All for Acceptance II

By: Rod
(© 2010 by the author)

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

Note:  This is a continuation of All for Acceptance.  For a complete understanding of the characters and how they have gotten to this point it is recommended that ‘All for Acceptance’ be read first.  At this point we are picking up a short time after the decision has been made to establish a home for those less fortunate thru no fault of their own.

Chapter 1

“Hello, thank you for calling Phillip’s Second Chance Home.  How may I be of service?” said James Townsend.

“Yes, Officer Burke, you know we always have room for someone who needs help.  You know the procedure just bring him over to my office.”

“I understand, in that case bring him to the kitchen door and I’ll have Tony meet him first,  then he can introduce him to Mammy and her usual greeting of cookies and hot chocolate.  Once we have him settled in and cleaned up it should be about time for dinner and we’ll see to it that he is assured of his safety.”

“...”

“Don’t we always? Once you leave him with Tony come around to my office and we’ll discuss his situation. See you shortly.”

Another boy; it seemed that since they had opened with the initial two boys from Poland who had no where else to go their population grew daily.  It was unbelievable how many boys were abandoned by their families.  If they weren’t found in the Twin Cities, they came from somewhere else in the state and now even from some other neighboring states.

Their program was a little hard to accept by a number of people at first, but Phillip II, with the urging of Tony and Phillip IV, had been quite diligent in convincing those needed to agree with the needs of these boys. If not legislative, procedural, zoning or other form of assistance, many had dipped into their own pockets to assist financially.  Not that Phillip Samuelson II needed the financial assistance but with the involvement of so many others it only added to the eventual success of the project.

Of course the home had long grown beyond that of a project.  It was a real, living, breathing entity that had gained a position not only in the Twin cities but a reputation across the state and those nearby.  Many churches had voiced objections but with the diligent observation of a particular detective and the District Attorney along with the cooperation of other DA’s across the state, they had managed to find that those that seemed “doth protest too much” did, in fact, have too much to hide.  Several had been found to be operating so called retraining facilities offering services to the members and others who where under the false impression that if a child was suspected of being gay, he or she, could be retrained and forced to change their mind and therefore their sexual proclivity.  Needless to say, this had resulted in the abuse of quite a few children and no change in their choice of sexual preference.  Instead there was indeed a wide array of mental problems to actual physical disabilities forced on those individuals who had only been born that way.  The narrow minded monsters who felt that it was a matter of choice as always, claimed to be able to back up their position with a ‘holier than thou’ attitude.   They espoused, as men such as them have for all eternity that their justification was in the teachings of Christ.  How little did they really know, and how ignorant they were, to not be able to understand that the real teachings of Christ were that of love.  Love of themselves and of their fellow man.  They could not understand the simple teaching of the scripture where Christ told his followers that unless they could love their fellow man, whom they could see and know, they could not love God who they could not see. If they could not believe in the fellow man they could see, they could not believe in a God who they could not see.

The investigations spurred by the protests raised had allowed authorities to discover unbelievable numbers of wrongly persecuted individuals.  The mere fact that the institutionalization of these individuals had been initiated by their own parents was often basis enough to strip the parents of their parental rights.  This of course, placed many of these children in a position of responsibility for the state department of children and family services and as such, was becoming more of a burden to the state.  The Phillips Second Chance Home opened their doors to any of these individuals and under the state regulations was receiving a certain amount of assistance from the state to cover the care of their wards.

The local police and, most intensely, the unit that had the responsibility of monitoring youth were able to sleep better at night, for they had grown to know that whenever a child was found in a threatening status, that child would be accepted without reserve at the home and their future then was secure so long as they were willing to accept and allow the assistance given them. 

The success rate was growing, there had only been a few children who could not accept that which the home offered and though they attempted to cause as much disruption as possible, their attitude was still met with love and understanding.  When it was evident that the few misfits could not benefit from the program, it was determined that the cause was due to situations beyond their control and the only recourse was admission to mental facilities where the appropriate psychological care could be administered. 

One of the cases had been that of one of the boys returned from Poland.  After two months it had been determined the help at the home was insufficient to properly provide him care and he had been transferred to a nearby facility for care.  In a matter of six months with the proper care he had been transferred back to Phillip’s Second Chance Home and was doing quite well so far.

