The Fremont Saga
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 26 

The Interview

As Tanner was driving to school, I reminded the guys, “I’m sure that there will be people who will be asking where Lauren is.  Right now, I’m so upset with her for what she did to Timmy yesterday that I would like to tell them the truth.  I guess that we need to say that she isn’t feeling well, if anyone should ask.”

The morning was going fine and when John and I arrived at the cafeteria, Tanner, Ricky and Doreen were waiting for us.  We had to put two tables together to accommodate everyone.  “John leaned over and whispered.  What’s with Ricky and Doreen being together?”

I grinned, “Ricky’s escorting Doreen to the dance on Saturday night.  Doctor Ward even offered to pay for Ricky to take her.  Not only that, Justin is going to be Danielle’s escort.”

John laughed, “There is never a dull minute around your house, is there?”

As John, Robbie and I were walking to art class, I stopped, “John and Robbie, I gotta tell you what happened this morning when we were running. You know the grove of trees and bushes where I found the two of you?  Well, we found two new born babies in a clothes basket in almost the same identical spot.”

John asked, “Was there any indication who left them there?”

I shook my head, no, and Robbie commented, “This smacks as if it might have had something to do that McCoy person who took advantage of John and me.”

I shuddered, “I hope not.  Timmy has taken a big interest in the two babies.  In fact, when we left the house this morning, Timmy told our Dad to take his debit card and make sure the babies had everything they needed.”

John nodded, “That sounds like Timmy.”

The pep rally was seventh period and we had a no contact football practice, because the coaches didn’t want to risk the possibility of having anyone getting injured.

When we arrived at the house, Timmy, Morgan and Justin were at Grandmothers with her dinner.  Dad took me aside, “Brian, when I picked Timmy up at school today, he insisted that I take him to the hospital to see the babies he found this morning.  At first, they weren’t going to let us into the nursery, until Timmy explained that he was the person who found the two babies.”

“When Timmy saw that the two babies he found were being called Baby X Doe and Baby Y Doe, he turned to me, ‘Daddy, we can’t let them be called Baby X Doe and Baby Y Doe.  We don’t even know if they’re boys or girls.’”

“I went to the door and push the buzzer, Could you tell us if the two Doe babies are boys or girls?”

“The attendant grinned, ‘They are definitely boys.’”

“Timmy asked, ‘Could you please change their names to Stephen and Jeffrey Doe, so people will know that they’re boys.?””

“The attendant pointed to the head nurse, ‘You’ll have to clear that with the head nurse.’”

“Timmy went to the nurse, ‘Ma’am, can you please change the names of the Doe babies to Stephen and Jeffrey.  I found them, so I should get to name them.’”

“The nurse looked at Timmy, “’What do you mean you found them?’”

“’I found them when we were running, before school this morning.  They had been left in some bushes.  It was me who heard them fussing because they were hungry.’”

“’Young man, I don’t have the authority to change their records.’”

“Timmy turned to me, ‘Daddy, call Uncle Dan Tillison.  If Steve and Jeff were abandoned, we will have to find them a home, right?’”

“The nurse was not so sure of herself, ‘Are you referring to the Head of Child Protection Agency here in town?’”

“I pulled out my phone, ‘Yes, we’re talking about the same person.’”

“Dan, it’s Beau.  Has your office been notified of the two children that Timmy found this morning?  … Yes, we’re here at the hospital now. … Timmy wants the nurse to change the names of the two boys from Baby X Doe and Baby Y Doe to Stephen and Jeffrey Doe, so people will know that they’re boys. … Here, Mr. Tillison would like to speak to you.”

“I handed the nurse my phone.

“Anyway, before Timmy and I left the hospital, he had decided which of the boys was to be called Stephen and which was Jeffrey.  I’m sure that he will want to go back to check on them after dinner.”

An exuberant Timmy came bounding into the kitchen, “Hi guys, did you have a good day.  We went to see Steve and Jeff after school and they are doing great.”
 

Tanner asked, “Who are Steve and Jeff?”

“Those are the two boys we found in the basket this morning.”

Morgan giggled, “Grandmother was so busy listening to Timmy talk about the two babies that she ate all her dinner without realizing she was doing so.  She wants to see Steve and Jeff to see if they’re as cute as Timmy claims.”

