THE KELLY'S COME TO AMERICA Chapter Sixteen "So, DJ, you want to tell me why you needed me to come to the police station last night? Dan asked his younger brother while they were fixing a light lunch. "John and I found a case yesterday and when Mr. Kelly saw what was in it he felt that I should have someone there when we turned it in." "Okay, I can live with that. But, what was in the case?" "Money, but I don't know how much. Mr. Kelly wouldn't tell us. They mentioned that if nobody claims it by the end of the month then John and I get to keep it." "That's normally how it works, but I wouldn't set my hopes too high on that happening. I'm pretty sure that it will be claimed." "I wouldn't be too surprised if that happens either, but a guy can hope can't he." DJ answered with a smile. Dan just chuckled at this response as well. The rest of the meal's conversation centered around the previous day's chat. Once the dishes were cleaned off DJ headed off to his room to finish up some leftover homework. When he saw that his brother was occupied, Dan decided to give the Kelly's a call to see what exactly was going on. "Hello?" a voice said after a couple of rings. "Is Mr. Kelly there? This is Dan Morrison calling." "Yeah, just a moment," the voice said. Dan laughed a bit when he heard the person on the other end yell for his father. "Hello?" An older voice asked a few seconds later. "Mr. Kelly? This is DJ's brother calling. He just got done telling me about what happened yesterday and I was wanting to see what exactly was going on." "If you have the time I think it would be better if we talked face to face about this matter. The walls around this place tend to have ears when you don't want them to." "I know what you mean. I can be down in about five to ten minutes if that's all right?" Dan asked them as he looked at his watch. "That would be fine. I'll be looking forward to meeting you." Dan acknowledged this, and hung the phone up. "DJ! I need to go out for a little bit. I shouldn't be more than hour if mom and dad get home before then," Dan called out as he got his coat on. "OK Dan, I'll pass it along." DJ called back. Not five minutes later, Dan was being led into the Kelly's house by Erin. Dan turned when he heard someone coming into the room. Seeing that it was John's father he started to get up. Mr. Kelly for his part just started for a moment at the person standing before him. "Sorry about that, the resemblance you have to DJ took me back for a moment. I'm Arthur Kelly," he said while holding out his hand. "Dan Morrison," Dan replied while he took the offered hand. "Why don't we go into the den. Away from prying ears." Dan caught a small movement off to his side as Mr. Kelly said this. Dan figured that it must have been either John or Josh. With a slight smile, he followed Mr. Kelly into the den. "Please, have a seat." With a nod Dan took the offered chair as his host stepped around the desk and sat in the chair behind it. "What all did DJ tell you about what they found yesterday?" Mr. Kelly asked as he sat down. "Not much. Just they he and John found a case with some money in it and they had you take them to the police station so they could turn it in. "And did he mention how much he thought was in the case?" "No, but going off what his expression was like when he said it I gather it was a large amount." "That is an understatement if I ever heard one," John's dad said with a chuckle. "I see. Well, I must confess that you certainly have my attention." "I'm sure that I do. Before I tell you the amount though I will ask that you only tell your parents if they should ask about it. I don't want the boys to get their hopes up about getting it." Dan nodded at this. On getting this approval, Mr. Kelly handed over his copy of the police report that was filled out the night before. "The sum you're looking for is listed on line 15." "Are you sure this is right?" Dan asked in disbelief. "That is exactly what I said. They assured me that the amount is correct. They also mentioned that a note was in the case as well. I have no idea what the note said, but they mentioned that they were looking into it. Just between you and I, I get the feeling that the boys will end up with the money. And don't ask me why." Dan again nodded at this. "Before you leave, I want to have my wife come in so we can have a small talk about what you spoke with her about earlier this week." "That would be fine." A couple of moments later, Dan saw the same lady he saw in the ER a couple of days before. "Good to meet you again," he said as she entered the room. "I'm sure. What happened to your arm, if you don't mind my asking?" "Not at all. DJ broke it." he said with a chuckle and told them the story that went with it. "Remind me never to let him hold my hand when he's hurt then," Mrs. Kelly laughed when the story was done. With this part over Mr. Kelly started them into the reason he asked his wife into the room. The chat lasted about thirty minutes and everyone seemed happy by the results of it. With another round of hand shaking, Dan bid them a goodnight and left. "Mom, Dad, may we talk about something?" Dan asked them after DJ went to bed that night. "Sure, what's up?" Dan's father asked. "It's about that case DJ told you about him and John finding the other day." "What about it?" His mom asked. "As you know, DJ said that there looked to be like a couple of grand in the case. Well, I talked to John's parents about it earlier today and found out that there was a bit more than a couple of grand," Dan told them nervously. "How much more?" Dan was asked by his father when he picked up on how nervous his son was. "Uh, DJ's share of it would be around Three-quarters of a million." "Excuse me, but did you say DJ's share would be $750,000. Don't you mean that he would be sharing $750,000?" his parents asked in astonishment. "No. I mean that DJ's share would be $750,000. Believe me, I didn't think it was right either. But, I went up to the police station and talked to the officer in charge of the case and he assured me that what I had been told was correct." Both of his parents let out their breaths when they heard this part. After talking for a little longer about this, they agreed that, like John's parents, it would be best if DJ was not told about how much the sum really was. "John, could you come here for a moment?" Mrs. Kelly asked her son a week later as he came home from school. "Sure mom. What is it?" John asked as he walked into the Kitchen. "This came for you in the mail today. Do you want to talk about it?" he was asked as his mom handed him a large manila envelope. "Oh crap," John thought as he saw the CKM logo on the upper left