Jerry

By: Will B
(© 2009-2010 by the author)
 

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

Sheriff Joe has brought five Haitian boys to the Souchard. Refugees from the terrible earthquake, they were brought to the United States, to meet their adoptive parents who would be picking them up in a few days.

Chapter 32

It was morning of a few days after the events of Chapter 31. Staff, residents, and the lads in the Residence were all waking up and stirring up. Andy and Wall-Eye were also getting up.

“Umm, smells good!” said Andy ‘from Indie,’ the 45-year-old general manager of the hotel and grounds.

“Just you wait!” said Wall-eye, also 45, the full-blooded Navajo who had once arrived to make sure the plumbing of the Souchard was in good working order, and had stayed to become Andy’s friend, lover, and partner.

“I know it’s gonna taste as good as it smells,” smiled Andy.

“Now be patient, Andy, coffee’ll be ready in a minute.”

“Coffee? I was talking about you, my lover. I want to taste…”

“How?” said Wall-Eye.

“Any way you want to give it to me. Hot and steamy, smooth and creamy. Just let me have some now!”

“OK, white man. Open your mouth and shut your eyes, and I’ll give you a ‘Navajo surprise,’” said Wall-Eye.

* * * * *

Later that morning, Trace was in his office with Jerry going over the mail and e-mail that had arrived.

“Jerry, I’ve been thinking of something. It’s going to mean a lot of changes, but I don’t want to make a final decision on my own. You’re my partner and I need your thoughts.”

“Sure, love. What’s on your mind?”

Before Trace could answer, the phone rang.

“Hello…oh, hi, Sheriff Joe…what?... about 11:00?... We’ll have them ready...Bye.”

“Jerry, that was Sheriff Joe. He’s bringing the Haitian boys’ adoptive parents about 11:00. We have to get the boys ready and packed. We’d better tell Ricky and George as well.”

By 10:40 everyone was gathered in the dining room to say goodbye to the five Haitians.

Henri, his brother Christophe, and Guillaume, Louis and Jerome had brought all their clothes to the dining room.

They knew, somehow, that they were going to meet their new families, and they were happy about that but they were also sad to be leaving their friends at the Souchard, especially Ricky and George, and Rev. Chet and Gerald.

Everyone went out to the front terrace, and promptly at 11:00 a minibus pulled up in front of the hotel. Out stepped Sheriff Joe, Rod McElroy, the social worker, and two white women and two Haitian men.

Sheriff Joe introduced the newcomers. “Folks, this gentleman is Joseph Capet and his wife Angela.”

Joseph and Angela stepped forward, and Joseph said (in Haitian-Creole), "Nou ap chache pou de frè, Henri ak Christophe."  “Hello. We are looking for two brothers, Henri and Christophe.”

Henri and Christophe came shyly up to the couple, bowed, and said, “Bonjour, M’sieu, Madame.”

Joseph gravely bowed back and said (again in Haitian), “Bonjour, Henri, Christophe.  Mme. Angela and I would like you to be our family. Would you like to live with us?”

The two boys said in unison, “Oui, M’sieu Joseph, Mme. Angela.”

Angela knelt down and said, “I am happy to meet you, and I hope you will be happy in our home.” As she spoke, she smiled, and something in her smile reached the two scared young boys, and they smiled back.

Sheriff Joe stated, “I would like to say that Mr. McElroy and I have examined all the papers, and they are the people who were approved several months ago to adopt these boys, and this other couple have also been approved as adoptive parents.”

With a smile, he then introduced the other couple as Louis and Marie Capet They were introduced to their new sons, Louis, Guillaume, and Jerome, who responded shyly,  but smiled when their new father explained that he and Joseph were brothers, and they lived next door to each other, so that the five boys would not be separated.

Soon it was time for the departure. The five boys shook hands with Trace and Jerry, hugged Chet and Gerald, and bumped fists with Ricky and George. Then Rod and the Sheriff helped get the boys and their belongings into the bus. The door closed and the five Haitian lads drove off with their new parents to their new homes.

“What’s wrong, Chet?” asked Gerald.

“Oh, nothing, just a piece of grit in my eye, I think.”

“That’s right, Gerald, I have a piece of the same grit in my eye,” said Jerry.

