be staying here.”

Benji put his arm around Pete, “Of course you're going to be staying here.  Let’s get finished so we can go.  Maybe we can go for a ride on the horses when we get back, if there’s not a party.”

As soon as I saw the van pull away, I started to make calls.   I called the sheriff’s office and police department and gave them the particulars about Pete that we had received. 

I called Mrs. Cooper and she indicated that there was nothing she could do until Monday.  She suggested that I call the Columbus Police Department and tell them what was happening and have them check the residence.  “Doug, this situation smells like a case of child abandonment.  Is the young man okay?”

“Terri, he seems fine, but he is definitely starved for affection.  He has fit in with our four boys.  I’ll keep you advised of the latest happenings.”

I called the Columbus Police Department and I explained, “We have an abandoned juvenile young boy who claims that his mother and stepfather live at 1013 Peachtree Lane in Columbus.  I tried calling the phone number he gave me and a recording came on saying that phone had been disconnected.”

The voice on the phone paused, “Sir, I’ll be right with you.  I need to check something.  That address seems familiar.”

The voice returned, “Sir, where did you say you were calling from and what did you say your name was?”

I was getting pissed, “My name is Dr. Doug Christiansen and I’m President of the Harwood Community Junior College, and I am calling from my home, just outside of Harwood.”

“Sir, how long has the boy been in your custody?”

“I found the young man sleeping in my office at the College yesterday morning, about seven thirty.  What difference does that make?”

“Sir, I apologize.  There was a fire of suspicious origin at 1013  Peachtree Lane, this morning.  The body of a Mr. Aloysius Jackson was found dead when the investigators went into the house.  Do you know who else lived in the house?”

“The only other person that I’m aware of who lived there was Mrs. Renatta Cunningham, or Mrs. Renatta Jackson whom I believe was the owner of the house.”

“Sir, thank you for your cooperation.  Do you have a number where we can reach you if we need to?”

I gave the man my number and added, “You can also contact the Sheriff’s department and verify the information I provided you.”  I gave the voice the sheriff’s number and hung up.

I had just finished taking the messages off the machine when the guys returned.

I went to greet them.  Benji announced, “Daddy, Rocky is not a very good shopper.  All he does is complain.”

Pete started to complain, “Benji, my name is Pete.”

Benji turned around, “I’m not going to have a brother named Peter.  My friends will laugh at us if we introduce you as Peter because when they think of peter they think of their penis.”

“But, Benji, my Daddy was Rocky.  I can’t be Rocky Cunningham.”

Benji put his hands on his hips, “Rocky, you said you’re Daddy was dead so you gotta take his place.  That means you gotta take his name, so people will remember him.”

After lunch there was a party and David and Dan and their brothers were busy with the guests.  We went to the stable and saddled our horses.  Yes, the boys each have a horse.  I put Pete, or Rocky as the case may be, on Jig Saw, so he could ride with me since he had never ridden a horse before.  Since there was a party, we went to an area away from the riding area and we were moving at a nice gait.

Pete leaned back and looked up at me, “Mr. C., do you think it would be okay if people would call me Rocky.  I’d like that, because it would make me remember my daddy more.  I really miss him.  He used to play with me when he was home.  Why did he have to die?”

I stopped Jig Saw, “Son, I don’t know why things happen, they just do.”

We were going back to the stable when a sheriff’s vehicle pulled up beside us.  Deputy Sheriff Ken Parker stopped, “Hi guys, is there a Mr. Peter Cunningham here?”

Pete looked up at me, “Why did you call the police?”

Benji went to the fence and dismounted, “Hi, Sheriff Ken, why do you want to talk to Rocky?”

Ken Parker approached the fence.  “We’ve been trying to call you on the phone but no one is answering.  The Columbus police want to know what kind of car Peter’s Mother would be driving.  She seems to have disappeared.”

I dismounted and helped Pete down.  We walked to the fence, “Sheriff Parker, this is Mr. Cunningham.  How can he help you?”

Ken smiled, “Peter or Rocky, what kind of car does your mother drive?”

“We had a black Cadillac Desoto or something like that.  My parents bought it just before my Daddy died.  It was a really pretty car, until my step dad started to drive it.  He kept putting dents in it when he went to buy beer and stuff.”

Sheriff Parker asked, “Pete, that wouldn’t have been a Cadillac Deville could it?”

“That’s what it was.”

Sheriff Parker nodded, “How old was the car?  Do you perchance know the license plate number?

Tears were starting to form in Pete’s eyes, “Daddy bought the car just before I had my sixth birthday.  He teased me that it was my birthday present.  I’m ten now so I guess the car was four or five years old.  I don’t know the license plate number, I just remember that it still had the plates from Florida on it because my step dad didn’t want to spend the money to get Georgia license plates.  I remember that the number began with P.  My Daddy teased me that number was my special number.”

Sheriff Parker leaned over the fence and shook Pete‘s hand, “Thank you, young man, you’ve been most helpful.  Boys, I’ll see you later.”

After Sheriff Parker had departed, I looked at the boys, “Guys, how do you know Sheriff Parker and why did you call him Sheriff Ken?”

Mark answered, “Sheriff Ken comes to the school and talks to us about being safe when we aren’t with big people we know.  He explains how we should dress when we ride bicycles and things like that.”