As Phillip II had created the plans for the home, an offer had been made to James Townsend from Children and Family Services to take over the management of the home. The state director of Children and Family Services didn’t want him to leave his post with them.  James had taken over the office in the Twin Cities when Eric Mathers was released from duties then imprisoned for his actions. It was with the directors blessing that James finally accepted the position. The director had realized that James Townsend, as valuable an employee as he was, would be more effective and valuable providing the services he could through the new home.

James Townsend had taken to the position readily.  He knew a number of people in the area and wasn’t afraid to ask for help when needed.  It seemed that more and more pillars of the community came to feel proud to be able to say they assisted.  The stigma of assisting the gay was far overshadowed when it was emphasized that this wasn’t as much a matter of caring for gays as it was caring for children who needed assistance. Of course, though few and far between, some churches made it known that they were in full support of the program and even sent volunteers to assist with various tasks at the home.  Many other churches could not come out in full support, but found it wise to interpret their assistance as that for the children, ignoring the sexual proclivity of those same children.  Of course, occasionally there were children who had no inclination of being straight, gay, bi or anything else.  They just needed help.  These children were never turned away either. 

In any case all residents and staff were admonished to be accepting of all others, no matter what their inclinations might be.  As was stated by one staff member quoting his grandmother, “No man has a right to inflict pain on another just because of his beliefs or desires!”  Acceptance by all was always the most important lesson.  Each person involved was also taught that their personal freedom ended just in front of the other person’s nose.  That was to say, that so long as whatever a person did or said, so long as it did not affect another, was not for anyone else to do anything about it.  If something did affect someone else then it was the responsibility of those two to discuss it and work things out.  So long as no one was hurt, anything between two individuals, so long as it was consensual, was acceptable in the privacy of their own quarters.  Some actions were acceptable in public areas, but all knew the limits and were always conscious of others and their feelings.

Tony and Phillip IV had assumed the positions of counselors in the home.  They were two individuals who, at the ages they were, could talk too many of the kids as they came in and often later as they became enmeshed into the group still offer counsel.  They became friends with all who came to live at the home and, as friends were able to counsel, criticize, cajole, tease, support and even at times, conspire with.  After all, this type of a relationship was acceptable with someone of a similar age, as apposed to with an adult. 

When Officer Burke arrived at the kitchen door, Tony was waiting and, without comment to Ted Burke, gave the new boy a hug and pulled him into the kitchen.  Officer Burke just smiled as he knew exactly what Tony was doing.  Without any comment he turned and headed for another door where he entered to make his way to James Townsend’s office.

“How you doing?  My name is Tony, what’s yours?”

“Paul,” replied the nine year old blond sheepishly as he tried to pull away from Tony.

“Glad to meet you Paul!  How bout some cookies and hot chocolate?  It’s kinda cold out there and I’ll bet you could use some.  I know I just came in from playing outside and I could use some too.  I want you to meet Mammy.  She’s one of the best cooks anywhere around and the cookies she keeps hidden in the kitchen are the best around!”

“Ok, if you’re having some too.  I don’t want to cause you any trouble.  Are you sure it’s alright to have some now?” inquired Paul quite meekly.

“Of course it’s OK.  Anytime you want something to eat, all you got to do is come into the kitchen and ask if you don’t see it.  Mammy will have your hide if she thinks you might be hungry or want something and don’t go get it. She always says that unless you’re sick and can’t do for yourself, you’re more than able to get what you want for yourself and she’d feel bad if you didn’t do so. Of course, she is careful enough that we don’t ruin our appetites too close to meals, but once you taste what she makes for the meals you’ll learn there ain’t anyway you going to mess up and not want to eat what she fixes, it’s always soooooo good!”

“Some cookies and hot chocolate would be good, if you don’t mind.”

“Come on have a seat over here and I’ll get us some!  Mammy’s cooking is great, but just wait till you get to try some of my Dads’ cooking it’s fabulous!”

“Your Dad’s?  You have a dad and you’re here?  How come?”

“Not just a Dad, I have two Dads and they have a catering company here in town.  My family started this home and I come here each day.  Since we have school here, I can go to it and spend the rest of the time with my cousin Phillip IV, who is also here.  His grandpa is Phillip III’s dad and with some others in our family started this place naming it after him.”