“There’s a lot of that going around,” said Trace as he blew his nose.

It was time for lunch, so everyone went into the dining room, and enjoyed a delicious lunch.  The mail was brought into the dining room, and there were was a letter for Chet and two letters for Gerald. They sat reading their letters, becoming more and more excited.

“OK, Trace. What was that idea you had?” Jerry asked.

“Just this, love…oh, hello, Chet and Gerald. You two look very excited about something. Wanna tell us?”

Chet answered first. “I’ve just gotten a letter from a newly formed organization, The International Society for the Prevention of Violence to Vulnerable Youths, appointing me as a roving ambassador. I am to travel wherever there are reports of children being abused.”

“That’s great, Chet,” Trace said.

“As our friends in Oz might say, ‘Good on you, mate’!” added Jerry. “Gerald what’s your news?”

“I’ve had two surprises—wonderful surprises, I might add,” Gerald said, grinning from ear to ear. “First, I have also been appointed a roving ambassador to the same organization as Chet. We are to work together as a team!” Here he took Chet’s hand and squeezed it, and gave him a loving smile.

“Great, Great!” Trace and Jerry said in unison.

“My other letter.” Gerald went on, “was from His Grace of Canterbury, thanking me for all my years of work. He is arranging for me to take an early retirement, with full pension, to supplement what Chet and I will be making, working for the Society.”

‘Congratulations to you both,” Trace said.

“When do you leave?” Jerry wanted to know.

“We fly to Paris tomorrow, in the Sheik’s private jet,” Chet answered.

“Wow, traveling in style! That’s great. I’m so happy for the two of you!” Trace said.

“That goes for me, too,” added Jerry.

Chet and Gerald went off to begin to pack, and Jerry turned to Trace. “Now, sweet, what is this idea of yours?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking… What is it, Ricky?”

“Excuse me, Dads, but Andy just had a phone call from Sheriff Joe. The Sheriff  would like you two, and me, and anyone else who can be there, to come out on the front terrace. Oh, he thought Bruce and Chad might want to be there, too.”

“When, son?”

Ricky looked at his watch, and said, “OH, in ten minutes from now. TEN MINUTES!”

Trace smiled at Jerry and said, “Later, Hon.”

Trace, Jerry, Bruce, Chad, Chet, and Gerald (who had been summoned from their packing), and Ricky and George were out on the front terrace in good time. Many other members of the Souchard Family were there also.

A large limo pulled down the drive and stopped in front of the waiting crowd. Out stepped Ezek and his very good friend Ishmael. They came up to Trace and Jerry and shook hands, then shook Chet’s and Gerald’s hands, and then Ezek spoke to Ricky.

“Ricky, if you could have anything in the world you wanted, what would you like?” Ezek asked.

“I don’t know, Ricky; I have two Dads, I have a good home here, and ...well, I guess the only thing I want is for my brother, Tom, to come home. The last we heard he was in a military hospital, but that’s all we know.”

Ishmael said, “Ricky, we have a surprise for you. Look!”

Ezek went back to the limo and opened the rear door. Out of the limo stepped a tall, good looking young man of some 24 years. He had his left arm in a sling and he was smiling ‘to beat the band’ as the old folks used to say.

Ricky looked, and screamed, “Tom, TOM. You’re back. Thank God. Oh, Tom!”

Ricky ran to Tom who gave his brother a one-armed hug and kissed the top of his head, and said, “It’s OK, bro. I’m here.”

I don’t think it would surprise anyone to know that once again, almost everyone there had to … blow his nose, or…stifle a cough… or get some of that California grit out of their eyes.

When Ricky was calm again, Tom let him go, and went up to Trace and Jerry and shook their hands. “Thank you so much for giving my brother a home. I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Let’s go into the dining room,” Trace said. “We can sit down and talk.”

Everyone went into the dining room and sat in a large circle. Introductions were made, and then Jerry said, “Tell us about yourself, Tom.”

“I’m Tom Johnson, and I’m 24 years old. I’ve been discharged from the army because of my wounds…”

Here Ricky looked worried.

“It’s OK, Ricky. I’m fine. The medics were pleased with my progress, but I am honorably discharged and I’m here to stay … here or somewhere, I guess.” Tom went on. “I’ve graduated from teacher’s college with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education.”