corner of the envelop in his hand. "Well?" his mother asked as he looked over the packet in his hands. "Uh... I'm not really sure what to say," John stammered. "I'm going to guess that this came at your request." "Uh, sort of." John answered sheepishly. "What does "Uh, sort of" mean? Either you requested the information or not." "Well, I sort of filled out an online survey when the diapers Josh got sent arrived. One of the questions was whether I would be interested in taking part in future survey's and I answered that I would," John told her while turning a bright red as he did so. "I see. I guess this shouldn't have come as to big of a surprise to me," She told her son while giving him a bit of a smile. John relaxed a bit at seeing the smile since it told him he wasn't going to get into any trouble. "Go ahead and open the packet and see what it says." John nodded at this and opened the packet. He read the letter that was on top first. Dear Mr. Kelly, After having read your responses to our online survey, you have been chosen to take place in a more in-depth survey. You will find the forms attached to this letter. In this survey, we will ask that your caregiver (if applicable) complete the majority of the forms. These will deal mostly with product performance, and as before usage. The more thoroughly the forms are filled out the better we can use the information to continue to supply outstanding products to our customers. On a final note, if interested, you could be asked to take part in an on-site test of new products and possible selection to take part as a model in our print ads. If you choose not to take part in this survey, or if it was sent to you by mistake, please call the number below and let our staff know of this so we can prevent further occurrences of this nature. Sincerely Yours, Carl Jones Research and Marketing Midwest Division P.S. Please accept with our compliments a complimentary issue of Diapers Quarterly. This magazine is published and distributed in conjunction with DBA. John chuckled a bit at the p.s. that was added to the letter. Several of his favorite diaper sites had mentioned this club, but he was never aware at how widespread it was. Still smiling, he handed the letter over to his mom and began looking through the rest of the packet. "Well, this does sound interesting," Mrs. Kelly said as she finished reading the letter in her hands. "The question is, whether or not you want to take place in this." "I think it would be cool," John told her with a smile. "OK, but let me point out that if you choose to take place in this survey, then you'll have to wear either your diapers or trainers anytime you're home and all the time during weekends and holidays," Mrs. Kelly pointed out. John still felt that this would be fun to do and said so. "All right, but once we start, there'll be no backing out of it," John was told as his mom gave him one last chance to back out. Again, John agreed to go along with it. "OK, follow me then," she told him as she stood up and headed upstairs. Soon John was being strapped to his brother's changing table and after having his pants and underwear removed, his mother put one of his diapers on him. "Now go do your homework and I'll call you when dinner is ready." she told her son after giving his freshly diapered butt a light pat. John smiled at this as he walked out of the room thinking about all the changes that have taken place with him in the last month. Chapter Seventeen "Hey Mom, what's John doing in the diaper?" Erin asked during dinner, after seeing a diaper sticking out above the waist of her oldest brother's jeans. "Well, it seems that your brother had filled out a survey online from the company that makes the diapers he and Josh use. John had been asked to take part in a more detailed survey and he decided to accept it. In doing so, I've decided to place him back in them full time while he's at home, or not in school. And if it's okay with you, I'll need your help from time to time since we'll be having two sets of diapers to change," Erin was told. "That could be cool. If you want, I could check at work to see if we could get a volume discount," Erin laughed jokingly. "I just might take you up on that," her mom answered seriously. For his part, Mr. Kelly said nothing about this subject during dinner, but asked his wife into the den while the kids were taking care of the dishes afterwards. "Janet, I'm not sure I agree with putting John back into diapers full-time because he filled out a product survey and got requested to do another." "I know that this seems a bit harsh, but it was John's choice to take part in the survey. I gave him several chances to back out of it with nothing being said. At first, I was just going to have him wear the diapers for a short time then continue on with him wearing them only at night like he does now. But after I got him diapered, I called the company to let them know about our acceptance and found out then that the survey was for full-time users only and John got his packet by mistake. I informed the person I was speaking with that we would still do the survey. I told John about this, once I got off the phone with the company and he still wanted to go through with it. If he had backed down, I would have filled out the survey using Josh instead and sent a letter of explanation along with the completed forms." After hearing this, Mr. Kelly nodded. he could tell that his oldest son wasn't being forced into this as a punishment so he would go along with it. "I guess it wouldn't be so bad having another boy in diapers around the house," he replied with a chuckle. About this time John was getting ready to have his first diaper messing take place. "Is there something wrong, John?" Erin asked her brother when she saw the uncomfortable look. "Not any more." John told her with a slight grin as he felt the warm mass fill the back of his diaper. Josh started laughing as he saw the back of his older brother's pants start to sag a bit as the diaper was filled. "What's so funny, Josh?" his sister asked still not knowing what just happened. "John just pooped in his diaper," Josh told his sister with a giggle a moment later he felt his own diaper get filled from the rear. "You should be talking," John said when he heard the wet sounding fart that preceded Josh's messing. Josh stopped laughing at this and turned a bit red. "All right you two. Let's go get you changed before you start stinking up the house," Erin laughed as she led her two "baby" brothers to be changed. Meanwhile, David was getting some news of his own. "David, I need to talk with you for a minute," his mother announced as he walked through the door after