A Train Trip to Remember
 by: Miguel Sanchez

© 2008 by the author

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

Ike shook his head. “No one Jerry and I’m going do my damndest to put an end to this once and for all.”

This was getting to be worse than instant replay. “Let’s hope so Ike. My patience here is starting to wear thin.”

Chapter 9

I looked at the clock and we had 45 minutes to get to court. Ike and I left and Liam went to check on JC. I followed Ike to the courthouse and was able to park beside him. When we walked into the courtroom the first person I saw was that female cop from the hospital. I wanted so badly to go over there and scream at her but Ike had me by the arm. “Don’t think of it Jerry.”

My head was turning to look at that bitch as Ike led me away over to the defense table. I sat down and continued to glare at her as some man came in and started talking to her. Just then the judge’s chamber door opened and a woman no taller then JC came storming out and up the steps to her bench. We quickly stood as she banged her gavel down. “Be seated, now Mr. Fletcher what is the basis for this hearing?”

Ike stood facing the judge. “We’re moving to have his suit dismissed without prejudice.”

She looked at Ike. “Based on?”

Ike looked over at Marsha then back to the judge, “Based on perjury Judge Green.”

Marsha jumped up shouting, “Perjury? Why you…”

Just then the man stood, “Objection.”

Judge Sylvia Green banged her gavel. “Explain Mr. Fletcher.”

Ike pulled the papers I was served out. “Ms. Flowers swears she is JC Martin’s only blood relative on her mother’s side and this is a lie.”

Marsha yanked her arm away from her lawyer and stormed over towards Ike, “Why you sorry bastard!”

BANG, BANG, BANG! “Order, Ms. Flowers, you’re in contempt and it will cost you $50.00. Mr. Fletcher, can you prove this statement?”

Ike just smiled. “I can.”

“That’s it,” Marsha shouted. “Jerry Miles, you’re under arrest.”

BANG, BANG, BANG!!! “Bailiff, control her.”

The Bailiff stood and walked over towards Marsha. “I’m a Detective with Hollywood Police.”

Judge Green banged her gavel again. “Not for long now take your seat. Mr. Fletcher, present your evidence.”

Ike pulled a folder out of his briefcase. “While it’s true Ms. Flowers is family she’s not blood as she’s claiming.”

She jumped up. “I am so blood!”

Ike looked at her. “Are you willing to swear to that under oath?”

She stormed around the table heading towards the witness box. “Swear me in.”

Judge Green nodded her head to the Bailiff then he came over and administered the oath. Marsha stomped up the steps then plopped down in the chair. Judge Green looked at Ike. “You may examine the witness.”

Ike picked up the folder then stepped towards the witness. “Ms. Flowers, I ask you again, are you truly a blood relative of JC Martin?”

I could see Marsha’s face turning red. “You know damn good and well I am Ike Fletcher.”

BANG! “Control your language Ms. Flowers. That will cost you another $50.00.”

Ike smiled. “Who are your parents?”

Marsha almost shouted then restrained herself. “You know your sister is my mother.”

Ike shook his head. “I’ll rephrase my question. Who are your birth parents?”

Marsha’s lawyer jumped up. “Objection, asked and answered.”

Ike was shaking his head. “No Your Honor, it was not answered.”

She looked at Marsha. “Did you answer Mr. Fletcher’s question?”

Marsha just sat there staring into space while Ike opened the envelope and pulled out several pieces of paper. He stepped closer to Marsha. “Isn’t it true you’re not the blood daughter of my sister but rather her adopted daughter?”

“Objection, assumes facts not in evidence.”

Ike handed the papers to Judge Green. “Here is the evidence Your Honor.”

Judge Green looked at the papers then back to Marsha. “Over ruled, I direct you to answer Mr. Fletcher’s question.”

She dropped her head momentarily then glared at Ike trying to shoot daggers at him. “Alright damn it. YES, I’m adopted but that still makes me family.”

Ike smiled. “I never denied you were family Marsha but you’re not BLOOD family as you’ve claimed in your suit and that is perjury.”

She lost it then. “What’s the difference, I’m still family.”

Ike turned and looked at his neice. “The difference is this. Did you read the statement in bold print at the bottom of the page before you signed it? It states that you swear, under penalty of perjury, that the statements are true and correct to the best of your knowledge.”

Marsha sat there looking defeated. “Yes, I read it but I’m still family.”

Judge Green interrupted. “Mr. Fletcher, I only see that as a minor technicality. She is, after all, still family.”

Ike looked at the judge. “Technicality maybe Your Honor but I have several cases that were overturned based on just that; so legal precedent has been set.”

