Tip & Ty
by: E Walk

(Copyright 2007 by the Author)
 

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

Chapter 42
The Vibrator

This is Mark.

David and Mr. Robinson were signing so fast that I was having a difficult time trying to keep up with what they were saying.  Mr. Robinson was not by any means a novice at signing.

Mr. Robinson spoke for the two of them, “We’ll take the children to the park while you fix dinner.  We’ll return in an hour.  Do you have any stale bread or something so they can feed the ducks and the fish?”

Before they could leave, I asked, “Mr. Robinson, if you don’t have any plans for dinner, why don’t you join us.  It won’t be fancy but you must have some interesting things to tell if you can sign like that?  Besides you can help me keep David apprised of what is being said.”

“Nano Mark, I would enjoy having dinner with you.  It gets very boring cooking for one's self, and I don’t enjoy going out to eat by myself. Thank you for asking.”

I looked at Ty’s three oldest children,  “Right after dinner, you have to do your home work if you have any.  We may need to have a homework club  right after school and David and Mr. Robinson can make sure you are doing it correctly.”

David started signing as he spoke, “Yeh, and it better be done right or Nano Mark will have us all in timeout.”
 

I looked at David and thought to myself, ‘David has a sense of humor at least.  That is rather surprising after everything he has apparently been through.’ 

The gang departed after I had given them a bag of popcorn which had no butter or salt to feed the ducks and the fish.  I started to prepare the fixings for tacos.  I started thinking about Mr. Robinson.  There must be more to the story than he has told me so far.  In fact, I know nothing about him other than he has four grandchildren he looks after, and that his wife, Ruthie, is dead and he lives alone right across the street.  We’ll have to find out the rest of the story.

I was finishing putting icing on the tray of Texas brownies when David came in with four children.  Billy started babbling, “Grandpa Robinson had to go home with his grandchildren.  Their parents are there to pick them up.  Grandpa R. said he would be here shortly.  Nano, put David in timeout.  He’s mean.”

“Billy, why is David mean?” I looked at David who shook his head.

Billy was on a roll.  “David said we had to come home and show him all of our papers so he could check to see how much dinner we could have.”

I looked at David, “Billy said that you threatened him with not having everything to eat that he wanted for dinner.  We would never do that.”

David shook his head, That’s not what I said.  I said that if they weren’t doing their best work then you would probably reevaluate what privileges they should have or lose.”

I turned to the children, “Please go wash your hands and get ready for dinner.  Then maybe you could help me set the table and get ready for your Dad and Uncle Tip.  Don’t forget, Grandpa Robinson will be here, so we want to make sure that everything looks nice.”

The children left and I turned to David, “David, I don’t want to seem like I'm scolding you, but please, while you are here with us, don’t use threats.  It is infinitely more productive if you use praise and make suggestions.  Now please go get ready for dinner and then maybe you can help with the last minute things.”

David looked like the tears were going to come, “Mark, I’m so sorry.  All I have ever known are threats to get me to do something.  Please don’t hate me.  I’ll leave now if you want me to.”

I grabbed David and held him, “David, I don’t want you to leave.  Now get your butt in gear before I give it a swift kick.”

David stood back, “Mark, you just used a threat and told me to get my backside in gear and get ready for dinner.”

I wasn’t going to let David get the best of me, “Yeh, but in this case it was warranted.  Now move it mister, and take your front side with you too.”

David was laughing as he left.  My mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts.  ‘David, is a very complex young man.  One minute he is so trusting and the next minute he is so insecure.  I am beginning to wonder if he even knows the meaning of the word love.  He wants so much to be liked or even loved.  I wish Zack was here to help me.  Tip and Ty have enough to worry about.’

The children returned first and I had them set the table.  They each had specific responsibilities.  David returned and I showed him how to prepare the tomatoes and cheese while I finished the meat, lettuce and shells.  Everything was just about ready when Tip, Ty, and Mr. Robinson arrived.  Dinner was simple, there were chips and salsa so that everyone could snack until I brought in the plates with the tacos, refried beans, Spanish rice and corn bread.

I thought David’s eyes were going to jump out of their sockets when  he saw the big plate of tacos.  I went around and served each person however many they wanted and finally sat down.  “Might I say a small prayer?”
 