school. "Yeah, mom?" "You know how the makers of your GoodNites mentioned that they were looking for a model for the front of the packages and possibly show up in printed ads and maybe a television commercial?" "Yeah and they had me turn in a picture of me wearing one of them. Why? "Well, I got a letter back from the company that makes them today, and they would like you to come in and audition further for it. That is if your interested." "This would mean that all my friends would find out about my problem, wouldn't it?" "They would probably find out about it, yes," David was told honestly. "I need some time to think about this. When do they need an answer by?" "The letter said that they need to know by the end of the month, so this gives you a little over a week to decide," David's mom told him. "Okay, I'll have give you an answer by then." "That's fine, you go up and change if you need to. I'll call you when dinner's ready." David nodded at this. As David set his backpack next to his desk he was suddenly glad that he didn't have any homework to deal with tonight. After changing into a clean pair of GoodNites he lay down on his bed to think over what his mom had just told him. He awoke with a start several hours later to the sound of his mom calling him to dinner. "Did you have a nice nap?" David's mom asked him as he took his seat at the table. "Yeah, I did. And about what we were talking about earlier, I think, I'll go ahead and accept it," David told his mom. "Are you sure you don't want to take more time to think about it?" David was asked. "I'm sure. I figure the only people would have a problem with this are the ones I don't like anyway, so it doesn't really matter." "If this is how you feel about it, I'll give them a call tomorrow and get things set up." At this point, David's younger brothers started asking about what was going on. They both thought that this would be cool, once they heard the story. Little did they know how things would turn out on this in a few short months' time. As February drew to a close, John was starting to get excited as his birthday drew closer. While he knew that it wasn't his real birthday, John's parents still treated him to a party each year, though the really special parties were saved for his actual birthday. John though had no idea about the surprise that was going to be dropped on him and DJ during the party. Both John's and DJ's parents had known for over a week that the money the boys had found now belonged to them. They had insisted that this be kept a secret. Since both boys were still minors this had been requested. John's parents though, had decided to have the checks presented to the boys during the family birthday party for him. "Okay John, we have just one last present for you to open." Mr. Kelly announced loudly over the din created by all the kids in the house. Once the room was quiet enough that he didn't have to yell, Mr. Kelly continued. "As I'm sure both of you boys remember the case you had found earlier this month, I had been contacted earlier this week about it. It seems that an elderly couple had passed away several months back and as part of their will they had requested that several cases filled with money be left around certain cities across the country with varying amounts of money in them to see how honest people were. John, You and DJ happened to run across one of those cases. One of the stipulations of the will was that the case be turned in without being opened. Since you boys did open the case the deal of the will normally would have been voided out and you boys would get nothing." "That really sucks!" John and DJ both voiced loudly. "As I was going to finish saying. Normally, that would have voided the will out. But since you boys still turned the case in even when you knew what was in it. The family of the deceased feels that this showed true honesty and morals, so they decided to go ahead and let the will be valid. Now then both DJ's parents and my wife, and I have already transferred this money into a trust fund that neither of you boys will be able to touch until you turn Twenty-five, though a clause has been placed in it for money to be taken out for college expenses." Seeing the crest fallen looks the boys were giving them made John's dad chuckle a bit. "Cheer up you two, we have kept some of the money out so you could have some fun with it," he said with a laugh as he handed John a plain envelope. DJ was handed one by his own parents at the same time. "But how much was in the case?" DJ asked as he opened the envelope. "You'll find a photocopy of the original check in there as well. Now keep in mind that each check is what each of you boys received." DJ's father said with a grin. Knowing what was going to happen next. Both sets of parents broke up laughing as their son's took on a look of absolute shock when they found the checks and looked at them. "Happy One-Quarter Birthday John," His father laughed as John dropped the envelope not even noticing the Ten One Hundred Dollar bills that were still tucked inside. "Well, C'mon you guys how much was it?" the rest of the people in the room asked loudly. Without saying a word, John passed his check over to Erin. "Well! How much is it, Erin?" Josh asked loudly seeing his sister's face also go slack at the sum written on it? "Is this right dad?" She asked ignoring her youngest brother's demands to see the check as well. The smile she got in return was all the answer she needed. "There is one other thing John. Your father and I took the liberty of taking some of the money and setting up educational funds for Josh and Erin as well," Mrs. Kelly told them a moment later. "That's fine." John answered, still stunned at the amount of money he now possessed. DJ was told the same thing by his own parents. The rest of the evening was spent over ice cream and cake in celebration of John's One-quarter birthday. The kids, of course, spent their time giving suggestions to their brothers about the best way to spend the money they had gotten in the envelopes as well. In the end, both boys decided to head out to the mall the next day and go on a shopping frenzy. Chapter Eighteen "OK you guys, we have one last stop to make," Erin laughed as she pulled the car into the parking lot of her place of work. "What are we doing here?" John asked as she turned off her car and got out. "It's a surprise!" she laughed back at the three boys following her. "Hey Erin. What are you doing here on your day off?" Aaron asked her as she came up to the Special Orders desk. "I need to talk to Sandy about a Department 12 order," she replied with a smile. "Well, she's in with another customer right now, but I'll