Memoirs of a Diaper Boy II
Chapter 2
A new life
When I woke up the next morning I found that I was now alone in bed. Looking towards the clock the was off to left of my bed I saw that it was almost Eight in the morning. With a yawn , I started to climbed out of bed and headed into the bathroom to remove the sagging diaper I now had on. As I pulled off the plastic pants, I admitted to myself that David was right. The cloth diapers were more comfortable. The only problem I had was that I wasn’t sure where to put the wet diapers. I didn’t thick David would be to pleased if I were to place them in our dirty clothes hamper, so I didn’t bother with there. In the end, I decided to place them in one of the sinks till I could ask somebody where they were supposed to go if I was even still here by the end of the day.
Just after I started the shower I heard David enter the bathroom.
“Hey Brad in the future there’s a pail in the Trips room that you can place the cloth diapers in when you’re done with them.” I was told. While I couldn’t see my cousin’s face, I assumed he was smiling given the tone of his voice.
“Hey guys, dad says to get your asses in gear. Breakfast is waiting on the table. And Brad, Uncle Ian, say he wants you to wear the blue suit that he has hanging on your closet door.”
“OK, Brian. Let them know we’ll be down in a few minutes.” David called. This caused me to spend up how quickly I was washing. By the time I was done and getting out of the shower to dry off, David had already left. He must have decide to help me along a bit since when I walked into my room the suit Brian had mentioned was already laying on my bed along with a t-shirt, dress socks, and a pair of the cartoon briefs I had noticed a couple of days before. With a shake of my head, I finished drying off and quickly started getting dressed. I had to smile a bit when I saw what I looked like in the briefs. The smile was gone quickly though when I thought to what was going to be happening today.
“You look pretty sharp there Brad.” Steven told me as I walked into the dinning room.
“Thank you sir.” I mumbled as I took my seat. Looking around I was surprised that Uncle Ian wasn’t there.
“Don’t worry Ian he’s finishing up a phone call then he has to get dressed himself.” I was told as Steve picked up on my nervousness. Hearing this eased my mind greatly. It was at this point that realized I had been staring at what Brian’s dad was wearing. Steve was in his Dress Blues. Before my life had dropped into hell, I had a fascination with the military. But I guess a lot of boys do this. I was able to recognize that he had been in the Navy and held the rank of Master Chief, but I wasn’t able to tell what all the ribbons he had were for or what he did.
“You better start eating before things get cold.” Steve said with a laugh breaking me out of the zone I was in.
“Oh sorry. I didn’t mean to stare.” I apologized quickly as I started eating the food that was on my plate.
“Shit!” I heard someone exclaim from the kitchen.
“Steve could you come in here for a moment?” Ian called from the kitchen. We all heard a muted conversation going on in the next room but couldn’t really make out what was being said. A few minutes later both Steve and my uncle came rushing into the room.
“Brad, I hate to do this to you, but I had something come up suddenly. I won’t be able to take you to your court appearance but, I will be there for it. I’ve arranged for Dr. Genault to pick you up and take you there. You be met by one of the people from my office. She’ll be covering things till I can get there. Don’t worry about anything. You’re going to be in good hands.” I was told while Steve flashed a quick smile at his husband. I just nodded dumbly at this because I was still staring at the two stars that my uncle sported on the shoulder boards of his uniform.
“I didn’t know you guys had a fieldtrip today?” David and Brian were asked when David’s dad turned to say something to them.
“We don’t.” David answered.
“Then why the class A’s ?” They were asked.
“Because we’re going with Brad to his court appearance.” Brian said.
“No, you’re not.” Steven told his son.
“Yes we are.” David announced firmly.
“No, you guys aren’t.” Uncle Ian said firmly.
“We have to go. Brad needs our support.” Brian and David said in unison.
“Guys, I appreciate the loyalty you want to show but it’ll be impossible for you to get in. I couldn’t even get you in even if I wanted to. Now, if you want to wear you’re A‘s to school then I don’t mind but you’re going to school. ” Ian explained.
“If you don’t let me go then I’ll..” David started to say before he was cut off forcefully by his father.
