Julio – The Growing Years
 by: Miguel Sanchez

© 2006-2008 by the author

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

I walked around and looked at things that had been put in this room. This truly was a room meant to hurt, torture and injure someone. “With all that’s in here, he had to know about it,” I said holding Marco close to me.

Just then the owner came in and said, “What are you all doing in here?”

Danny looked at the man and said, “Does this belong to you?”

“Yes,” the store owner replied realizing his mistake. “This is all my property.”

“Good,” Danny said walking over to the man, “Because you’re under arrest.”

He put another pair of handcuffs on the man then we left the store. I helped Danny escort the two men to his car then I said, “I’m going to take the boys to lunch then we will see you back at the station.”

Chapter 5

I took the boys to a local restaurant and all four of them ate like they hadn’t eaten in days. I was really saddened that Marco chose to revert back to this lifestyle. After the boys were finally full I paid the bill then headed over to the Sheriff’s Office.

Danny had just finished booking the shop owner and vigilante when we arrived. He came out from around the desk and let us in. Danny took his three with him and we all left to go by the courthouse to see Judge Romero.

Judge Romero was in his chambers when we arrived. His bailiff let him know we were waiting and we were taken back to his chambers. “Hi Miguel,” he said standing and extending his hand. “How are you? Hello Marco, how are you? You’ve had us all pretty worried about you. And who are these three young men?”

I shook his hand saying, “Thanks for seeing us Your Honor. These three boys helped us find Marco, and Danny here is willing to foster them.”

“I think that’s great Danny,” Judge Romero said shaking his hand. “So do you boys want to stay with Deputy Vasquez?”

The little one said smiling, “Yeah Sir, Danny is cool for a policeman.”

Judge Romero laughed when he heard this then said, “What are you names?”

“I’m Raul,” the youngster said.

The older boy spoke next saying, “I’m Rolando and I’m 15. This is Victor and he’s 13. Raul there is 12 and we’re brothers.”

Judge Romero sat down behind his desk and started typing into his computer. He looked up and said, “Rolando, what is your last name?”

“Valdez,” Victor told the Judge. “I don’t know were our parents are Sir.”

“That’s alright son,” the Judge said. “We’ll take care of that and you’re not in trouble.”

Judge Romero typed some more information into his computer then said, “Congratulations Danny, you’re now a registered foster parent and you have three foster sons.” He handed Danny a piece of paper then said, “Take this to the clerk and she will cut you a check so you can get them some clothes and by some more groceries. You have three growing boys to feed now.”

The judge stood and shook Danny’s hand. Danny took his boys out then Marco and I talked with him. I looked at Marco and asked, “What happened that made you leave where you were staying Marco?”

Marco’s head dropped and he just stared at the floor. “His son started hitting on me. He was calling me names and when I told his Dad, he slapped me and said live with it.”

Judge Romero looked at him and asked, “Did you try to tell someone?”

Marco nodded his head. “I tried to get in touch with you but he found out and he hit me some more. That’s when I took off.”

I looked at him and asked, “Why didn’t you come here and see the Judge son? He would have made time for you.

“I know,” Marco said softly. “I just didn’t want to be sent back there with them.”

“Marco, if you had told me what you just did,” Judge Romero started saying. “I would have had him arrested. You boys are special to me and I won’t stand for foster parents hitting on you.”

“Is he going to jail?” Marco asked as he came over and sat on my lap.

I looked at the Judge and asked, “Why don’t you have Danny go over there tomorrow and talk with him? If he thinks Danny is one of the old style Deputies, he may just admit to hitting Marco.”

“Good idea. I might have a new person for you to stay with Marco. He’s a lawyer and he’s in Sao Paulo for a couple of days on a case. I think you’ll really like him Marco. He’s a widower and they never had the chance to have kids.”

It was getting late and I was starting to get hungry. “As soon as he gets back in town schedule a meeting so they can meet each other.”

“Sounds good Miguel,” Judge Romero said standing. “Take care Marco, I can see you still have a lot you want to say to Miguel. I’ll see you in a few days.”

Marco and I were about to leave when my cell phone went off. I answered it and Danny was on the other end. “What’s up Danny?” I asked.

“Raul’s not feeling well,” Danny said sounding concerned. “He’s complaining of a real bad stomach ache.”

“Bring him over to the hospital and I’ll meet you there,” I said. “We’ll find out what’s going on. It might just be a virus he picked up out on the streets.”

“Alright Miguel,” Danny said. “I didn’t know what to do or who to call.”

“Calm down Dad,” I said laughing. “You did the right thing Danny. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

I closed my cell phone and Marco and I headed outside to the Blazer. “Are you alright Marco?” I asked while we drove to the hospital.