let her know that you want to see her about an order," he told her with a laugh while looking at the three boys behind her. "Is there anything else I can help you with, while you're waiting for Sandy?" "Yeah, my brother here is wanting to place an order for some cloth diapers." John turned a bright red at how his sister mentioned this. "Erin!" "Well, you did say that you wanted to order some last night, so here we are." "Tell you what, Erin, since everyone else seems to helping a customer right now, you can go on back to the office and get the order written up. I'll let Kevin know what's going on and have him send the order out later with the other ones." "Sounds like a plan, and thanks," she told him with a smile as she escorted her brothers and DJ behind the counter and into the rear office. "OK, John, look through the book here while I get an order form started. You'll find the cloth diapers in the back," she told him as she fired up the computer and started filling out the top area of the form. "Have you decided yet which ones you want yet?" Erin asked a few minutes later. "Yeah, I'll take One case each of the assorted color Thickies, the Thickies Slimline briefs, and the trainers." "OK and what about the cloth diapers?" "Make it One dozen of the Regular Thickies and a dozen of the Hiedi style all with the Velcro closure. And to top it off, a dozen of the assorted pull-up style plastic pants in the plain version." Erin laughed the entire time she typed in the order for her brother. "Anything else?" she laughed a few minutes later. "No, that should do it." "All right then, drop your pants so we can get the measurements for the cloth diapers," Erin told her brother as she pulled a cloth tape measure out of the desk and came around to take the needed numbers. She was a little surprised to see John drop his pants without a word of complaint. Just as Erin started to take the measurements, the door opened and her boss walked in the door. "Hey Erin. Aaron told me you were back here helping your brother with an order," he said with a smile as he sat behind his desk to look over the order that had been started. "Hey Kevin, would you mind filling in the blanks as I call out the numbers?" Erin asked her boss. "Sure. Fire away," he called. In the next couple of minutes the form was finished and the order tallied up. "Now keep in mind, Erin, that as a family member he can use your employee discount. Of course, on an order this size, I would have given him a break anyhow," Kevin laughed. John soon parted with the money and accepted the receipt for it. Soon all five of them were walking out of the back office. Just as they left the office another door opened up, John and DJ both stopped dead in their tracks as they saw one of the bigger troublemakers walk out with his father and an older lady. "Hello Erin. I got the message that you have an order for me to fill. I'll be with you as soon as I finish this one," the older lady said as she passed by. the entire time John, DJ, and the other boy just glared at each other, though the one boy did have a small look of fear in his eyes as well. Once they were alone again, John spoke up. "Hey Erin, you never told us what Department 12 was." "Sure, I did. I told you it was going to be a surprise." "All right, boys, if you'll follow me," Sandy told them a few minutes later as she showed them into another room. All the boys were kind of shocked to see that there was a changing table in the middle of the room with several racks of clothes off to one side. "So, what were you boys interested in?" Sandy asked as she took a seat behind her desk. "I'm not sure what you mean?" John asked in confusion. "It's OK, Sandy, I have a list here," Erin told her while pulling a list from her purse and handed it over. "Hmmm, This could get rather interesting," Sandy replied after looking over the list. "What kind of fabric and designs did you have in mind for these?" Erin was asked. "My mom was thinking of Lightweight material for the shirts and the Summer PJs. Also, just basic solid colors for the shirts, and Fleece for the Winter PJs and sweat pants and shirts," Sandy nodded at this as she wrote everything down. "Did you want to have these also in the solid colors?" "Yes, on the sweats. but, I'll let the boys decide what patterns and colors for the PJs," Erin replied with a slight grin. "OK, I think we're ready to start then. Who what's to go first?" the boys were asked as Sandy got out of her chair. "How about you?" she said while pointing to Josh. "What do I have to do?" Josh asked timidly. "I'll need you to take your clothes off." "I'm sorry?" "Go ahead, Josh, nothing will happen," Erin told her youngest brother as she stepped over and started removing his shirt. Seeing that any fight would be a losing one, Josh complied and started to take his shoes off as his sister finished with his shirt. a moment later, with some embarrassment, he took off his pants so he was standing there in just his diaper and socks. "I think you might want to change him before we get started," Erin was told with a chuckle. With a smile of her own, Erin led Josh over to the changing table and started to remove his wet diaper. While Erin was busy doing this, Sandy turned her attention to John. "You might as well take your clothes off as well, We'll be getting to you in just a few minutes," he was told. With a shrug he complied, but wondered what was going on. "I'll be outside if you need any help," Erin informed Sandy, before turning to her brothers. "I better not hear about any trouble," they were told sternly. Both boys nodded at this. "You can wait outside with me, if you want, DJ." "That's OK. If it's all right, I'd like to stay here," after being told it was Erin left the room. "All right, Josh. Just stand over here please while I get some measurements," Sandy told the young boy. With a nod, Josh sheepishly walked over to an area surrounded by mirrors. Once Josh was in place, Sandy pulled out a cloth measuring tape. While Josh was getting measured, John and DJ looked through a book that was filled fabric samples. What was going on hadn't yet occurred to either of the Kelly boys, but DJ realized what was going on when he saw the fabric samples. He confirmed this when he took a quick glance at the sheet of paper Erin had handed over: Erin, these are the items I would like ordered for each of the boys: 10 T-shirt style onesies 8 Single piece sleepers [4 summer weight, 4 winter weight (fleece). Full leg zippers on all of them. Half in each weight with and w/o feet.] 4 sets of sweat pants (snap crotches) 4 matching sweat shirts (snap closure on one shoulder) Mom DJ laughed to himself thinking how cute