“Are you sure it’s alright for me to sit in here? My clothes aren’t the cleanest.” 

“Don’t worry about that.  As soon as we have some cookies and hot chocolate, we can go to your new room and on the way get you some clothes to change into after you have a chance to clean up.  Before you know it dinner time will be here and you can meet a bunch of the other guys.

“Since it’s about an hour and a half before dinner, how about two of these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies apiece along with a cup of hot chocolate to tide you over boys?” said Mammy with an all knowing smile.

“Yes Mam, if I may, thank you!” replied Paul.

“Tony, you better keep this young man around, he has very good manners. A few boys I know of could learn something from him, I think,” said Mammy.

“I think so too.  Could we have some marshmallows in the hot chocolate, Mammy?” asked Tony.

“Of course child, you know you only need to ask!”

“See, Paul, what did I tell you?  Mammy, this is Paul, Paul this is Mammy.  I’m sorry I didn’t introduce the two of you first,” said Tony.

“That’s all right, besides, cookies and hot chocolate are more important to a couple of growing boys than someone’s name anyway.  I’ll grab some marshmallows for the hot chocolate while they will still melt when we add them,” said Mammy as she turned towards the pantry, laughing all the while.

“Mammy sure seems to be nice. Is she always like that or just because you are here?” timidly inquired Paul.

“Mammy is always nice, she is the best.  If you ever have a problem you don’t want to come to me or one of the other guys about, you can ask Mammy.  She is like a mother around here to everyone.  But just remember if you do something intentionally that you shouldn’t, she can be just like any other mother, and you don’t want her to be mad at you. But you couldn’t ask for a better person to take your side if you deserve it and sometimes even if you don’t,” said Tony.

“If I do something wrong will she hit me?  My mom used to when she got mad, even if I hadn’t done anything wrong,” asked Paul.

“Oh, NO! Mammy would never hit you and you could only be in trouble with her if you did something really wrong.  Then just the disappointment in her voice makes you feel bad enough.  She’d die before hurting you.  You never need to be afraid of her or any one else around here either,” exclaimed Tony, realizing that as innocent as he had meant what he had said, it could be taken the wrong way and was afraid Paul had not understood what he meant.

“Ok, I was just afraid there for a moment.  Before I got..” Paul started to say but suddenly stopped.

“It’s Ok; I know if Ted brought you here there had to be a problem somehow.  Don’t worry, you can always tell me anything you want.  Unless you tell me otherwise, I won’t ever tell anyone else what you tell me.  What were you going to say?  Of course if you don’t want to tell me now, that’s Ok. You can tell me at another time if you want or not at all.  That will always be up to you.”

“Those cookies sure are good and so was the hot chocolate.   Can we go get me cleaned up now?  Everything around here is so clean I don’t feel comfortable being so dirty and messy,” asked Paul a little less serious than he had been, but still with a concern of importance.

“Sure, let’s take care of our dishes.  Mammy likes for us to clean up after ourselves, and then we can head upstairs.

“Ted, what can you tell me about our new ward?” asked James from his position next to his desk.

“James, I found Paul Stevenson downtown in an alley by himself this morning.  When I asked him his name he hesitated at first, but after taking him around the corner to a diner and getting him some breakfast he started to open up.  I found that he had been thrown out of his home a few days ago.  How he had survived even this long is a surprise. Between the weather, his lack of clothes and lack of food, I’m surprised he isn’t in worse shape than he is, especially with only being nine years old.  He finally told me his full name and when I checked I found his parents are really a pair.  His mother is an addict with a bad disposition.  His father is non-existent.  It seems that it is a boy friend of his mother that was around, and he decided that the boy could help earn his keep by becoming entertainment to a few friends of his.

When the boy wouldn’t cooperate, one of the guys threw him out.  The mother and her boyfriend couldn’t care less and when he didn’t return, and especially didn’t return with any money, they were just as glad.  When we tried to contact them, they first claimed to not know who we were talking about, but when too many details were known told to us by Paul, they couldn’t deny it any longer and said they would just as soon be rid of him. His mother even had the nerve to ask if the child abandonment laws; where a child  could be left with a policeman, fireman or hospital without any charges against the parent could apply, and if so, could we just keep him.  Under the circumstances I called your replacement down at the agency and he agreed if we could just get her to sign away all parental rights then it might be better for all involved if we just took over responsibility for him.  Of course, you realize that Children and Family Services think you guys have hung the moon so they asked if I could just bring him here.”

