All for Acceptance

By: Rod
(© 2010 by the author)

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

Chapter 7

It wasn’t long before the two fell into a regular pattern.  Allan had enrolled in the local community college and begun classes.  His schedule allowed him to attend classes in the morning and be available to work with Travis in the afternoons and evenings when jobs were to be served.  Allan found that he enjoyed the work in the catering kitchen almost as much as he did the actual serves out in the field but then, so long as he was working alongside Travis it didn’t really matter where he was working, he was happy to be with Travis anywhere. 

Most Saturday evenings were spent in a hall handling a wedding.  Some weeks it would be the latest debutant and well known figure from the society page, and the next week it would be a bride who was just as special; special to her family and the new family she was being joined to by marriage.  The father in those cases was doing all he felt he could to give his daughter the best wedding he could afford, but everyone realized the magic of the catering firm hired and the fact that their goal was to provide every bride with the wedding reception of their dream at a price the father and or family could afford, always within their means.  Travis had become very adept at determining just how much the client could really afford and would suggest whatever changes or accommodation of menu that would keep them afloat and still allow them the pride they deserved, even if the boss was invited to attend.  All too often, the boss would eventually hire Travis to cater for his own family when he came to the realization that this was a catering firm who really cared for their clients and their well being.  Besides, there wasn’t an item on the menu that anyone could say wasn’t delicious, and the rooms in which they served, well, no one could say that by the time Travis and his crew were ready to receive the guests the entire area was a sight to behold.  Everything was always in great taste, very elegant; indeed the hosts couldn’t have dreamt a better or more finely appearing reception.

Allan understood this and as he continued to work with Travis, came to appreciate and learn just how important this was to the business and its growth.  He soon became another source of suggestions and, as they worked together, they found creativity was not unique with only one of them; they both had an uncanny ability to transform the usual into the beautifully unusual, pleasing each of the clients and drawing more and more inquiries for not only quotes but potential clients who’s only question was “Were they available?”  There was no room for checking to see what they could have quoted, the clients soon learned whatever was provided it was done tastefully, eloquently and tasted delicious.  The only question was if Travis’s firm could fit them into their steadily growing schedule.

This phenomenal growth caused Travis to work all the more diligently to bring on additional personnel.  It wasn’t long before Allan and Travis often had to go in different directions, each with a crew of their own to handle two different functions at the same time.  Allan wasn’t happy about not being able to always work along side of Travis but he understood the necessity of the situation and happily endeavored to make the firm all that more well known and appreciated.  After all, when the evening was finally done he did go home with Travis, a benefit that no one else shared.

Allan was handling a full load in college and with the encouragement of Travis was doing quite well.  The idea of the company reimbursing the tuition had long been forgotten; each semester Travis simply wrote a check to cover whatever expenses might be existent.  Allan kept a 4.0 average so never a question was raised.  Travis looked at the situation of one of this was his brother, no expense would be spared. 

Sundays were often handled by other staff unless it was really a dire situation requiring Travis’s attention.  He had, since Allan had joined him, found a few good people he could trust and after training them well and occasionally dropping in unexpectedly on functions, each of his employees knew how things were to be done and prided themselves in the fact that they could claim involvement in the catering firm most wanted and respected in the area.  This time off on Sunday allowed Allan and Travis a chance to recharge from the previous week, Allan to be sure all was caught up on for his classes, and frequent visits to the mansion to see the young Phillip.  It certainly wasn’t hard to take Mammy’s cooking either and the time they spent with Phillip II, Phillip IV, Mammy and Earnest, was all too precious.  Mammy and Earnest had certainly taken to Allan and treated him just as they would another son, loving, encouraging but stern as a parent should be.  Young Phillip appreciated the time with both of his uncles and made quite evident his affection for them both.  The older three just stood back and smiled as the younger three reveled in each other’s company. Once they returned to their own home Allan and Travis shared a growing relationship, one that was deepening each and every day they were together. The guest bedroom had never really been occupied, Allan had moved into Travis’s bedroom from the start.  There was no longer even a hint that the other room was in use. It was and remained a spare guest room.

Time had not stood still.  The pages of the calendar were fast floating away and semesters were coming and going all too quickly.  It was unbelievable that Travis and Allan had been together over a year and where now coming up on their second Christmas together.  It was early December and snow had started just before Thanksgiving.  The business was busier all the time but Travis refused to lose himself in it and with a good crew, a good head that could readily assess whether or not his organization could take on an additional job for a certain day or time, managed to strike a fair balance between work and off time so that his relationship with Allan or even the folks at the mansion was never strained.  After all he had wisely decided that if he could only make a go of things by working on the Holidays as well as through the year, he wasn’t in the right business or at least not in the right way.  As a result after just his first few years he had made the decision that his firm would not be available ever on the Holiday itself.  That meant, no Easter Sundays, Memorial Day, 4^th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years Day bookings.  Anything desired would go out the day before.  This allowed him and his extended family of employees to have the Holiday to share with their own families.  A few clients weren’t particularly happy at first but when he held firm and would not deviate, they grew to appreciate his stand and supported him in his decision, all to happy to pick things up the day before so they could still enjoy his delightful offerings but no hassling with obtaining the food on the actual Holiday.