The judge sat there for a moment and thought. “Do you have any other proof that would make her unfit?”

Ike thought. “Well, JC is 16 and in this state his wishes do carry weight as to with whom he wishes to live. Jerry Miles is his permanent legal guardian and that order has been issued by Judge Isaac Gould. JC’s parents are currently in jail facing some very serious criminal charges.”

Judge Green made some notes on her file. “I’ll take that into consideration but I’ll ask you again, is there some reason she should be deemed unfit?”

Ike looked at the judge then over to me, “If I might have a moment to confer with my client?”

The judge nodded her head. “You may confer with him.”

Ike came over and we talked for a few seconds then faced the judge. “Yes Your Honor, I do. Ms. Flowers, why is it you’re not married?”

Her lawyer stood, “Objection, relevance.”

Ike shot him a look. “If I might have a little latitude it will become quite clear.”

The judge nodded her head. “Very well Mr. Fletcher, your objection is over ruled. Please answer the question.”

She just sat there then took a deep breath. “I’ve just never found the right person.”

Ike went back to his briefcase and pulled out another envelope. “Haven’t found the right person? When was the last time you had a boyfriend?”

The lawyer started to stand until Judge Green looked at him. Marsha took her time. “I don’t really remember.”

Ike pulled out something from the envelope. “You don’t remember Marsha or is it because you’ve never had a boyfriend.”

I could see her face turning red. “What are you implying?”

Ike stepped in front of her. “I’m not implying anything. I’m making a statement of fact. Tell me who is in these photographs?”

Ike handed her several pictures and she looked at each one. “She’s just a friend I know.”

Ike looked at me quickly then back to Marsha; “Just a friend Marsha? Isn’t that your roommate?”

Marsha was doing a slow boil. “So what, she’s my roommate.”

Ike pulled out another piece of paper. “I think she’s more than your roommate. In fact, isn’t she your lover?”

“Objection!”

Ike looked at the judge, “Goes to credibility.”

She looked at the other lawyer, “Over ruled.”

Ike sat the paper down in front of Marsha so she could read it. She stared at the paper then back to Ike. “Yes, she’s my lover. What’s the big deal?”

Ike picked up the paper. “The big deal is that you can’t foster a child if you’re an admitted lesbian.”

Marsha just sat there silent then got mad. “Well all that guy wants is to get control of the kid’s trust.”

Ike started to object but the judge beat him. “Ms. Fields, you have no proof of that.”

Ike looked at me nodding my head then looked at the judge. “Your Honor, you’ve heard the testimony of Ms. Flowers. She’s not blood as she claimed in her suit and she is an admitted lesbian who is in an active sexual relationship with another woman. I feel we’ve met our burden of proof and therefore request this suit be dismissed without prejudice.”

I could see her thinking then I was taken off guard. “Mr. Miles, why is it you wish to be JC’s guardian?”

I stood looking at Marsha then over to the judge. “That’s very easy, you see, I love him and I’m not about to leave him stuck somewhere all alone, that’s NOT fair to JC. This boy has been through a lot and needs someone in his life that really cares about JC, not someone guided by money.”

Marsha jumped up. “No one left that kid alone and as for you after the money, give me time and I’ll prove it.”

Ike turned around and glared at her then looked at the judge. “Your Honor that all came out in Judge Gould’s court.”

Now I was pissed. “Is that what you think?”

BANG!! “Control yourself sir.”

I looked at Ike then back up to the judge. “I am in control Your Honor. I’ve just had more than enough talk of people telling me I’m just after JC’s money. Ike, I want you to listen to this and listen well. I want to have a trustee appointed by Judge Gould to work with you, Ike so any money needed from the trust can in fact be seen as a necessity.”

I finally had cooled down after saying that. I looked at Marsha who was sitting there with her mouth hanging open then I looked at the Judge wondering just how much my little outburst was going to cost me. I stood there waiting for the hammer to fall when Judge Green cleared her throat. “Mr. Miles I truly do believe that your only interest here is the best welfare of JC. I know Judge Gould quite well and if he feels it’s necessary for another trustee, he will appoint it but personally I don’t believe that’s necessary. Ms. Flowers, you did in fact claim to be a blood relative when you knew you weren’t. I think you were trying to stack the deck in your favor which does not sit well with this court. Your suit is being dismissed without prejudice which means it can not be filed again. Mr. Miles, I wish you and JC the best. This court is adjourned.”

Judge Green banged her gavel and we all stood as she left the bench for her chambers. Ike looked at me shaking his head. “I thought you’d really shot your mouth off.”

