Pinochle
by: E Walk
(© 2007 by the Author)
Editor: Will B
 

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Chapter 79
Riot Control

This is Brian.

After Mother and Dad left the room, Timmy and I took our shower together, of course, so there was no way that I could relieve the tension I was feeling in a certain part of my body.  I’ll probably have a wet dream tonight.

Miraculously, when the alarm went off, my briefs were dry so I untangled myself from my bed companion and started toward the bathroom, but a flash flew by me and was standing there relieving himself in the toilet so I joined him.

As we were getting dressed Timmy was chattering about everything under the sun.  He told me that he was going to be like me when grew up and I thought to myself, ‘Poor Timmy, I’m not a very good example for you.  I’m going to be a poor starving artist who probably has ten starving children.’

When we got to the kitchen, everyone else was there and I looked at the clock to make sure that we hadn’t overslept.  The clock said 7:15.  I looked at everyone, “What’s going on?  No one is in the kitchen at this hour, especially Lauren and Morgan.  Did we miss something?”

Dad pointed to the television, “This late breaking news, ‘A riot has taken place outside a gallery in London because people couldn’t get into an art gallery that was featuring the artworks of four young American men.  There have been several attempts to relieve the gallery of some of the works in the past several days.  The most popular works are the three featured works by the very talented Brian Benson.

The patrons of the Johnson gallery are standing in queues as they compare the different pastels of Mr. Brian Benson.  The people who leave the galley are absolutely overwhelmed by the talent of Mr. Benson and his three friends.  The gallery has hired a number of extra security people to patrol the gallery and to control queues of people waiting to enter.”

I turned the television off. “Dad and Mother, we need to open a savings account or something for Timmy, and I need to talk to Uncle Chip about what to do with my money.”

Morgan asked, “What money?  How come you have enough money to worry about opening accounts?  How much of an allowance do Dad and Mother give you anyway?”

Timmy was confused, “I don’t have any money.”

Thank goodness for Dad, “Timmy, we’ll have to discuss an allowance for you after we get back from Paris.  In answer to your question, Morgan, Brian has been getting the same amount that you have been getting each week.   The big difference is that he doesn’t go and spend right away like you do.  Besides some of his paintings have been sold and so he does have some money that he earned for himself.”

“Brian, there might be a problem opening an account for Timmy, since we don’t have a social security number for him.  Let me do some checking today, but I agree that we need to get the money into the bank as soon as possible.”

Timmy was really concerned, “Why do I need one of them number things?  Do I have to have a number put on me or something?”

Dad chuckled, “Timmy, you don’t need a number put on you.  A social security number is the number that identifies who you are for the government so they can keep track of your money.”

I pulled out my wallet and showed my social security card to Timmy, “Timmy, this is my social security card.  See the number on it; that’s what Dad is taking about.”

Timmy jumped off his chair, “Daddy, I already got one of those things. It’s in my jacket pocket.  I didn’t know what it was for.  I found it in my jacket when we came home from getting me adopted.”

Dad and Mother looked at me and I shrugged my shoulders.  I looked at Timmy, “Why don’t you go get it for us while I take care of our dishes?”

Timmy ran to the stairs and returned carrying a card and showed it to Dad, “Is this what we need?”

I looked at it and the name on the card was Timothy James Benson.  “Come Timothy James Benson, we need to get in gear because John will be here shortly.  Dad and Mother, why you don’t pick Timmy up about two and then pick me up at 2:15.  I’ve already given my speech, so I won’t be missing anything.  That way I can get back in time for football practice.”

Dad scowled at me, “Is there anything else that Your Majesty would like to do today?”

Morgan smirked, “See, I told you that you treat Brian as if he was a prince or something.  Just kidding, Brian.  Brian, while you’re at  the bank, ask Uncle Chip if I can get a loan to buy a new IPOD.   Mine’s getting old and I need one with more memory.”

I quipped back, “I’ll tell you what, Cat, I’ll loan you the money at a 40% interest rate.  Come on, Timmy, here comes John.”

I made it through the morning without anyone making a comment about the riots in London or the article in the Times, well almost.  There were a few comments as I would pass people in the halls.  When I got to the fourth period class, Mr. Peters handed me a note.  I opened it, ‘Brian, Your story will be up and running sometime tonight.

Check this website www.tickiestories.us just before you go to bed.  Your moniker will be The Fremont Kid.’

I stuck the note in my folder.  I could tell that John had a question but he was being polite and didn’t ask it, so I volunteered.  “Mr. Cox and Mr. Peters are working with me on getting a story published.  He was just telling me the latest status.”

I excused myself early from lunch to go get ready for art class since I had to make sure that there was enough color tissue to do what I wanted to do.  The class made collages with the colored tissue and we had a good time.  Just before the bell, I informed the class.  You can create an art project with very inexpensive materials.  Tonight I would like for you to collect at least ten things that you can find outside tonight and bring them to class tomorrow.  I would also ask that you think about what medium you would like to do your  masterpiece in for the show that we’re going to have, so I can make sure that we have the supplies that you will need.”