both John and Josh would look in the items listed. Soon John was being told it was his turn to get measured. DJ handed the fabric book over to Josh once he sat back down. As the boys were getting measured for their new clothes, Erin was talking to Aaron in the break room. "So, did you mention to your brothers what they were getting fitted for?" Aaron asked with a slight grin. "Nah, Why take all the fun out of it for them," Erin replied, thinking at how much more open Aaron had become over the last couple of months since she first saw him in her History class. "Don't you mean that it would take all the fun out of it for you?" came the laughed reply. "Yeah, that too. Hey Aaron, I hope this isn't too forward of me, but I was wondering if you'd like to go to a movie with me tonight?" Erin asked him. Aaron froze at this, not understanding how anyone could be interested in going out with a guy that still wore diapers. "Uh... I'm not sure. I still have some homework that needs to be done and I don't get off work till about seven or so," he told her somewhat lamely. Erin saw this for what it was, but knowing his past history she didn't press the matter. "That's OK, if you can't make it tonight. We can always set it up for some other time," she told him as she steered the conversation onto some safer topics. "You ready, DJ?" John asked as he finished pulling his pants on. "Uh, you go on. I need to check on something really quick." "OK, but don't take too long. I'm sure Erin wants to get home in time for her movie." "I don't think it'll take too long," John gave his friend a quick nod and left the room. "I take it that you want to order some items as well?" Sandy stated with a knowing smile. DJ responded with a smile of his own as he started to take his clothes off. In minutes DJ was in the middle of his own fitting session. It didn't take much time since he had taken the time to look through the other book that was on the table while John was getting fitted. "Where's DJ?" Erin asked as she settled up the new bill. "He's still in the back. He said that he needed to take care of something," John told his sister thinking that DJ meant that he needed to change into a clean diaper. Erin didn't have any such thoughts. She knew what DJ was doing and smiling to herself, couldn't wait to see all three boys in their new outfits when they came in. DJ soon rejoined the group and they left the store. "How did everything go at the store?" Mrs. Kelly asked her daughter as John took his purchases up to his room. "Just fine. I still don't think that either of the boys really realized what they were getting fitted for. John really must be getting into wearing diapers." "Why do you say that?" Erin was asked. "He bought close to $500 dollars worth of cloth and disposable diapers while we were waiting for Sandy," came the chuckled reply. "Next time, why don't you see about letting him use your store discount," Mrs. Kelly asked her daughter, thinking of how much John could have saved with it. "Uh... mom, the $500.00 was with my employee discount," Erin laughed out loud. "You mean John actually got closer to $700.00 dollars worth of diapers?" Erin's mom asked after doing some quick figuring in her head. "That sounds about right." "What all did that boy get?" Erin laughed at the look her mom had on her face as she asked this question. With little hesitation, Erin told her mom what John had gotten. With another sigh, John's mom shook her head and smiled a bit at the thought of both of her boys going around in cloth diapers soon. While all this was going on downstairs, John was loading all the new software into his computer. Seeing that John's bedroom door was slightly open, Mr. Kelly decided to go in and see some of the things that his son had picked up. He got a bit of a surprise when he opened the door after getting the OK from his son. John was sitting at his computer wearing nothing but the sweat shirt he had on earlier, and a pair of the training pants. John, for his part, didn't seem the least bit bothered by the fact that his dad was seeing him in a pair of training pants. "Get anything interesting, John?" "Nah, Just some new games, movies, and music CDs," John replied. "Mind if I see which games you picked up?" "Sure. Here's the list of the games I picked up," John said while handing his dad the receipt for the games. Knowing that that his dad would have had a major fit if he had picked up any of the games he really wanted, John played it safe and stayed with the less intense games. After glancing over the list for any games he had banned from the house, Mr. Kelly set that receipt on his son's desk down and as he did so, saw the receipt for the diapers he had just bought. He shook his head slightly and smiled when he saw all the items his oldest son picked up. "Well, make sure you have fun with all the things you got today," Mr. Kelly said as he set the list down and walked out of the room. "Thanks dad, I will," John said, thinking that his father meant the games he just picked up. Though his father really was referring to the diapers. The rest of the evening went by quickly for the Kelly's. With the money John still had left over he offered to take everyone out to dinner and a movie. This was something that John's parents jumped on without a second thought. All three of the kids were ready to fall asleep by the time they got home that night. John and Josh were both sent to bed after they each received a quick diaper change. Chapter Nineteen "Josh! Hurry up or we're going to be late!" Mr. Kelly called as he pasted by his youngest son's room. "I'll be ready in just a second, dad!" Came the muffled reply. "Are you ready for the day?" Mr. Kelly asked as he straightened his son's tie. "I'm fine," Josh responded with a very shaky voice. "OK Josh, take a few deep breaths and let them out slowly," Josh was coached by his father. "You have nothing to worry about. Just answer the questions they ask you honestly and to the best of your knowledge. Your mom and I will be in the courtroom with you so you have nothing to worry about. OK?" "All right, but what if I need a diaper change?" Josh asked a bit embarrassedly. "That's one of the reason's we put you in one of your Thickies. It should last you till they call a break." Josh nodded at this, glad that he had made sure that he had gone to the restroom before getting a new diaper on and dressed. This last month for him had been nerve- wracking for him. He had finally been able to start physical therapy on his leg and shoulder and he was happy about that, but the knowledge that he was going to have to testify at Billy's trial scared him to the bone. Especially since he was just starting