“Not at all Ike, I meant it. I’m tired of everyone accusing me of just wanting JC’s money.”

Marsha heard me. “That’s the biggest load of shit I’ve ever heard.”

Ike looked at her. “Marsha you’re just pissed you tried to get hold of JC and failed. For the life of me I’ll never know why because you’ve never ever wanted kids, in fact, you have a very strong dislike for them.”

I could see the gears turning in her head. “Maybe not but I know my niece never wanted some stranger to raise JC.”

That pissed me off. “Then your niece and her husband should have been better parents. They chose to adopt him and as long as the road was smooth, everything was fine but as soon as they hit a bump in the road, they bailed out on him.”

She was glaring at me but never said a word then Ike stood in front of her. “I can excuse a lot of things Marsha but what I wouldn’t was when our niece got a doctor to not give JC the required chemo therapy he needed. Do you realize what would have happened had the head of oncology not caught it?”

Marsha’s mouth was hanging open. “You’re lying.”

I glared at her. “For what purpose would we lie? The medical records speak for itself. Dr. Moore has more trouble to answer for than the assault he committed on JC.”

She let my words sink in. “Oh god, I would have never believed that of her even though her husband could be a jerk. What are his chances of survival?”

I couldn’t believe the 180 she’d done and I was totally skeptical of her sincerity. “If you must know, his last blood test showed him in remission. But all this bull shit everyone is putting us through will not do him good. So pardon me if I say, all of you should just leave us the hell alone.”

Ike nodded his head in agreement. “I agree with Jerry and know this Marsha, if there are any more challenges here, I’ll personally slap the biggest harassment suit against you so fast you won’t have time to blink.”

Ike and I went back to the table so he could get his briefcase. I looked at the clock and it was almost 3. “Ike, I want to get back to the hospital. I know JC must be awake by now.”

We hurried back to the hospital and when we got to the treatment, JC and Liam were talking. As soon as we walked in, Liam gave me a look that scared me to the bone. “Ah lads, you’re back. See JC, I told ya Jerry would be back.”

JC reached his arms out for me so I went over and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. Again Liam glared at me as I did this. “How’d things go in court Uncle Ike?”

He smiled at my boy. “Piece of cake kiddo, just like I said it would. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to the office. Jerry, I’ll call you when those papers are ready.”

As Ike left JC hopped over onto my lap as Liam continued to stare at me and I couldn’t handle that any more. “Liam, just what’s with you? Ever since Ike and I got back you’ve been acting like I have the plague or something.”

I noticed JC’s eyes drop to the floor. “That might be my doing.”

I lifted his chin up then looked at Liam. “OK, I need time to talk with JC. Now I’m not sure what’s going on but he and I are going to talk this out.”

Liam was just sitting there staring. JC looked at me then over to him. “Go, I wanna talk to my Dad.”

“I don’t think.” He started but I interrupted.

“You heard JC, go and NOW!”

Liam quietly stood then left the room. I was still holding JC on my lap but I was totally confused. JC finally looked at me. “Dad, I had some questions for Dr. Finch now that I’m in remission.”

I couldn’t think of any question that could have Liam glaring at me then I hit me. “Son, did you ask him any questions about sex?”

JC’s head started shaking. “No Dad, I swear. That’s between us.”

I could see his eyes start to water. I drew him against my chest and rubbed his back. “Shhh son, don’t cry now. What did you and he talk about?”

He wiped his eyes and sat up. “I just asked him when I would start looking like other boys my age.”

I couldn’t see anything wrong with that. “How did you ask him?”

“Just like that Dad,” he started. “I told him other boys have hair down there and they’re bigger than me. Then Dr. Finch asked if I’d talked to you about it and I said yes we had.”

Now I was totally confused then I reached over and patted the bed. “Son, I want you to lie down, we’re going to get to the bottom of this now.”

JC got back into bed then I went to find Dr. Finch. I saw him standing at the nurse’s station. When our eyes met he knew right away I was not happy. “Jerry.”

I lit into him. “Just what the hell has gotten into you? What did you tell JC when he asked simple questions about his body hair returning?”

He stood there silent then led me towards an office. We went inside then he closed the door. “Jerry, I merely told him I didn’t think it was advisable to be staring at other boys.”

“What?” I said rather loudly. “Boys check each other out all the time, it’s normal. How could you?”

Liam shook his head. “Jerry, I gave him my advice.”

I couldn’t believe this. “Were you never a kid or did you walk around with blinders on? I can’t believe you Liam, he looks up to you.”