Allan had just finished his morning classes and was about to leave campus as he was walking towards the parking lot.  He was very proud of the car Travis had convinced him to agree to get, however he had experienced a problem with the door that morning and found he could not lock the driver’s door.  He would have to consult with Travis to see where he should take it for repair.  As he approached the car he noticed someone in his car.  At first he wondered if he should contact the campus security before approaching the car, but as he got closer he could see that the culprit was a rather small person.  They appeared even smaller as they had pulled themselves up into a fetal position and was in the middle of the back seat.  Allan quietly approached the car and as gently as possible opened the back door.  He was able to actually lean in and start to shake the persons shoulder when suddenly the culprit awakened with a start.

“Please mister, don’t hit me! I didn’t hurt anything.  It was just so cold out and the door was open, I climbed in to get warm!” sobbed the culprit.

“Don’t worry I won’t hurt you, but why are you here?  Who are you?” queried Allan.

“I ain’t got anyplace to go and it is so cold out.  It’s warm in here with all the glass and I just wanted to get warm.  I promise I wasn’t going to do anything bad I just thought I could get warm before I had to go out in the cold again.”

“Why did you need to find refuge in a car?  Where is your home?  Why not one of the building?” asked Allan.

“I tried to go into one of the buildings but I’m too young to be here and a guard told me to go home or he would take me to his office and call my parents.”

“Who and where are your parents?” 

“They don’t want me no more.  When they managed to get me into the free clinic and the doctor there said they needed to cut off my foot cause it’s infected, my parents just got up and walked out.  They don’t have any money to pay for something like that and I heard them talking the night before that they couldn’t afford to keep taking care of me anyway whether or not I was sick.  When they walked out the doctor told the nurse to call Child and Family Services and I got scared cause I knew they’d come and take me away to some place dreadful so when the doctor left the room and no one was around I snuck out and left the clinic.  That was a few days ago and I’ve been hiding every since, but today it just got too cold and I needed to warm up.  Please mister don’t turn me in just let me get warm and I’ll leave you alone and go,” sobbed the little guy.

“How old are you?”

“I’ll be eight in a couple of weeks,” the boy said between his tears.

“What have you had to eat, and when?”

“Before the guard made me go away yesterday I found some food left on a table in the building over there, I think it’s the union building or something.  At least that’s what I thought I heard someone say.” 

“Yesterday?  You haven’t had anything to eat since then and you had just found some scraps?  Would you let me take you somewhere where you could get something good to eat and warm up as well?  I promise I won’t harm you” replied a shaken Allan.

“Mister I sure would be owing you if you’d do that for me.  I don’t think you’d do anything to me, I trust you, you been real nice since you found me and haven’t hit me or yelled at me.  Even my mom and dad did that all the time.”

“What’s you name?”

“Tony sir.  Short for Antonio”

“Well, Tony, would you like to go for a ride and get something to eat?”

“If I can sir, I would really be owing you for doing that for me.”

“Tony, you don’t owe me anything, I can’t stand to see someone your age or any age being mistreated and left in the condition you’re in.”

Since campus was not that far from the mansion Allan decided that this was a time he needed the advice of Travis as well as Mammy, Earnest and Phillip II.  He moved to the front seat and invited Tony to join him.  Tony was correct; the amount of glass in the car, even with the winter cold outside caused the sunlight to warm the interior of the car to a somewhat decent temperature.  It got cold at night when there wasn’t any sun but during the day it seemed no matter how cold outside the inside of the car was always comfortable.  As they pulled out of the parking spot Allan, using the hands free phone system in the car placed a call to Mammy.  As soon as she heard enough to start to understand the situation she ordered Allan to get his butt to the mansion and bring Tony.  She was hanging up the phone because she knew what she needed to know for now and was going to get something started for that youngster to eat as soon as they arrived.  Allan could have lunch there too.  She hadn’t seen him since Thanksgiving Day and that had been too long. Oh yes, Mammy was in charge and on a mission.  Allan knew not to say anything else, just let the phone hang up and head for the mansion.  He did call Travis and let him know where he was going and what was going on.  Travis told him that they had everything under control for the day and he could slip away and meet them at the mansion.

It was just a manner of a few minutes after he got off of the phone with Travis  that they pulled up to the gates of the mansion.

“No! You ain’t taken me to some orphanage are you?”  cried out Tony.