“Likely story.  How much you want to bet Tony has already gotten him a snack and has him either cleaned up or about to get into the shower after picking out new clothes.  I just hope he takes to his new roommate, especially when he finds out it won’t be Tony. But then, all of the boys here are very accepting of anyone new and he should fit in.  A few meals from Mammy and you may not be able to get him away.”

“I know, I’ve never seen anyone like Tony or Phillip IV who could put a new boy at ease so quickly and then with culinary help and Mammy’s attitude [comma] I think the new boys fall in love with the place before they even get to bed the first night,” chuckled Ted.

“Do me a favor and be sure the paperwork gets to me right away,” stated James.

“You know the agency has your fax number set on speed dial now, as soon as everything is ready they will send it right over,” replied Ted.

“I’m sure. As many referrals as we have had recently. I have begun to wonder if they hadn’t done something like that. I know it doesn’t seem like they even have to look up our number before things are coming over the fax.”

“Paul, if anything doesn’t fit, we can always just pull a different size after you try it on.  Go ahead and grab one outfit per your size then after trying them on we can get you a few more changes to put in your dresser in your room,” instructed Tony.

“Sounds like as good an idea as any.  You mean I will have my own dresser in my own room?” asked Paul with a tone of surprise.

“Yeah, dufus, you have your own dresser, but you will share the room with one other guy. I think you will like him real well, he is just a year younger than you and has been hoping to get a roommate that he could think of as a brother.”

“A brother! Tony I don’t know if I can be a brother to anyone, I’m afraid, I’ve never had a brother, older or younger.  The only other males around were boyfriends of my mother’s and they weren’t always too nice to me.  I don’t want to do anything to hurt some other little guy.”

“Paul, with that kind of concern I’m sure you won’t hurt him.  Who knows he could very likely become your best friend.”

“Ok, if you say so, but please be around to help me when I need it.”

“Don’t worry, there are always a number of people around to help.  Maybe at first we can introduce you to someone just a year or two older who has been around for a while, heck till later this evening I can hang around with both of you.”

“Kelly, what happened to you?  Did somebody decide you were supposed to be a snowman and a dirty one at that?” asked Tony as he and Paul entered a bedroom.

“Yeah, I was the littlest guy out in the snow and the rest of the guys decided to gang up on me and bury me in the snow.  I got em though.  When they weren’t looking and I was playing possum, one of them got too close and I managed to get a whole bunch of snow down his shirt when he leaned over to try and bury me some more. You should have heard him yell when the snow hit his back under his shirt.  Then I took off running and by the time they all caught up with me, I ended up landing in a pile of dirty slush.  I guess I better take a shower and clean up before dinner or Mammy may set me in the kitchen or mud room to eat.”

“Kelly, this is Paul, he is going to be your new roommate.”

“My new roommate! YAHOO!  I finally got a roommate!” shouted Kelly.

“Kelly, nice to meet you too, but I need to get cleaned up as well.”

“Great!  We can both take a shower.”

“You go ahead, I’m sure you want to get that slush and the like off first, I’ll wait till you get out then I can take mine.”

“Wait?  Why?  The shower can take twenty of us at a time. Get undressed and let’s go, besides unless you’re bashful, we could help each other.”

With a questioning glance towards Tony and a nod of verification in return, Paul just shrugged his shoulders and began to undress.  In a matter of moments all three boys where heading out the door, Kelly taking the lead, Paul following, then Tony.  Tony had grabbed shampoo, body gel and extra towels.  Paul and Kelly each had a towel wrapped around their waists.

No sooner had Paul and Kelly started showers next to each other, did they, with a conniving glance at each other, shift the shower head towards Tony and soaked him from head to toe. 

“Are you going to join us now?” laughed Kelly.

“I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” replied Tony as he quickly began to disrobe.

“Tony! You don’t have one foot?  What is that? I’m so sorry.  I never would have gotten you wet if I’d known.  What happened?” shrieked Paul as he saw Tony’s peg.