to get over the nightmares that had plagued him every now and then since the incident that the trial was about. "All Rise! Johnson County District Court is now in session! The Honorable Bruce Shepherd presiding!" The bailiff called out as the judge walked in the room. "Please be seated. Case number 5987469B The State of Kansas Vs. William Pike. On the charges of Murder of the First Degree, Murder of the Second Degree, Attempted Murder of the First Degree, Assault of the First Degree, Assault while under the influence of a controlled substance, and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. You have previously entered a plea of Not Guilty, is this correct?" the judge asked from his seat after reading off the main charges. "That is correct, your Honor," Billy's lawyer responded. "Now Mr. Simms, the prosecution has offered your client a bargain to avoid this trial, is that correct?" "They have, your Honor, and I have been instructed by my client to decline the offer made." "Very well Mr. Simms, you may continue with your opening statement." "Thank you, your Honor," Billy's lawyer said before beginning his opening statement. An hour later after the County D.A. finished his statement, the judge called a 10 minute break. "How's your diaper holding up?" Josh was asked as he met with his parents outside the courtroom. "It's doing OK. I wish my nerves were doing as well, though," Josh joked lamely. "I know what you mean. Just keep thinking that it'll be over in no more than two weeks," Josh's father told him as he led Josh off to get a quick drink of water before heading back into courtroom. Josh and David were both nervous wrecks by the end of the day since they never knew when they would be the next ones to be called to testify. This went on for the next two days. Josh almost jumped out of his skin when they called his name at the beginning of the third day. "Raise your right hand and repeat after me, please. I, your name, do solemnly swear that the testimony I'm about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God." "I, Joshua Scott Kelly, do solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God," Josh intoned along with the person in front of him. "Now, Josh, you do know what it means to tell the truth, correct?" The judge asked him kindly. "Yes sir. My parents explained all this to me before this," Josh said nervously. "That's good. You may proceed, Mr. Lowry," The judge informed the D.A. "Thank you, your Honor. Now Josh, how long have you known the defendant?" "About six months. I met him just after my family moved here in November of last year." "And would you say that Mr. Pike was friendly towards you during the time before the incident in question took place?" "No, he was anything but." "How do you mean?" "He kept picking on me because of my small size, and some other medical problems I was having at the time," Josh answered. turning slightly red at the last part of his sentence. The questioning went on for another couple of hours. By the time a break was called Josh was in dire need of a diaper change. Luckily, his diaper was able to hold it all in with no leaks and he didn't have to poop any during this time. "You're doing fine, Josh. Just keep up the good work. I'm sure that everything will be over soon," Josh was told by his mother over a light lunch. Josh just nodded at this. Inside he was frantic about what was going to happen when they went back in and the Defense attorney started after him. "Now, Mr. Kelly, you mentioned that my client constantly made fun of you because of a medical problem, is that correct?" Mr. Simms asked him a few minutes after they got back from lunch. "Yes sir, he had on several occasions," Josh said wondering what was going to happen next. "And what would that condition be?" Josh was asked. "Objection, your Honor! Mr. Kelly's medical condition has no bearing on this case." "Sustained. Mr. Simms, please watch your step." "Of course, your Honor." "Please let me rephrase the question. Mr. Kelly, isn't it true that most of your classmates teased you because you were constantly messing your pants in class, and Mr. Pike was trying to belittle you into stopping this act that was totally disrupting the classroom environment?" "OBJECTION YOUR HONOR!! I move that the counsels last statement be stricken from the record and that he be admonished!" Mr. Lowry yelled from his seat. "Sustained! Mr. Simms, this is your last warning. One more move like that and I will have you held in contempt of this court! Do you understand? The jury will ignore the last statement from the Defense counsel, and said statement will be removed from the record." "My apologies. Mr. Kelly, on the day in question, why didn't you just walk away from my client and defuse the situation right then instead of engaging in the fight that happened a few minutes later?" "I tried to. After Billy hit me the first time I used the amount of force I felt was needed to stop him long enough for me to walk away from it." "I see. But why did you feel like you needed to hit him first?" "He was in my way and I knew that he wouldn't let me walk away willingly." "So, you decided to make him do it unwillingly then, correct?" "Something like that, yes," Josh said, starting to get angry. "And in doing so, you scarred my client for the rest of his life!" Mr. Simms nearly yelled. "What can I say? Payback's a bitch!" Josh yelled back. "Mr. Kelly, please watch the language," Josh was admonished sternly by the judge. "Sorry, your Honor." "So you hit my client as a sense of retribution then, is that it? And what about a few moments later, when you, without provocation, threw a knife at my client, hitting him in the shoulder? You do know that because of damage you did he'll never have more than thirty percent use of that arm now. What do you have to say to all of that?" Billy's lawyer demanded. "First off, I would have to say that seeing a person get their head shot off in front of me is enough to warrant the actions I took especially since Billy tried to stab me just a few seconds before I hit him in the shoulder with the knife. As for the damage done to his shoulder, c'est la vie." "I get the feeling that you're not one bit remorseful about your actions." "I'm not. To me, Billy made his own choices on that day, and I feel that he did so with full knowledge of what he was doing at the time. I did what I was felt was necessary at the time. I didn't have the luxury of what seems like premeditation," Josh responded flatly. It was at this time that Josh's gaze hit Billy with it's full effect and chilled the other boy to the bone. It was then Billy realized how deep in trouble he really was. "Your Honor, I