When we arrived back at the stable, we were taking care of the horses when Dan came into the stable.  “Guys, we need your help, we have another party coming in thirty minutes.  Can you help our brothers clean the area?  This last group was a bunch of slobs.  David and I need to make sure we have everything ready for the next group.  There are forty people in the next group.”

I looked at Dan, “Dan, we don’t have equipment for forty people to go riding at once.”

“Don’t worry Dr. C., we’ll divide them into two groups.  While the first group is riding the other group will have a lesson in the care of horses.  We figure that two seven or eight year olds can easily fit into one saddle and we’ll be using the horses that are used to having riders.”

We were getting ready to eat when a gentleman approached the deck where we were cooking some chicken for dinner. He walked up to me, “Dr. Christiansen, I want to commend you on two things.  First your staff has been great with our group this afternoon and I want to commend you for standing up to the politicians.  If you ever need any assistance, here’s my card.  Please feel free to call me.”

The boys came up the steps, “Dads, how much longer until dinner?  We’re getting hungry.”

“Go wash your hands and set the table; we’ll be ready to eat in ten minutes.”

A young boy about ten approached our visitor, “Dad, we’re ready to leave.”

The young guy looked at Cole, “You’re gonna be the new quarterback for our team aren’t you?   You’re Cole Weaver, right?”

Cole laughed, “Yes, I’m Cole Weaver, and I’m going to try to be the new quarterback for the Falcons.”

“Mr. Weaver, can I have your autograph?  Dad, give Mr. Weaver one of your cards so he can sign it so I can show everyone that I met someone famous.”

The gentleman pulled out a card and I handed Cole a pen. 

Cole looked at the young guy, “What’s your name, son?”

The boy grinned, “My name is Zack.”

Cole wrote on the back of the card, “Zack, since this is the first autograph that I’ve signed, I put the number one on it.”

I had watched as Cole wrote ‘To Zack. Best wishes, Cole Weaver #1.’

Cole handed it to Zack and he handed it to his Dad, “Daddy, I’m the first.”

Zack grabbed the card from his Dad and started running and jumping toward the bus the people were on.”

The gentleman looked at Cole, “Mr. Weaver, you’d better get ready for the onslaught.  I hope you have something you can write your autograph on, since that was the last business card I had with me.”

I went to get a notepad for Cole to use.  Sure enough there were a group of boys waiting to get Cole’s autograph.  He was so patient and personalized each one of them. 

The boys had returned and Benji asked, “Daddy, why are these people waiting in line to see Dad?”

“They want his autograph.”

“Why do they want his autograph?”

The gentlemen was listening, “Because you’re Dad is their hero.  My son and I went to watch Cole play every game at Georgia Tech that we could.  These boys all played football last fall and are in a sports club.  Today’s outing was one of the best that we’ve ever had plus we had the opportunity to meet someone who actually plays sports.  Cole, I don’t suppose you’d give me your autograph so I can brag at work that I’ve actually met you.  Shit, I wish I’d brought my camera with me.”

Cole signed a piece of paper and handed to Theo.  “Next time you’re around our sons, would you please not use that word?”

Our conversation was interrupted by Zack, “Dad, come on, we’re ready to go.”

After dinner, we were doing the dishes, since Patty and Karen had gone to Atlanta to a Braves baseball game.  Benji asked, “Dads, can we call the Grandparents?”

I looked at him “Of course, why don’t you get your brothers and we’ll put the phone on the speaker so you can save time.”

The boys made the call and when they explained that they had a new brother, I knew we would be receiving calls back.  I decided to take the guys to get their baths and Cole would be stuck with answering the grandparents questions.  I tucked the guys into bed and kissed them.  I was hoping that they would be tired enough that there wouldn’t be a repeat of the previous night.

When I returned downstairs, Cole lit into me, “The next time I’ll get the guys ready for bed and you can be grilled by the grandparents.   Do you know who Theo was that was here with the last group today?”

“Cole, how would I know?  He was probably a youth club director.”

Cole shook his head no, “You need to pay, since you lost the bet.  Theo is the managing editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper.”

When we went to bed, I paid dearly for being so far off base. 

To be continued...

Editor's Notes: That was interesting.  Obviously, Doug didn't look at Theo's business card, or he might have noticed who he was.

It looks as if Pete/Rocky is turning around. I think he is starting to trust Doug and Cole.  I am sure ready for more!

It is time for one of my weird bits of trivia.

I don't know what made me think of it, because we have been talking about Atlanta all through this story, but I suddenly remembered a strange little bit of trivia.  Many of you have probably heard of WTBS, or lately, just plain TBS. It started out as a local UHF TV station in Atlanta. Channel 17 to be exact. Now it is called TBS Superstation. You might also know that it was owned by Ted Turner. He was the brains behind CNN and several cable networks.

When the station started, it was known as WTCG Turner Communications Group. At the time, Ted had been trying to get his station carried all over the country.  As it turned out, Ted hated news.  He didn't have any newscasts on WTCG.  Apparently, someone at the FCC took a dim view of the fact that there was no news on the station. Ted put on a half hour news cast at 3:00 in the morning; It was a wacky funny show, with all sorts of weird news. 

The ironic part was that the guy who hated doing news started CNN.

I couldn't help mentioning that. I think the mention of the Journal Constitution was what triggered my memory.

I don't think I have had one of my little trivia threads for a long time.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 04/02/10