After class, Ron Woodruff walked me to my sixth class, “Brian, you really blew my Mother away with your painting of John and Robbie.  She’s talking about flying to England to go to see your exhibit, especially after seeing the news this morning.  If I’m not in class tomorrow, that will mean that we are on our way to, or in, England.”

“Brian, may I ask you a personal question?”

I was leery of the question but responded, “Ron, I’ll answer if I can.”

He practically whispered, “Brian, do you have a girlfriend?”

I looked at Ron because I suddenly realized where he might be going, “Ron, if you’re asking if I’m gay, I’m 99.9% sure I’m not.  Yes I have a special friend who is a girl, and she lives in England as a matter of fact.”

Ron shook his head, “Why are all you good looking guys straight?”

I looked at Ron, “Ron, not all good looking guys are straight if you’re not.  Give me a call or drop over tonight if you’re still in town and not on your way to England.  I’m already late for my class.”

Dad and Mother picked me up, and as soon as I climbed into the car, Timmy handed me his spelling test, “We did it, Brian.  We got a 100% on my spelling test and I got all the bonus words correct too.”

I hugged him as best as I could even though we were in our seatbelts,  “Timmy, I am so proud of you.”

We arrived at the bank and Dad and Mother had obviously made an appointment and we were taken to Uncle Chip’s office.  He even had all the paperwork ready for Dad, Mother and Timmy to sign for Timmy’s account.  When he saw the amount of my checks he started to laugh, “Like father like son with a little bit of Uncle Jeff mixed in.”

I looked at Uncle Chip, “What does that mean?”

Uncle Chip almost giggled, “There, once upon a time, was a little boy named Chip who was given a sum of money by a big mean kid, named Beau, so Chip could live happily ever after.  John Waters was in last Saturday with his father and he told me about how you found him and Robbie your new brother, Timmy.  Your Uncle Jeff and your Dad were always bringing stray people home.  It’s a good thing you have a big house.”

Uncle Chip got serious, “Now, if you will endorse these checks, we’ll get the money to start working for you two young gentlemen immediately.  Brian, I’m going to put a thousand dollars into a checking account where you can use a debit card if you need to.  I'll get you some checks if you would like.”

I was overwhelmed, “Uncle Chip, I don’t need any debit card or checks.  I can live off the allowance that my parents give me.  I have everything I need.”

Dad made his feelings known, “Chip, he needs a debit card.  I’m sure he won’t misuse it.  We’ll get Timmy one too when he is 14.”

Uncle Chip stood, “Good luck tomorrow against Omaha Central, Brian.  I might just have to come watch you do your acrobatics tomorrow night.”

“Uncle Chip, the first teamers are all healthy, so I will be playing only a minimum amount of time tomorrow.”

As we were driving back to the high school, I looked at Timmy, “Brother, I have a favor to ask of you.  Would you please go out into the yard and find at least ten things that people didn’t make, so I can take them to school tomorrow?  I really would appreciate it.”

Timmy smiled, “So I can catch grasshoppers and night crawlers and things like that and it would be okay?”

I thought to myself, ‘I’m in trouble.’  “Timmy, find whatever you can, please.  I didn’t give the class any restrictions on what they should bring, so anything goes.”

Football practice was pretty much a breeze since John and Todd seemed to be fine.  The coach had me practicing as a quarterback just in case.  He even had me playing end and free safety so I guess I was the utility man. ‘You call and I’ll take care of it.’

When I got home, Timmy was waiting on the steps for me, “Brian, I got you ten things.  Come see what I got.”

He led me to the patio and there were ten things in a container with air holes.  Timmy looked at me, “Brian, I caught ten things like you wanted.  What are you going to do with them?”

This is Beau.

I have to tell you about this part of the story because there is no way that Brian could do it justice.

Becca and I followed the two boys to the patio.

Brian was answering Timmy’s question, “I want to take things from nature and show the art class what they can do with them to make art.”

Timmy picked up the box of the things that he collected in and was crying, “Brian, why didn’t you tell me what you were going to do?”

He took the box with the containers and ran into the yard.  He started to open the containers.  He released a lady bug, night crawler and urged to them to go.  The last containers had a frog and a butterfly. The butterfly just sat on Timmy’s shoulder while the frog came back to Timmy and croaked.

The butterfly finally fluttered and stopped in front of Timmy’s face as if it were kissing him. 

Becca and I were just standing there watching this scene unfold and it was indeed magical.  The butterfly flitted to Brian’s shoulder and flitted its wings and Brian nodded before the butterfly disappeared.

Timmy looked at Becca and me, “That butterfly kissed me and told me I needed to be good for my new parents.”

Brian had a stunned look on his face but didn’t say anything.

This is Brian.

When that butterfly landed on my shoulder, I heard Grandpa Nappy say, “Brian, my grandson is even more special than I imagined, please protect him as best you can.”

We went into the kitchen and helped Mother dish up dinner.  After dinner, Timmy announced, “Me and Brian did the dishes last night so it's the sisters’ turn tonight.  We have to go find ten things for his class tomorrow that aren’t living.  Come on Brian!”