Everyone bowed their head, “Dear Father, thank you for this food and thank you for the friends that are with us.  May we all become more like thee. Amen.”

David looked at me and said, “Thank you Mark.  I don’t understand things like this but it made me feel welcome.  I have never been to church so I don’t know anything about religion.  I don’t know what it is about all of you but I feel safe for the first time in a long time.”

Billy looked at me, “Nano Mark, what did David say?”

Before I could answer, Grandpa Robinson answered, “He said that he was glad that he could be here to share the meal with us.  He wants to make sure that you don’t eat all of the tacos before he can get some more.”

This is Ty.

It was like Tip and I were wall fixtures.  The entire dinner conversation centered around the children and David.  I guess that wasn’t such a bad thing though.  Nano Mark and Mr. Robinson kept everyone entertained.

Mark turned his attention to Mr. Robinson.  “Would you please share with us how and why you know how to sign?”

Mr. Robinson signed as he spoke, “Mark, I would be glad to share.  I have a doctorate in psychology.  I worked with children with physical problems.  I was a consultant at the School for the Deaf here in Kansas City so it was imperative that I learn to sign.”

Mark nodded, “Dr. Robinson, we know that you were married and have at least one son.  Do you have any other children?” 

Dr. Robinson nodded,  “I have two sons.  Peter lives here in Kansas City.  He and Alisha both teach in the high school.  I started to take care of their children shortly after I retired two years ago.   My other son Brian is not married per se but he lives with his significant other, Todd, in St Louis.  They come to visit about once a month.”

David started to sign, “You look rather young to be retired.”

Dr. Robinson smiled, “Thank you for your compliment David.  I retired after I had a minor stroke.  The doctors recommended that I find something to do that was less stressful than working with exceptional children.  I am only 57 but sometimes I feel like I am a 100.  I try to keep in shape.  I have some exercise equipment in the basement that I work with once a day.”

As we finished eating, Mark stood, “Everyone under the age of thirteen needs to clear the table.  Anyone over the age of thirty gets to do the cleanup since I slaved away all day.  I’m going to go take a nice luxurious bubble bath and let my cares float away.”

David signed, “Yep, and I need to make sure that is the only thing of Mark’s that floats away.  Don’t worry everyone, I’ll make sure that he doesn’t drown.”

The four children had cleared the table and went to find Mark and David.  Tip, Mr. Robinson and I went into the kitchen and there was practically nothing left to do.  Mr. Robinson told us what David had said and we just about bent over laughing.  Tip shook his head, “It’s a good thing that the children haven’t learned ASL yet.  They would be corrupted for life.”

We quickly finished the little cleanup that remained and found Mark and David in the dining room working with the four young people.  I was thinking it odd that David was working with Bobby and Becky, while Mark was working with Billy and Barbie.  They were practically sitting in Mark’s lap as he read to them.  He pointed to the words as he read.  I went and got Tip and Mr. Robinson, “Come look at this.  I don’t understand why they are in the dining room.”

When the three of us returned Billy looked up,  “We decided to do our home work here since you have visitors coming.  Nano Mark says we shouldn’t interfere in the meetings.  We are going to go get ready for bed shortly.  Daddy and Uncle Tip, why don’t you kiss us goodnight just in case you are busy.  Nano Mark says we need all of the hugs and kisses we can get.”

That was a signal for the three of us older men to hug and kiss the four young boys before we went to the living room.  The young people finished and Mark fixed their desserts and, he and David took the children to get them ready for bed.

While Mark and David were with the children, Mr. Jenkins arrived with a gentleman he introduced as Mr. Hobart.  Mr. Robinson looked at him, “Hi, Rod.  Good to see you again.  Richie, where is your lovely wife, Meg?”

Judge Jenkins shrugged, “She’s next door talking to her sister.  Who knows what they are plotting?”

Mark and David returned and Mr. Robinson took over the introductions and before everyone could finish shaking hands, Pam and Philip Burns arrived followed my Neil Trout, Randy Smithers and Tim and Tom Young. 