“I really messed up Miguel,” Marco said as I drove to the hospital. “I should have gone to the judge right away but I was scared and I wanted some time to think. Then I met a few of my old friends so I decided to just stay out here. This morning we got real hungry and a couple of the guys went to get some food. I went with them because we were going to eat right away rather than leaving the area. I stayed back so they could do their thing but that jerk caught me. He took my clothes off so I wouldn’t run away. He was going to put me down when you guys came along.”

By now, Marco was in tears so I reached over and rubbed his shoulder to calm him down. I looked over at him briefly then said, “You made a mistake son by not seeing Judge Romero, but it’s not the end of the world. I’m just glad nothing happened to you like the first time I met you. I want you to promise me that if for some reason you and this new man don’t work out together, you will let me or Judge Romero know right away.”

“I will Miguel,” Marco said. “Do you think I should tell him I’m gay? I don’t want him to find out some other way or do you think I should wait to see how things go?”

I turned into the Physician’s Parking Lot then said, “I think you should wait until you meet him and see what you think about him. I’m sure he knows that you boys have to do things out there in order to survive.”

I found a parking place then Marco and I went to the Emergency Room. We went into the waiting area and Danny and his boys were there already. I walked over to them and Raul doubled over saying, “Danny help me, it hurts.”

Danny grabbed the boy before he fell then we took him to an exam room. As we went through the doors a nurse said, “May I help you?”

”I’m Dr. Sanchez and I need a room right away,” I said looking at the patient board.

She opened a door and Danny carried the ill child inside then placed him on the table. I looked at the nurse and said, “I need an IV of normal saline started and blood drawn for a CBC right away.”

“Right away Doctor,” she said as she turned and left.

Just then Raul doubled over again and started to vomit. I grabbed at trash can and Danny turned him onto his side. He threw up most of the food he ate and I was pretty sure we were dealing with a virus, plus the boy’s system wasn’t ready for heavy food yet. The nurse came in and started the IV and Danny felt like his hand was broke when Raul squeezed it. Raul got stuck once more for the blood work but he was a trooper.

I wrote an order for them to give Raul something for the nausea and vomiting and that seemed to make him comfortable. It took about thirty minutes to get the blood test results back but it hadn’t confirmed my suspicions that something viral was making Raul sick. The CBC came back with everything within normal limits. I had them take the trash can to the lab and do a culture on it in case there was a bacterial infection. Raul was resting comfortably so I took Danny outside and said, “I’m debating on admitting him so he can be looked at for a few days until his body is able to tolerate solid food again.”

Danny thought about it then asked, “Do you think you could watch Rolando and Victor? I don’t want them to be alone again.”

“Not a problem. Marco will like the company also.”

I wrote orders admitting Raul to the new pediatric wing and kept him off solid food for the rest of the day. I thought it best to give his system a rest considering everything he’d already been through. I had him put in a private room and had a cot brought in so Danny could stay with the boy.

It only took a couple of minutes and Raul was being moved to his room. Danny saw the cot there and said, “Thanks Miguel for everything. I sure don’t want to lose these guys so soon after getting them.”

I smiled at him and said, “You won’t Danny. I can see in your eyes that you already love them.”

I was about to go out and get the others when Rolando came in and said, “Danny, is Raul gonna be ok?”

Just then, Marco and Victor came in so I said, “He is going to be fine. He picked up something out on the streets and it will take a couple of days for him to shake it. He will be in here for a few days and Rolando, you and Victor will stay with Marco and me until he comes home. Is that alright with you two?”

They looked at each other then Victor said, “Where’s Danny gonna be?”

Danny hugged them and said, “I’m going to be here with your brother. I don’t want him to be here alone.”

“Will we be able to visit him?” Rolando asked looking at his little brother.

“Yes you will. I’ll have to check on him twice a day and you all can come with me when I do. Is that ok?”

Once again they looked at each other then came over and hugged me saying, “Yes, that’s fine. Thanks for taking care of him.”

Just then Raul opened his eyes and said, “Papa Danny, you’re not gonna leave me are you?”

“No son,” Danny said running his fingers through his hair. “I’m going to stay right here with you. Your brothers will be with Miguel until you get out.”

“OK,” Raul said in a sleepy voice. “I love you Papa.”

Danny looked at him and he was back asleep. I gathered the boys up and we went out into the hall. Danny gave me the spare key to his place so I could get clothes for the boys. I wrapped my arms around Victor and Rolando then said, “You can relax and not worry about Raul now. He’s going to be fine in a couple of days. These two will be alright too.”

I noticed a huge grin on his face and he said, “Did you hear what Raul called me?”

Rolando looked up at Danny with a smile. “He called you Papa. It was our idea but we didn’t have the chance to tell you when Raul got sick. Do you mind?”

“Do I mind?” Danny asked smiling. “Hell no son, I love it.”