move to have the last part of the witness's statement to be stricken from the record and the jury be ordered to disregard," Mr. Simms requested once he saw his mistake and tried to cover it up. "Your motion is denied." "But, your Honor..." "I said, denied, Mr. Simms." "Yes your Honor. No further questions," came the glum reply. "Do you wish to cross-examine, Mr. Lowry?" "No, your Honor." "Very well, The witness is excused." With a visible sign of relief Josh stepped down from the witness stand. David was called a few minutes later and was on the stand for the rest of the day. "Man, am I glad that's over with," David and Josh said in near perfect unison as they walked out of the courthouse later that day, causing Josh's mom to laugh a bit at this. "Did you happen to catch the look on Billy's face when you looked at him at the end of your questioning?" "Not really. Why?" "He looked like he saw a ghost or something," David told his friend. "I'm sure he probably did. It's too bad that he couldn't have had this happen before he did what he did," Josh said glumly, though he felt like this was the final closure he was needing to put the nightmares behind him, and get on with his life. After getting home and taking a quick shower, Josh had Erin put him into his night diapers and climbed into bed for the night. For the first time since the shooting Josh was able to sleep fitfully and without any nightmares. The trial ended early the next day and the jury was given the case after the lunch break. Nobody was certain how long it would take them to decide the young boy's fate. It shocked both sides when the jury announced less than an hour later that they had reached a verdict. "Has the jury reached a verdict?" the jury foreman was asked after they had been seated. "May I see the verdict form, please?" the foreman was asked. "Will the defendant please rise and face the jury. I will ask that there be no outburst of any type from the gallery after the verdict has been read," the judge said after having looked over the verdict form and handed it back to the jury foreman. "Madam Foreman, will you please read the verdict please," The judge asked once the form had been handed back. "William Xavier Pike, we the members of the jury find you Guilty on all charges of the indictment. And sentence you to a term of hard labor of no less than Eight hundred and Fifty years. May God have mercy on your soul." The only sound heard after this statement was the sound of Billy's middle brother crying. Josh's life was turned upside down again after word got out that it was Josh's last words on the stand that swayed the jury to such a speedy verdict, and punishment. For the next month, the Kelly's were constantly bombarded with request for interviews. With all the added stress Josh was facing because of this the nightmares had returned in full force. In the end, Billy was ordered remanded to the local Juvenile Detention Center till he was Twenty-one and then would serve the remainder of his Five hundred year sentence at the State Penitentiary in Lansing. Chapter Twenty "I still can't believe you did this," Erin said as she started pacing behind her mother, again. "I still don't see why you're having a problem with this," her mother replied in a tired tone. "Yeah, right. I shouldn't have a problem because you asked my boss over for dinner. How I am I supposed to act?" "You better lose the attitude right now, young lady," Mrs. Kelly said, finally losing patience with her daughter. "I'm sorry mom. It's just that I work around them all the time and I didn't know what to think." "That is why I invited them over. You know what they're like. I felt that having them over for dinner would be a nice way for the rest of us to get to know them. Besides, he's not your 'boss' tonight. He is a guest in this house and I'll ask that you treat him as such. Understood?" With a sigh, Erin nodded her submission on the point and left the room to get ready. "I seem to remember another young lady in this house having a similar reaction when her parents invited a certain young man and his parents over to dinner," Mr. Kelly said with a chuckle as he walked up behind his wife. "That was different. I didn't want everyone in the place to know how much I had fallen for the certain young man in question." "I don't think either one of us managed to pull it off very successfully," came a laughed reply. A short time later the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" John yelled as he got up to answer the door. "Wait a minute, John!" Josh yelled has he moved to race up the stairs, that were right by the front door, so he could get some pants on. Seeing a chance to have some fun with his brother, John opened the door just as Josh was almost in front of it. Kevin and his brothers started smiling as they saw Josh run by in nothing but his shirt and a diaper. "Evening, John," Kevin said, still smiling at what he just saw. "Evening, Kevin. Can I take your guy's coats?" he asked as Kevin Aaron, and Steven walked into the house. "Thanks," they answered as they handed John their jackets. "Have a seat, I'll let Erin and my parents know that you're here." John went to hang up the coats he was holding and inform his parents that their guests have gotten there. "Mom, dad? They're here," John told his parents as he stuck his head into the den. "Thanks, John. We'll be there in a moment. Have them take a seat and see if they would like anything to drink," John was told by his mother. "OK, mom." "Sorry about the wait. They'll be out in just a moment. Can I get you anything to drink in the meantime?" "I'd like a Coke, if you have it," Aaron stated. "Same here," Steven said a moment later. John nodded at these. "Kevin?" he asked. "I'll wait till your father comes out. I'm wanting something with more of a kick." "OK, something with a kick," John said with a slight smile that made Kevin a bit nervous. Josh entered them room just as John left. "How's everything going, Josh?" Kevin asked the younger boy. "It's going OK," Josh answered. "I'm glad to see that you've finally been able to lose the crutches. I take that means your leg is doing better?" "It's still a bit sore at times, but it is getting better, thanks." "I'm not sure if you know this or not, but I was one of the potential jurors in the trial you were in," Kevin informed him. "Really?" Josh asked in surprise. "Yeah, I had to excuse myself from it when I found out which trial it was." "Why? didn't you want to serve on it?" "I did, but since your sister and my brother are going out and that I know you personally, I had to step down from serving. If I hadn't, and they found out about it later Billy could have