They were followed by young reporter, Paul Sunday, who was the last to arrive.   I introduced the young man.  “I asked Mr. Sunday if he would like to come tonight because it would be helpful if he had good background information for any future stories.  He has assured me that he will not publish anything that has not been cleared by our office.”

Paul nodded in agreement, “I am going to tape the meeting tonight with your permission but the information will not be used unless given permission to do so.  I am not going to interfere or ask any questions  I am just a little speck on the wall.”

Philip was laughing, “I wouldn’t say you were just a little speck.”  That caused everyone to laugh.

I looked around and asked, “Mark, could you set up your computer so that David can see the questions and answer?”

Mark was prepared and it was only a matter of seconds before the system was up and running.

Judge Jenkins started, “Mr. Hobart, the reason I asked you to join us tonight is that David Wright here is a runaway from a group home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  He found his way to the door of this house.  He is only seventeen soon to be eighteen but he is deaf.  Why he came to this house is almost a miracle because Mark can sign. So they were able to communicate.

Ty has contacted the authorities and informed them that he has a runaway juvenile in his home, but no one seems too concerned.”

Mr. Hobart put up his hand, “Stop right there Rich.  You know and I know that I can’t do much about this situation.  Does anyone in this house have a foster care approval?”

We shook our heads no

Mr. Hobart wasn’t finished, “Stan, I know that you and Ruth were approved to be foster parents and that you can also sign.  Would you be willing to look after Mr. Wright until we can get this settled?”

“Of course, he could live with me.  He could assist me  with taking care of my grandchildren and I saw how meticulous he was in the yard with Mark.

Hey, maybe we could be featured in Home and Garden.

 Mr. Hobart looked at David, “David, I know this may not be what you want, but I think this is the only way that we can make this work.  I’m sure that you and Mark can still be good friends and you will only be living across the street at least temporarily.  I’ll start the paperwork tomorrow first thing.”

Mr. Hobart took a deep breath,  “Can someone bring David to my office first thing in the morning so I can get all of the pertinent information.  I am sure it will be days or weeks before the two state agencies can get their acts together.”

Dr. Robinson looked at Judge Jenkins, “Richie, why don’t David and I meet you, and we could all go to Rod’s office and get everything taken care of?”

Judge Jenkins nodded, “Why don’t you meet me at Ty’s office at 9:30 and then we can be at Rod’s office by 10:00.  Does that work for you Rod?”

Mr. Hobart answered, “I’ll make it work.” 

Mark took this opportunity to interrupt, “Why don’t we move into the dining room for dessert and coffee or tea before we continue.  We haven’t addressed Tim and Tom’s problem yet.”  

“Ty, you need to call Lance and Lane, they called this afternoon and said their Dad was beside himself.  It seems that his ex-wife filed a law suit accusing him of not having been faithful to his wife when they were married.”

This is Tip.

Mark and David served everyone except Ty a Texas brownie with a scoop of ice cream.  Ty had gone to call Tom Lansing.   When he returned, he announced, “I could hear Lane and Lance giggling in the background when I told Tom that we had already filed a counter suit.  I told them that we had some super investigators on the job.”

Tim looked at David, “David, how will you know if Dr. Robinson or one of his grandchildren might need you if you can’t see them?”

David answered without thinking, “I’ll get a vibrator that we can use it to signal me.  They can touch a button and it will begin to vibrate.”

Tim started to laugh, “It’s going to be uncomfortable walking around with it vibrating inside you isn’t it?”  Mark had been signing for David.

Everyone started to laugh and both Tim and David turned bright red.

“Not that kind of vibrator!  It would be like a wrist watch.  When someone activated it, it would start to vibrate and I would know that someone needed me.  The more expensive ones have different colored lights so you can more easily identify who would like to see you.”

Mr. Hobart’s interest had been peaked by this discussion, “Tim, how did you know about the other kind of vibrator?”

Tim looked at Tom, Neil and Randy.  Neil spoke for them, “Tim, you started this.  We all want to know what you know.”

Tim shrugged his shoulders, “Well Mr. Hobart, sir, its like this.  One night I had been downstairs for some reason and when I went up the steps, our stepfather’s bedroom door was open and the light was on.  I heard him moaning like he was ill.  I went to see if he needed any help. He was moaning alright, but it was moans of ecstasy and not agony.”