He reached his arms out and Rolando and Victor came over to him and they had a big group hug. Marco looked up to me and said, “I wish I had someone like that?”

I picked him up and said, “You will son. I think Judge Romero might have found someone special just for you, alright?”

He wrapped his arms around me saying, “Alright Pop.”

I was starving by now and I heard Marco’s stomach rumble also. I looked at Rolando and Victor and said, “Are you boys hungry because I’m starved?”

All three boys said yes in unison. We said good-bye to Danny then went to get something to eat. I ordered food for the boys so they wouldn’t over eat and I had a decent meal myself. After we left the restaurant, I stopped at Danny’s house and had Rolando and Victor get some clean clothes. Our next stop was to get Marco some clothes. After that was done we returned home.

The next project was getting these boys clean. I put Marco and Rolando in the front bathroom and had them take showers. Marco wasn’t all that dirty but Rolando was another story. I looked at them and said, “I know it’s been a while since each of you had a good shower. Can you help each other get clean so I can give Victor a bath?”

Marco smiled and said, “Sure Pop, we’ll get clean. I want to get this street smell off me.”

I got the shower going then took Victor into my room. I started filling the tub with warm water and found some bubble bath that Steven had. I held my hands out to Victor and he came to me and said, “Are you going to help me Miguel?”

“Only if you want me to,” I said.

He smiled as he took his shirt off and replied saying, “I would like that.”

He took off his shoes then removed his shorts. I noticed he brought clean underwear with him because he wasn’t wearing any when he took his shorts off. I looked at the under developed 13 year old then lifted him up and set him into the warm tub. I rubbed his hair then said, “You soak in here for a few minutes. I’m going to change and check on your brother and Marco.”

I quickly got out of my suit and tie and found a pair of shorts in my bag. I pulled them on then went to see how Marco and Rolando were doing. I went into the bathroom and said, “You guys ok in there?”

Marco pulled back the shower curtain and replied, “We’re fine Pop.”

I saw the boys lathered from head to toe and Rolando’s hand was busy making sure one part of Marco’s anatomy was really clean. I didn’t want to embarrass them but I said, “Making sure something’s clean Rolando?”

He smiled and I noticed Marco’s hand was the same place on him. He laughed and said, “Yeah can’t have that smelling nasty.”

I laughed saying, “Have fun boys but don’t get too carried away.”

I left them to their fun then went back to Victor. When I get back, he was one mass of bubbles. I laughed when I saw this mass of bubbles moving in the tub. “Hold on Victor, I’ll save you.”

I reached in and felt around for his arms. I gently lifted him up and he said, “I’m fine Papa Miguel. I was soaking like you said.”

I took the wash cloth and wiped the bubbles off him so I could see how clean his was. I washed his hair and back then he finished the job. I was about to leave when he said, “I need some help Papa Miguel.”

He stood up and he was trying to retract his foreskin but it was sticking. I got a couple of cotton swabs and gently broke the crust and dirt loose, and then I was able to completely retract the skin.

Victor finished rinsing himself off then I wrapped him in a soft towel so he could get dry. I did his back for him then sent him to my room. I went to get the other two boys out of the shower. When I got to the other bathroom, both boys were out, dried and dressed. Together Rolando, Marco and I went back to get Victor. As we walked in my room Victor was coming out in his underwear. Since it was late, I decided it was alright if they stayed like that.

I hadn’t had a chance to ask Marco where he wanted to sleep when he asked, “Where are we going to sleep tonight?”

“I was just going to ask you that son,” I said. “Two of you can sleep in Jay and Ronnie’s old room and the other can sleep in Steven’s.”

I saw Rolando and Marco looking at each other and Victor looked like he was being left out. I didn’t want him feeling neglected so I said, “Victor, you can sleep with me if you’d like.”

You would have thought Victor had just won the lottery by the smile that came across his face. “Thank you Papa Miguel,” he said. “I usually sleep with Raul. I didn’t know what I was going to do tonight.”

The boys wanted some time together so I went and called the hospital to see how my patient was doing. I talked with the head nurse and found out the he had held down some clear broth at dinner and had also held down several glasses of ginger ale. I was pleased when I heard this and I said that I would be in to see him in the morning.

I sat down in my recliner and found a movie that was almost over. I had become engrossed in the movie when I felt a hand touch me on the arm. I looked up and there was Victor with a smile on his face. I opened my arms up and he hopped on to my lap. He scampered up and I asked, “Are you alright?”

He smiled at me and said, “I’m fine now.”

He snuggled back against my chest and we watched the rest of the movie. He hadn’t been there all that long when I noticed he was sound asleep. I turned off the television and the lamp beside my chair and carried the sleeping boy to bed. I carefully set him down then got undressed and did my nightly duties. I turned out the bathroom light and crawled in with Victor for a good nights rest.

To be continued...

Posted: 06/13/08