“Calm down, this isn’t an orphanage; this is the home of some dear friends of mine who want to help.  Everything will be all right you’ll see, you are safe, I wouldn’t let anything else happen to you.”

Tony sniffled a bit but started to calm down some.  His eyes were growing larger and larger as they approached the main building.  Allan pulled up as close to the kitchen door as he could then turning off the ignition, got out, and went around opening the door and helping Tony get out of the car.  He noticed that Tony was limping as he tried to walk to the building.

Mammy met them at the door and immediately took possession of Tony. Allan was a little surprised but let the boy go as Mammy pulled him to her and just hugged him.

“Son, you don’t have anything to worry about now you just come with Mammy and we’ll get something for you to fill that empty stomach with.”

Tony had no choice but to go with Mammy as she wouldn’t let him loose anyway.  Before he realized what was happening he found himself on a stool at a counter in a huge beautiful kitchen with a hot bowl of soup and a sandwich almost bigger than he was in front of him.  Just to the side was a big mug of hot chocolate.  Mammy managed to get the thin coat off of him and told him to start eating, but slowly.  There was plenty more if he wanted it and he could take as long as he needed.

No more than a few minutes had passed when the door opened and Phillip IV entered the kitchen.

“Mammy!  I’m home.  Who’s the kid?  Hi, Uncle Allan!” rattled off Phillip IV as he propelled himself into Allan’s arms and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Tony didn’t know how to react.  This boy who came in was really cute.  He would like to get to know him better if he could.

“Phillip, this is Tony, Tony, this is Phillip the IVth who lives here with his grandfather, Mammy, and Earnest her husband. “

“Glad to meet you Tony!  Mammy can I have the same as Tony for lunch that looks real good and I’ve been extra busy today in Kindergarten this morning!”

“Of course you can sweetheart, coming right up, while we’re at it Allan is going to have lunch as well.  Why don’t you go put your things away, wash up and see if you can find Earnest and let him know lunch is ready, I think your grandfather should be about ready to come to lunch as well, he’s been on a conference call to Washington all morning.  Let him know to come down too when you get cleaned up.  OK?”

“Sure, Mammy, it’s neat to have everybody here at lunch, it’s almost like a holiday!”

Phillip had no sooner gotten back down to the kitchen with his grandfather and Earnest in tow when Travis entered the kitchen.

“Uncle Travis, wow, you too, this is a holiday!” yelled Phillip as he took a flying leap into Travis’s arms.

“Hey guy, you’re getting almost too big for that, you get much bigger you’ll knock me over when you do that!” laughed Travis.

Phillip just snickered, gave Travis a peck on the cheek and jumped down almost running over and climbing up on the stool next to Tony.

Tony didn’t know what to think.  He had been slowly working at the food in front of him, it tasted so good and Mammy had pulled out a bunch more so he felt safe that he was allowed to have all that was in front of him.

No sooner did Phillip take his place than Mammy put similar containers of food in front of him and he dug in without reservation.  Plates of sandwiches and bowls of soup materialized in front of each of the other men just as quickly and soon Mammy was sitting down to her own lunch.  Quiet reigned as everyone was involved in consuming their lunch.  By the time Phillip IV had finished Tony had reached a point where he didn’t think he could eat another bite, everything had been so good but not having much to eat recently, he couldn’t eat too much.   Mammy saw his dilemma and told him that it was all right and he could have some more later, when he felt he could eat more.  She also noticed that he was very close to Phillip’s size. She also knew that Tony could use a bath or shower so, without a second thought she asked Phillip to take Tony to his bedroom, help him get a shower or bath whichever he wanted, then see if he couldn’t find some clothes of his that Tony could wear for this afternoon.  Tony didn’t quite know what to make of things but trusted Mammy so hand in hand with Phillip the two boys marched off to Phillip’s room.

“Allan, would you like to fill us in on just what took place today bringing Tony here?” asked Phillip II.

Over the next half hour or so Allan related the events that had taken place.  Phillip II made a call to a friend of his, an attorney, and returned to the group.

“The advice I have been given is that my attorney would prefer to come over and interview Tony to see what we can find out, allowing us to determine just what the situation is and then what we can do about it.  In the meantime he suggests that we just let the boys play together and be observant of anything that might be said.  Allan, he wants you to relay to him when he arrives just what Tony told you of his circumstances”

“Not a problem, does he have any idea what we can do?” asked Allan.

“He has a few thoughts but would rather reserve comment until he has a better grasp of the situation” replied Phillip.

“Something has to be done for him, we can’t just ignore him” stated Travis.

“One way or another we will remedy this problem for Tony” commented Earnest as Mammy just smiled while attending to cleaning up the kitchen.