“Pardon me for being crude Mrs. Burns, but I don’t know any nice way to say what I saw.  He was impaling himself on a vibrating dildo.”  Tim had turned bright red again.

Judge Jenkins took control, “Rod, that is the other thing that we needed to visit about.  Mark, why don’t you explain to Mr. Hobart, what happened to you so the rest of Tim and Tom’s story will make more sense.”

Mark told about his almost being arrested and then Philip took over the rest of the story.

Mr. Hobart interrupted, “I just realized who Mr. Jefferson is or was.  You used to play for the Kansas City Chiefs until you up and deserted us.  Then you made the newspaper for three court cases one of which involved Mr. Trout.” 

“Doctor Washington, I believe you also made headlines when delivered the twins at the Kansas City Airport.  I thought you were introduced as brothers?”

I spoke, “We are foster brothers.  We have a third foster brother who is a graduate student at the University of Kansas.  After Ty’s divorce, he and his children came to live with Zack and me.”

It was like Mr. Hobart was searching for something, “Mr. Leavitt, would you care to explain your presence for me?”

“Actually, sir, that is quit simple, I am the children’s live in nanny.”

Mr. Hobart was completely baffled by now but it was like a bulb went on, “I thought you looked familiar.  You’re the young man whose fast thinking saved that young boy from having any more damage when he broke his leg and you were featured in a special story in the Kansas City Star aren’t you?”

David had been watching as Mark had been signing what everyone had been saying.  He looked at Mark and asked clearly enough for everyone to understand what he asking, “So you’re telling me that I have been living in a house with lots of celebrities and I didn’t even know it?”

Mr. Hobart stood, “People, it is getting late.  I can’t think anymore right now.  Mr. Trout and Mr. Smithers, could you have Tim and Tom in my office tomorrow with your lawyer, say at 11:00.  I should be finished with David’s case by then.”

Randy and Neil both nodded in agreement and Judge Jenkins spoke,  “Pam and I will be there to protect your interests since she is in charge of Tim and Tom’s case.  We can help each other.”

That was the signal for everyone to leave.  Everyone had departed except the young reporter and Dr. Robinson.  The young reporter had not spoken all night.  “You people should charge admission to your shows.  This was better than anything I have seen on television or at the theatre in a long time.  Mark, it sounds like you should write a soap and call it The Woes of a Nano.”

Paul continued, “Mr. Jefferson, may I stop by and visit with you sometime tomorrow afternoon?  I have a couple of ideas that I would like to discuss with you.  They are still formulating in the small brain of mine.”

Ty laughed, “Paul, please call me Ty and give the office a call and talk to Shawn, and he can tell what my schedule is.”

Paul left, leaving only Dr. Robinson.  He didn’t waste any time, “David, I hope you aren't too disappointed that Mr. Hobart recommended that you come to live with me at least temporarily.   I was somewhat surprised at his suggestion, but he knows what he is doing.  He must have something up his sleeve.  Besides I may be able to help you if things work out.”

David smiled, “Grandpa, I was somewhat disappointed at first, but like Mr. Hobart said, Mark will be just a few steps away and maybe he will pay me for keeping his yard looking beautiful.”

David went and hugged Mr. Robinson.  Mr. Robinson got a little teary. “David, I'll stop by and pick you up at 9:00 in the morning.”

David and Mark took care of the dishes while Ty and I were discussing what had taken place.  Ty looked at me, “I think this is probably the best thing for David.  We could have kept him here, but he would have to share his time with the children.  I think he might be good for Dr. Robinson.”

Our conversation was interrupted by David, “I’m going to go take a shower and wash some things other than my cares down the drain.”  He hugged both of us and moved to the stairs.   He turned back, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do tonight.”  He disappeared.

Mark was standing there laughing, “Yeh, like David said, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do if Zack was here.  Good night.”

To be continued... 
 

Feedback always welcome:     

Editor's notes:

Well things are moving pretty smoothly at the moment. I think David and Dr. Robinson will be good for each other.  Dr. Robinson needs someone to keep him company and David needs someone who will care about him.

As is always the case, this was another wonderful chapter.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 05/16/08