My comment stung him. “Jerry, I just didn’t wanna see the lad hurt.”

“What hurt him was the way you addressed his question and to top it off you acted like I was some kind of a monster. As far of JC being hurt out side, trust me we’ve talked about that. I thought doctors were supposed to be neutral in matters like this?”

I could see Liam was at a crossroads mentally. “We are but I guess the lad’s grown on me a wee bit too.”

I smiled at him. “Seeing how much he’s trusted you, I guess that was inevitable. But right now, he thinks you’re mad at him, me or the both of us and like you said earlier, he doesn’t need that kind of stress.”

Liam stood and headed towards the door. “Come on Jerry, I can’t have him angry at me.”

Liam and I went back down to the treatment room to talk with JC. As soon as we walked in JC acted like he didn’t want to see Liam. I went over and sat beside him and rubbed his hand. “Please hear him out son. I think there was some miscommunication on both parts here, OK?”

He looked at me hesitantly then over to Liam. “OK Dad.”

Liam came over and sat beside JC. “I’m sorry what I tried to tell you didn’t come out better son.”

JC’s head snapped over and now he was glaring at the Doctor. “Yeah I bet. Is this what you tell all your patients when they confide in you or ask a simple question? IS IT?”

I tapped JC on the hand trying to get him calmed down then he glared at me. I wasn’t about to let him get away with mouthing off again. “Lower your voice son and watch your tone.”

I’d never seen JC like this and he tried to push it. “Or else what DAD?”

Chemo or not he’s not going to talk to any adult like this. “Do you want me to do what your uncle did son? It would almost kill me to do it but you’ve been told in NO uncertain terms that you will not speak disrespectful towards any adult, especially when they’re trying to apologize.”

He was staring at me not saying a word. I guess he was mulling over in his mind weather or not I’d warm his backside. He decided to call my bluff. “You wouldn’t Dad.”

I returned his glare then made my first move. I stood up and lowered the rail on my side of the bed. Liam stood and was about to speak when I did. “Doc, you’ve apologized now the ball is in JC’s court. What’s it gonna be son?”

He decided not to call my bluff. Tears began to roll down his cheeks and he sank back in bed. “I…I’m sorry.”

Liam came around and sat on the edge of the bed beside JC. “I am too laddie. I wasn’t saying what you’d done was wrong. I know that’s how it came out. I know boys look at each other and I was trying to say be careful so you wouldn’t get caught or even worse.”

JC got a little cocky then. “Telling me to be careful isn’t your job doc.”

I reached over and lightly popped him on the back of the head. “What did I tell you?”

He looked down at the bed. “Yes Dad. I’m sorry Doc.”

Liam continued. “As for the rest, it will take several months before your hair starts to return. Once that starts, I can run some blood tests to see how your hormone levels are.”

I looked over at JC and he was letting what Liam said sink in. “Liam, would giving him hormones work?”

He shook his head. “I dunno about that lad so I’d refer him to another specialist. JC, I don’t see any reason why you need to stay here tonight. I can give your Dad a couple of prefilled syringes with medication if you start getting sick. Roll over onto your side for me.”

He looked up at me then over to Liam. “I…I’m not sick now.”

Liam gently rubbed JC’s hip. “I know laddie, I just need to show your Dad how to find the proper spot in case he needs to give ya a shot.”

Liam showed me how to find the safe spots then he took JC’s IV out of his arm. Liam was about to head for the door when JC called out to him. He got out of bed and walked over to him wrapping him in a tight hug as he began to cry. “Dr. Finch, I’m really sorry I shot my mouth off.”

Liam rubbed his back and talked to him in a soft fatherly voice. “We all get scared for some reason or another laddie and I know I didn’t help things when I couldn’t say what I wanted to without it coming out wrong.”

JC looked up at the man. “I know Doc but I still had no call and mouth off like I did either.”

As Liam was holding JC, his gown was open and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I walked up and gently smacked him on his butt. He turned around and started glaring at me then smiled. He came over and gave me a little hug then got dressed. “When do you need to see this little hellion again?”

Liam thought for a moment. “I want to see him back in 6 weeks. In the mean time, I’ll talk with a couple of friends I know about weather or not to consider hormones.”

JC had quickly dressed and was standing beside us. “Thanks, Dr. Finch for everything, I’ll see you in 6 weeks.”

JC and I left the hospital and returned home. When we arrived, Zeus was waiting at the back door for us. JC hurried to the door to let him in then was greeted with a flurry of doggy kisses.

To be continued...

Posted: 05/30/08