As we were eating, Uncle Archie remarked, “When we took your Grandmother her soup today for lunch, she ate it without even stopping.  Tanner, she wants to know when you’ll be cooking again?  I have a question; every time that we have seen Grandmother Gleason, she is always wearing the same little angel pin, with what looks to be a diamond.  It is different from anything, I’ve ever seen.  Is there a special story about it?”

All eyes turned to me including Timmy’s.  “We celebrated Grandmother’s ninety third birthday not too long ago.  Tanner, Timmy and I went shopping to find a gift for Grandmother.  Timmy saw the pin and decided that was what he wanted us to buy Grandmother.  It turned out that it was specially crafted by the owner of the store, and was one of a kind.”

I was saved from having to say anymore by the phone.  Morgan went to get it.  “This is the Benson residence, Morgan speaking. … Oh hi, Uncle Dan. … We’re just finishing eating. … Okay, I’ll tell Timothy, Brian and the rest of them that they’re grounded until you get here.”

Timmy looked really concerned, “Morgan, why are we grounded?  What did we do?”

Morgan shrugged her shoulders, “That was Uncle Dan Tillison.  He just said he was bringing some people to talk to you and that you weren’t to leave the house.”

Timmy looked at Dad, “Daddy, is Uncle Dan angry because we called him about the boys’ names?”

“Timmy, I doubt that he was upset by that.  Let’s just wait and see what he has to say.”

We had just finished the dishes, which were a snap, since there were almost too many people helping, when the doorbell rang.  Dad came into the kitchen, “Your presence is required in the living room immediately.”

We walked into the living room,  I looked at who was there, “Hi Mr. and Mrs. Moats, what brings you to our neck of the woods?  Why are you with Uncle Dan?”

Mr. Moats turned to Uncle Dan, “Why didn’t you tell us that the terror of the church youth group was going to be here?  If he’s involved, then maybe we shouldn’t adopt Stephen and Jeffrey.”

That caught my attention, “Mr. and Mrs. Moats, I thought you stopped being the youth group sponsors because Mrs. Moats was pregnant with twins.  If you already have twins, then why would you want two more children?”

Mrs. Moats answered, “Brian, right after we quit being the sponsors, I had a miscarriage.”

Timmy looked up at me, “Brian, what does that mean?”

I tried to be tactful, but it was hard, “Timmy, Mrs. Moats was supposed to have some babies but something happened and they went to heaven, instead.”

Timmy looked at Mr. and Mrs. Moats, “Does that mean you don’t have any children?”

Mrs. Moats answered, “Timmy, we don’t have any children.  The doctors have told me that I can never have any children, and that’s why we want to adopt Stephen and Jeffrey.”

Mr. Moats asked, “Timmy, I understand that you named the boys Stephen and Jeffrey.  Why did you pick those names?”

Timmy looked at me as if asking for help, but I couldn’t be of any assistance.  Timmy shrugged his shoulder, “They looked like I thought a Steve and Jeff should look like.  Don’t you like the names?”
 

“Timmy, they’re perfect.  My Dad’s name is Stephen Moats and Peggy’s Dad’s name is Jeffrey Krebs.  When we called to tell them that we would be adopting the boys, they were already trying to decide what kind car to buy them.”

Timmy wasn’t so sure, “When you adopt Steve and Jeff, where are they going to sleep?”

Mrs. Moats smiled, “Timmy, we were expecting twins, so we already have a nursery set up for two infants.  The biggest problem is that we thought we were going to have a boy and a girl.  We may have to make a few changes.”

Timmy stood, “We don’t want Steve and Jeff dressed in girls clothes.”

Mr. Moats started to laugh, “Timmy, we’re not going to make the boys wear girl clothes.  If you would like to see where they will be living, we can walk there.  We have a question to ask you and Brian.”

I was perplexed, “What is the question, Mr. Moats?”

“We would like to have the boys christened on Sunday, since our parents are planning to come from Pennsylvania to see the boys and we would like to have them christened while they’re here.  We spoke to Father Wanamaker and he would be willing to christen Stephen and Jeffrey at the eleven o’clock service on Sunday.  We would like for Timmy and you to be the boys’ godfathers.”

Timmy looked up at me, “What does that mean?”