“Hey buddy, don’t worry about it.  I lost my foot and they took just a little higher so I could get a prosthetic.  I like using this peg instead; it’s much easier, besides it’s coated with a waterproof finish that I can get it wet without a problem.  I’ll just have to find something to wear after we get out, Mammy might not be bothered by me running around in my birthday suit, but she’d prefer I didn’t around here with all the other boys.  It might start something and I don’t think she’d appreciate all of the boys running around like that.

Knowing us guys, I’m sure too many would be tempted to do so if they thought they could get away with it.”

“Yeah, I bet Mammy would have a fit.  Of course knowing her,  she’d probably serve us hotdogs off the grill with plenty of grill marks on them to let us know what could happen, then she’d probably go back in the kitchen and laugh until she was about to cry, she’d think it was so funny,” cracked Kelly.

“This must be some crazy place, but it seems to me it’s a place I’m going to love being crazy in,” commented Paul.

“Sometimes it is.  But the main thing is it’s a place where we can be kids, be comfortable, know we are loved and cared for, and the adults would protect us with their very lives,  no matter what.  You can go to bed every night knowing you’re safe, and get up each morning looking forward to what could happen that day to make things better or what you can learn to make yourself a better person,” commented Tony.

After scrubbing each other, washing each other’s hair, rinsing and drying off,  they made their way to Kelly and Paul’s room.  Tony grabbed some clothes from the supply closet and the three guys got dressed.  Tony took his soaked clothes down to the laundry and put them in the dryer so he could get back into them later.

As they approached the huge dinning room, the laughter of over seventy boys could be heard from the hallway.  The ages ranged from around six or so, all the way up to around seventeen.  Boys were gathered at round tables of eight.  All were dressed casually, from tee-shirts to sweat shirts and jeans.  Hair cuts from burrs to long styles down to the shoulders.  A few earrings could be seen around the room.  Each one was clean and healthy in appearance with a smile across their face.  Tantalizing aromas wafted throughout the room; anticipation of another great meal could almost be sensed by any observer.  As the three entered the room, James stood from his place at the table and rang a bell drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

“Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce our newest member of the family, with Tony and Kelly is Paul Stevenson.  Paul will be rooming with Kelly and I am sure when you have the opportunity you each will want to introduce yourselves to him and welcome him.  Paul,  in all fairness I have to warn you there is not a special elevator that you need to buy a key for, so don’t let any of the older boys try to convince you to buy a key from them for it.”

As the room all started to laugh, they broke their laughter just long enough to yell in perfect unison, “Welcome our new brother Paul, Hear! Hear!” Over seventy glasses rose from their position on the table, tilted as a drink was taken from each,  then echoed as they were noisily replaced on the table.

With a surprised but happy expression, Paul followed Kelly to a table.  Tony joined them as was his tradition in the process of welcoming a new member to the household.

Quiet overtook the room as the meal was being consumed.  The only occasional sound was the request of something to be passed.  Once the main course was finished, and without a morsel to be returned to the kitchen, carts entered the room carrying cake for all as desert.  Next to each was a scoop of ice cream, once the flavor had been determined by the recipient and the server could dip it.  The dessert disappeared as fast as it had arrived and all dishes were passed to one place at the table.  One person at each table stacked them and proceeded to take them to the dish room, where they assisted in the proper cleaning and re-storage of all in ready for the next meal.  The rotation of the person ‘doing the dishes’ at each table ensured each person assisted equally in the responsibilities.  It was just a minor thing, but each boy there grew proud in the knowledge that they could do things to help. 

The lesson was not lost on Paul. As the dishes were being passed around and he observed the other tables, he proceeded to not pass his but request others pass theirs to him.  Turning to Kelly whose turn it was to have been, he requested Kelly to show him just what was to be done.  The two left the table as Tony smiled at them.  James had been watching the table throughout the meal and, upon seeing Paul’s action, smiled as well, feeling that once again Tony had done his job as only he and Phillip IV could, and a new boy had accepted his position in the group and was probably on his way to a much happier life.  Now if the placement tests to determine his appropriate place in school would be as readily accepted, the major issues of melding into Phillips Second Chance Home would be accomplished.  There was a lot yet to do, a lot to overcome and learn, but a great start had been accomplished.

To be continued...

A special thanks to Jesse Mercer for editing.

Posted: 11/05/10