Tony followed Phillip IV into the bedroom.  He couldn’t believe someone could have so much.  He looked around the room to see toys of every description. There was a TV, a game system, books, a computer, a telescope at the window, model airplanes, and a big bed in the middle of the room that looked like it was a mile thick with a beautifully colored comforter on top of pale blue silky sheets.  He couldn’t even count how many pillows were stacked on the bed.

Phillip pulled him through the room and through a door into the largest bathroom he had ever seen. 

“Do you want to take a bath or a shower Tony?” asked Phillip.

“Could I take a bath?  It hurts to stand on my foot too much” asked Tony.

“I noticed you limping what’s the matter?” inquired Phillip.

“Some doctor said I have an infection that they need to cut off my foot and my mom and dad when they heard that, just got up and walked out leaving me alone” replied Tony in a very subdued and meek voice.

“Sorry to hear that, I’ll start a bath for you.   I got one that blows a bunch of bubbles and makes the water move a whole bunch would you like that?  Would you care if I took a bath with you?  I like to play in the tub too!”

Tony couldn’t believe his luck, there was nothing he’d enjoy more than taking a bath with Phillip.  Maybe they could even wash each other.

“I guess it would be OK, if you think Mammy would say it’s OK” replied Tony, trying to not let his excitement show in his response.

“Mammy doesn’t care, she said to come up and take a bath or shower anyway, she knows I love to get either one.  Let’s go, last one in is turtle!”

“I thought the saying was “last one in is a rotten egg”?” said Tony with a funny look.

“Maybe so but Mammy won’t allow any rotten eggs so around here it’s a turtle, you know like a slow poke!”

“OH! I get it, you’re just being funny.  I like your humor,” chuckled Tony as he discarded his clothes keeping an eye on Phillip as he did the same.

The Jacuzzi was just about full enough as the two boys vaulted into the tub splashing all around.  Phillip had just jumped but Tony had gotten a sudden pain as he tried to step into the tub and had actually fallen in.  Phillip reached up and turned off the faucet then sank back down into the swirling water.  Tony just leaned back and savored the warmth and luxury of the movement of the water as it messaged his muscles removing any last vestiges of cold that may have lingered.  After Phillip introduced Tony to his bathtub fleet and the boys managed to sink at least a few of each others ships, they were startled when Mammy’s voice came over the intercom and told them to be sure and scrub up properly and rinse, then get dressed and come back down.

Phillip grabbed the bottle of shampoo and started to shampoo Tony’s hair, of course bringing it up to a point above his head, the shampoo holding the hair in place.  Tony reciprocated and did the same to Phillip.  After a washcloth apiece to use on each other, and a quick dip to rinse, Phillip opened the drain while turning on the shower head just long enough for each of them to rid themselves of the last vestiges of any soap suds.  Phillip handed Tony a big fluffy warm towel and as Tony dried himself, Phillip grabbed another and took care of himself.

Once they were in the bedroom Phillip opened a few drawers and began to pull out some clothes.  In a very short time both were properly dressed, underwear, pants, t-shirts and slippers, no need for shoes and socks counseled Phillip, not just around the house.  Tony felt more comfortable than he could remember feeling ever. He was warm, not hungry, felt safe; the only problem was the pain in his ankle and foot.  That pain was getting worse.  His body, other than the one extremity felt better than ever, if only his foot wasn’t hurting so much.

The boys took off for downstairs.  Phillip wanted to run down the stairs two at a time as usual but could see Tony had to go much slower.  Wisely he stayed by Tony’s side and insured safe passage down the long stairs.

As they entered the den where they could hear voices coming from Tony noticed another man had joined the group.

“Hello, Tony, I’m Justin.  I work with Phillips grandfather and would like to hear what has happened to you so we can help you.”

As Tony began to speak Mammy came into the room right behind the two boys.  Before Tony could say anything he started to fall.  Mammy was quick enough to catch his fall and keep him standing in time for Travis to jump up and lift him, placing him across the nearest couch.  Mammy felt his forehead then looked at his ankle and foot.  His forehead was a bit warmer than it should have been and she could see red streaks around his ankle and foot.  Turning to the men in the room she stated that Tony needed to see a doctor and now.  Everyone knew what to do when Mammy took over and while Earnest picked up the phone to contact the nearest emergency room and let them know what was coming, Travis grabbed his keys and told the men to follow him.  Travis wrapped Tony in a blanket and carried him towards the kitchen and out the door.  Mammy felt she should stay with Phillip IV and told the rest of the men to call her as soon as they knew anything.  Allan got into the back seat of Travis’s Hummer and took Tony from Travis’s arms.  Justin got to the passenger side front seat, Phillip went around and got in on the other side of Allan, Earnest sat next to Allan and Tony on the driver’s side and Travis quickly got into the driver’s seat, started the vehicle and left for the hospital emergency room.

To be continued...

A special thanks to Jesse Mercer for editing.

Posted: 10/01/10