Bruce and Chad looked at each other.

“I guess the next thing I have to do is get a job and then find a home for Ricky and me.”

“Leave here?” Ricky said. “Oh, no, Tom, please, no.”

“Mr. Tom, you’re not going to take Ricky away, are you? He’s my best friend,” cried George, who looked as if he had been kicked in the stomach.

“Take Ricky, Tom? I wish… That is, Jerry and I had hoped…, but of course you’re his brother and you have every right…” Trace looked as if he had been kicked in the stomach twice, and Jerry didn’t look happy either.

Bruce interrupted, “Excuse me, guys, but Chad and I have an idea that might solve some problems.”

“What’s your idea, Bruce?” Trace asked.

“As you know, Chad and I are qualified to teach secondary education, but we look like we are going to be getting some more boys, some of them of elementary school age, and it would be great if we had an elementary school teacher on the staff.”

“Hmm,” said Trace, “That sounds like it might be a good idea. Waddaya think, Jerry?”

“I think it might work, Trace, The Residence does have two suites for ‘house-parents,’ but Bruce and Chad are using one, so there’s another one that Tom could have.”

“Tom, we’re arranging your life for you. What do you think?”

“A job, with living accommodations? I think it sounds great!”

“Jerry, I hate to spring this on you. I wanted to tell you my idea earlier, but we kept getting interrupted. I’ve been thinking I’d like to expand the residence so we could take care of more boys who’ve been abused and/or been the victims of violence. How does that sound to you?”

Jerry’s only reply was to give Trace a kiss on the cheek and say, “Go for it, my love.”

Turning to Tom, Trace said, “Well, the secret is out. Now, you’ve seen that Jerry and I are more than friends, we are partners for life. Does that shock you?”

“Tom laughed and said, “No, I’m not shocked, but I may shock you when I tell you that I’m, well, I’m ‘family’ too, and as another shock, I have a very, very good friend who is coming home in a week or two. He’s an Army Nurse, and he’s going to be looking for a job, and…, if you’re going to expand this …this School or home for boys, it would be good if you had someone with medical experience on the staff.”

Trace, Jerry, Bruce, Chad, and Tom had had a long discussion about all these plans, but everything was falling into place.

Chet and Gerald talked to Ezek and Ishmael, and learned that it was Ezek and Ishmael who would be driving them to the Sheik’s private jet in the morning—and would be flying with them to Paris.

Ricky and George spent some time together, talking about how wonderful it was that Tom had come home, and that he would not be taking Ricky away. Later the two healthy fourteen-year-olds did their nightly five-finger exercises, to the mutual satisfaction of both.

That night in bed, Trace and Jerry talked some more about the future.

“Jerry, you know I’ve been thinking. We could convert the Playroom into a gym for the boys. It would mean giving up the ‘entertainments,’ but I’ve also been thinking that maybe we could change that aspect of the Souchard.”

“Change it how, my love?”

“Well, instead of a pleasure hotel, we would run it as a home for older guys who would want to live here all year round. They could purchase a suite in the hotel or one of the cottages, and take their meals in the dining room.”

“Sounds like it might work,” Trace. “You know, sometimes it’s not good for older people to be completely separated from younger people.”

“That’s not all. I had a letter today from somebody named Erhon Longfellow. He and his partner, Willy B. Rodman, want to lie here year round. They want to bring their pet, Tiperoo.”

“Hmmm. They could purchase one of the cottages,” Jerry said, and then with a wicked twinkle in his eye, added, “And now, you bad, bad, Trace, I think I’ll have to punish you for springing all these new ideas on me. Roll over.”

“Punish me? Why, Sir, whatever for?”

I don’t know, but I’ll think of something.”

The End (for now).

I think it is time for this series to end, but my readers are not to worry. I am thinking of some ‘spinoffs’—stand-alone stories featuring some of the characters who have been in the story, and perhaps a series about the Adventures of Chet and Gerald.

As usual, my heartfelt thanks to my good friend and reader, A. Nony Mouse, and also a thank you to a former reader. Although we have come to a parting of the ways, I deeply appreciate all his efforts to keep the story lines straight.

Posted: 03/05/10