I looked at Dad and Mother and they were trying not to laugh.

Timmy and I went into the yard and he found some twigs that had fallen off a tree.  He handed them to me, “Here, you can make ten little twigs out these.”

He picked up ten leaves that were on the ground and handed them to me.  He looked around and went to a pine tree and started to gather the pine cones that were under it. 

We had eight things from nature but he was relentless.  He went to two plants that were growing in the yard and picked two blooms.  “Here, there’s at least ten petals on these flowers.  They are different colors so it should brighten up your picture.  Please don’t let anyone put living creatures on their pictures.”

As we were walking into the house with my 100+ items, Dad was on the phone, “Sure Jason, bring Chris over with the things he wants to send to the gallery.  Timmy and Brian are collecting things for Brian’s art class.”

As Dad hung up, Timmy let him know that we had finished, “Daddy, we’re done collecting things that aren’t living.  I need to go take a shower.  I’m rather tired.”

I agreed, “We’ll be in our bedroom and we need to pack our bags for the trip to Paris.  Are you packed, yet?”

Mother was laughing, “No, I have to find something suitable to wear tomorrow, so I don’t look frumpy.  I wouldn’t want to embarrass you two young men.”

Timmy took my hand and was pulling toward our room.  We took a quick shower and we packed the bare necessities as we were told to do.  We were sitting in our shorts with Timmy on my lap as I opened up my computer.  I showed Timmy how to access the email account.

When the email account opened I had seven messages.  I quickly scanned the addresses and opened the one from Chase.  Timmy was so excited that he was fidgeting in my lap.  After we read Chase’s message Timmy wanted to write a message back so I showed him how to address the email and figured that he couldn’t butcher the King’s English any worse than Chase had.

I pulled out my oils and a blank canvass and started to draw Timmy sitting at the computer looking intently as he composed a message to Chase.  I had the basic outlines done and was adding the details when there was a knock on the door.  Not thinking how I was dressed I opened it and Chris was standing there with four boxes.

 

When he saw me, he started to laugh, “Do you always greet your visitors like this?  Aren’t you afraid that you would scare them away?”

Timmy turned around, “Hi Chris, I’m sending a message to Chase.  Do you want to send something to Angie, too?”

Chris picked Timmy up and put him on his lap and the two of them were typing.  In fact they were messaging back and forth with Angie and Chase.  I pulled out another canvas and started to work on a picture of the two of them.  Chris was holding Timmy on his lap while he was typing.  The scene felt so warm and touching.

There was a knock on the door and I remembered that I was in a state of undress, but Timmy bounced off Chris’ lap and went to open it.  Ron from the art class was standing there. 

Ron came in and asked, “Did I miss something here.  Hi Chris, I guess you know these guys pretty well.”

“Brian and I are sort of cousins, and Timmy and I spent the last weekend in London with Brian.  I guess you might say that I know them rather well.  I brought some photographs for Brian to take to Mr. Johnson on their trip to Paris tomorrow night.  What brings you here?  I didn’t realize you even knew Brian.”

Ron laughed, “I’m trying to butter up one of my teachers so I won’t flunk out of high school.  I came to tell Brian that I wouldn’t be in art class tomorrow because of him.  We are leaving at o’dark thirty to fly to London to see your art show.  My little brother is fit to be tied and will probably shoot Brian in the back with his dart gun if he meets him.”

“Time out guys, I need to get Timmy into bed.  It’s past his bedtime.  Come on Timmy, we need to make sure you brush your teeth good.”

When Timmy crawled into bed he declared that he was hot and didn’t want any covers on his skimpily clad body.  I turned off the lights on the night stands and led the two visitors away from the bed.  I pulled on a pair of sweat shorts so I was semi-decent.  The two guys were watching as I was finishing the paintings that I had started of Timmy and the one of Timmy and Chris.

I looked at Timmy sprawled on the bed and had a sudden urge to paint a picture in his sprawled out position on the bed.  Both Chris and Ron were intently watching me and what I was doing.  The door opened and Dad whispered, “Guys, it’s nine thirty. Perhaps you should be thinking about going home.”

Chris and Ron vanished and Dad looked at what I was doing and muttered, “What Innocence.”

I don’t know what time I finished the three paintings, but it was either very late or very early, depending on how you were looking at the clock.

When I crawled into bed I hugged my Timmy and pulled him as close as I could.  I was thinking that I want to have ten sons and daughters just like him.

To be continued...

Editor’s Comment  I’m sorry. I tried.  Oh, how I tried.  But I just couldn’t help myself.  Just had to put three of those squiggly things in the story.  You know what they are.   They set off appositives and terms of direct address.

Just come.

Will, the ‘comma tator.’

(our esteemed author will probably never speak to me again after that pun!)

Darryl's Notes: What a delightful chapter. I am running out of adjectives, to describe this excellent heartwarming story.  Let's hope for another great chapter just like this one.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 03/20/09