gotten off and I would have been in trouble." Josh nodded at this. About this time Erin and her parents entered the room. "Mrs. Kelly, Mr. Kelly," Kevin said as he and his brothers stood up. "Please Kevin, you can call me Janet," Mrs. Kelly said. "Arthur," Mr. Kelly said as he took Kevin's hand and shook it. "Arthur, I'd like you to meet my brothers. Aaron, whom I know you've already met and my middle brother Steven." "Ah, yes. I've seen you at the store," Mr. Kelly said as he shook Steven's hand. "Yes, sir," Steven said. "Would you like anything to drink?" Mrs. Kelly said as the brothers sat back down. "John's already taken care of that. Though, I was asking for something with a kick and I was waiting for you. I didn't want John to get into trouble serving me anything on the strong side," Mr. Kelly started laughing a bit at this. "It's OK, Kevin. Shocking as it may seem, John is better at mixing drinks than I am. He knows that I trust him on this." Kevin was a bit taken back by this, but said nothing that would offend his host. A second later John came back into the room carrying a tray of drinks. "OK, I have three Cokes," John started, handing the pops over to Aaron, Steven, and his sister. "One root beer, light on the ice," John said with a smile as he handed the glass to Josh. "One gin and tonic with a twist of lime," handing this glass to his mother. Kevin, Steven and Aaron all started smiling to themselves when John bent over to hand his mom her drink and saw the top of his diaper sticking out from over the waist of his pants. "One rum and Coke," John stated as he handed this glass to his father. "And for you Kevin, Something with a kick," John said with a same grin as he handed a glass over to Kevin. Kevin accepted the glass and eyed the smoking contents carefully. John watched Kevin carefully as he took the first sip of his drink. Kevin, for his part, was amazed at how smoothly the drink went down. Little did he realize that it was a slow- acting drink. A moment later, he set the glass down as his face turned red and he started choking a bit as the drink hit him. "What is that?" Kevin asked as soon as he got over his coughing fit. "I call it a Three Mile Island Meltdown," John said with pride. "Good name," Kevin rasped a bit. "So Kevin, how does someone so young become the manager of such a large store?" Mr. Kelly asked over dinner. "Luck, I guess. I've been with the chain about ten years now. I started out working the floor at main store in Boise when I was in high school and I worked my way up." "I'm sure you felt good being offered the position here over others that had been probably with the company longer." "I was happy with them offering it to me. I got the job mainly because I was the only one willing to accept the move involved and no one else it was offered to wanted to take over the this particular department," Kevin answered. "Why's that? From what Erin tells me, that is a high volume department." "Oh, It's a very high volume department. I guess the other people they offered it to didn't care for the main product that the area handles." Mr. Kelly. got the meaning of what Kevin said. "I guess it would take a certain type of person to handle that on a daily basis." Kevin nodded at this. "Do you have any classes with Erin also, Steven?" Mrs. Kelly asked at the other end of the table. "Uh... actually, I graduated high school two years ago," Steven said while turning a bit red. "That's nothing to be embarrassed about. Have you given college any thought?" "I'm taking some Computer and Business courses out at JoCo," Mrs. Kelly nodded at this, obviously pleased by it. The rest of the meal was finished with the usual talk about work and school. Aaron and Steven both became a bit embarrassed during the evening when they had to excuse themselves for a diaper change and were pointed towards Josh's room. The rest of the evening went by smoothly. While Erin, her parents, Aaron, Kevin sat around talking, John took Steven up to his room to show off the computer he had. "Damn John, this is some setup you have. What all do you have in it? "Thanks, It took me about a year to save up to buy it. One of my friend's dad works for a computer company and he likes to build them on the side as well. Though he got permission to use items that hadn't been released on the market when he built it. It's got a 120 Gig Hard Drive, 512 Megs of SDRam, 4.5 GHz Pentium X processor, an LX5 Video/Audio card with 40 Megs of Video Memory, a 120X CD-ROM/DVD, and a 80X CD-RW drive. All connected to an IBM Q series 950 Liquid Crystal monitor. "Damn. We don't even have anything like this at the college and most of these components have been on the market less than four months. By the way, what Op System does it use?" "I just loaded the third edition of Windows '09 to it." "Well, you shouldn't have to worry about getting a new system for awhile," Steven said with obvious envy. "Would you mind if I came by some time to take a closer look at it?" "I think we could set something up sometime," John said with a laugh. Just as Steven was about to say something more, Kevin came into the room. "We're getting ready to leave, Steve, so start packing it in." "OK, Kev. I'll be right down," Steven said as he stood up. After thanking John for showing him his computer Steven left the room. "Janet, Arthur, On behalf of my brothers and myself, I want to thank you for a lovely evening," Kevin said after shaking his hosts' hands and putting his jacket back on. "And I almost forgot, John's and your order came in on today's truck. Sandy will want the boys to come in to check the fit before she lets them out of the store though." Kevin, his brothers, and Erin all shared an insider's laugh at this. "What was that last bit all about?" Mrs. Kelly asked her daughter as they all sat down. "Sandy has a bit of a perfectionist streak in her. Anytime a person comes in to purchase special order clothes from her she insists that each item be put on before it leaves the store so she can see whether it matches up to her standards," Erin told them with a laugh. "You mean the boys will have to try on all the clothes first before they leave the store?" Erin's dad asked to make sure he understood things correctly. Erin just nodded at this. "Make sure you get pictures for the boy's baby albums," Mrs. Kelly laughed. "You don't mean you're going to start filling those again?" Erin asked he mom with a laugh. "And why not, they're both going to be dressing and to some extent acting like toddlers again, so I think it's only fitting." Erin and her father both started laughing at this. The rest of the night went by quickly, though for Erin it could pass quickly enough.