Dad answered, “Timmy, what Mr. and Mrs. Moats are asking you and Brian is that the two of you show their two new sons how to be good people.”

Timmy frowned, “I planned to do that anyway, since Mr. Moats said they lived nearby.”

When Timmy, Tanner and I were in bed, “Timmy looked up at me. Brian, I don’t understand everything that happened tonight.  Are you sure Mr. and Mrs. Moats will a good daddy and mommy for Steve and Jeff?”

“Timmy, I think we’re lucky to have people like them who want to take care of the boys.”

After Timmy was asleep, or so we thought, Tanner asked, “Brian, why haven’t we seen Lauren all night?”
 

Timmy answered, “Because Daddy and Mother told her she wasn’t allowed to come out of her room.  Daddy even took her dinner to her, which she didn’t eat.  Now go to sleep.”

Timmy woke me in the morning, “Brian, it’s raining ice.  Will you be able to have your ballgame?”

I looked out the window, “Timmy, I’m sure we’ll have our game.  They scheduled the playoff off in Memorial Stadium because N.U. football team has a game out of town this weekend.”

After lunch, we loaded the team bus, I looked around.  No one was talking.  I leaned over to John, “Why does everyone seem so uptight?
 

“Brian, you need to understand that most of us never thought we would get this far.  With everything that has happened this year, we’ve done really well.  The guys are really nervous, but they’re trying not to show it.  The guys will be fine when they’re suited up.  The LaVista Papillion South team is probably as uptight as we are.  We need to relax and think positive.”

When we went onto the field to warm up, I looked to see who was there.  Timmy was sitting with Dad, Morgan, Uncle Archie, Uncle Will and Justin.

Once the game started, the team did relax and we won the slip and sliding away bowl 18-0.  The place kicker missed all three extra point attempts.  I was totally exhausted when Timmy came running onto the field after the final gun, “Brian, we need to go home and change.  We’re all wet and cold.  We’ll see you at the house when you get there.”

When I walked into the dressing room, Derek was waiting for me, “Nice game, Brian.  We’ll show you what real football team is like on Saturday.  You realize that the Titians handed us our only loss this season, and you made them look like the newcomers on the block.  Have Lauren call me when she’s ungrounded.”

When we were loaded on the bus, Coach Henderson stood, “Guys, you played a great game.  We’re going to be stopping at a fast food restaurant.  We have certificates worth five dollars.  If you spend any more than that, you need to pay for it out of your pocket.  We figured this would keep you from starving until you get home.  Bring your food and eat it on the bus”

I handed my certificate to a player whom I knew probably didn’t have much cash, “Allen, use this to get some real food.  Get me a small chocolate shake.  I’m too tired to get off the bus.”

I was sitting beside Ricky and he asked, “Brian, why did you do that?”

“Look, dude, I saw Uncle Archie slip his hand in your pocket this morning.  I don’t think he was checking on your penis, so I assume that he was slipping you some bucks.  I also know that Tanner has money.  I’ve known Allen a long time and his father was hurt in an industrial accident and his family is having a hard  time making a go of it, right now.”

When Allen got back on the bus, he handed me my shake and whispered, “Brian, thank you.  Don’t think I don’t know what you were doing.”

I looked up at him and sniffed, “Moi?  I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about.”

When we got home, Timmy was waiting for us, “Brian, after you eat, we need to go talk to Mr. and Mrs. Moats.  They need our help.”

“Timmy, why do they need our help?”

“They took Stevie and Jeff home today and can’t tell who is who unless they look at their wrist bands.”

“Timmy, I really haven’t seen the boys, so how can I be of much help?”

Everyone was listening to the conversation.  Timmy threw up his hands, “I’ll go by myself if you don’t want to go.  Tanner, will you take me?”

I stood, “Timmy, I didn’t say I didn’t want to go.  I just said I didn’t think I could be of much help.  Tanner can drive us since it’s not very nice weather.  We need to do our dishes.”

Ricky interrupted, “Justin and I’ll take care of your dishes.  Go, so you can get back and we can hear the rest of the story.” 

To be continued...

Editor's Notes: I think Ricky hit the nail on the head.  We need to hear the rest of the story. 

I am sure that Mr. and Mrs. Motes will be very good parents to Stephen and Jeffrey.

Timmy thinks so, too, or he would have let everyone know.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 06/04/10