“You Better choose your next words carefully Mister or you’re going to be in a world of trouble. Now since you guys will be needing to take the bus this morning you better get in gear if you want to make it on time because if you miss it you’re really going to be in trouble. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.” Both of my cousins answered venomously as they stood up and started to stomp off towards their rooms to change. They barely made it past their dads before each of them got a very firm hand planted on their posteriors. It was soon after my cousins finished leaving the room that what my uncle had told sunk in and I realized that he wasn’t going with me to court.
“Brad calm down.” I was told softly as I was pulled into a tight hug.
“I knew you guys didn’t really care about me.” I sobbed as I tried to fight my way out of the grip my uncle had me in.
“Brad we do care about you! I wasn’t expecting this meeting till later this afternoon. I’d do anything to be there with you but it’s just not possible at this point. I promise you that you’ll be in good hands and I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I was told as I was held in the hug that I was fighting against. My uncles managed to get me calmed down just as Dr. Genault showed up. After a few hushed words, both of my uncles rushed out the door. My cousins left soon after this. Though they both still looked rather pissed at their dads as they each gave me a hug and promised me that everything would work out.
The Trips came downstairs with their grandmother just as Dr. Genault and I were getting ready to leave for the courthouse. All three of them came charging up to me as soon as they saw me standing there. Of course their grandmother tried to stop them. Devon trying to jump into my arms knocked me off balance and Andy and Ryan crashing into my legs completed the task. Before I could stop it, I was laying flat on my back with three toddlers climbing all over me. Seeing their happy faces was enough to break me out of the blue funk that I had been in for the last hour.
“Brad we really need to get going.” I was told after a few minutes of playing around with the Trips.
“I’ll see you guys later today. You be good OK.” I told them as I gave each a final hug and kiss before following Dr. Genault out to his car.
Nothing was said as we drove towards the courthouse.
“Brad, I’m Darcie Levinston and I’ll be helping you out today.” I was told by a very attractive young woman as she held her hand out.
“Pleased to meet you.” I replied quietly taking the offered hand.
“We better get inside things should be starting pretty soon.” I nodded glumly at this. Wishing my uncle cared enough to be with me for this.
“All rise. Phoenix Juvenile court is now is session. The Honorable Colleen Riley presiding.” The bailiff called out as an older black lady walked into the room.
“oh crap.” I heard one of the people from the next table mutter to themselves and for a brief moment I felt that things might actually work out.
“Be seated.” we were instructed as the judge took her seat.
“I’m not at all pleased at the case before today. And I want to make it clear that I want it taken care of quickly. Is everyone ready to proceed?” Everyone was asked.
“We are your honor. But I find it highly distressing that Mr. Miller has chosen not to appear at this point in time.” One of the people from the table across from me said.
“Your honor. Senator Miller was unavoidably delayed by another meeting that had unexpectedly been moved up. I’ve been fully briefed on the matter before this court and am prepared to argue the case until such time as Senator Miller can join us.” Darcie replied confidently.
“I’m aware of the meeting. Both Senator Miller and the person I spoke with assured me that they wouldn’t be more than twenty minutes behind schedule. In the mean time, I’d like to take this chance to speak with Young Mr. Miller in my chambers.” We were told.
“Your, honor this is all very irregular. If Ms. Levinston really is prepared then I see no reason for us to delay till Mr. Miller decides to grace us with his presence.”
“Mr. Hadley are you trying to tell this court how to conduct its business?”
“Not at all your honor. I’m just expressing concern over any untimely delays.” We were told quickly.
“Mr. Hadley, in this courtroom, I’ll decide what constitutes an untimely delay is that clear?”
“Yes, your honor.” came the meek reply.
“Good. Mr. Miller would you join me please?” I was asked gently.
“Go on.” I was told quietly as I felt Darcie give me a gentle push.
“Would you like anything to drink?” I was asked as the judge closed the door behind us.
“No, thank you ma’am. I mean your honor.” I said, correcting myself quickly.
“ I noticed you have quite a shiner this morning. Would you mind telling me how you came by it?” I was asked as I was led over to a couch. It took me about twenty minutes to relay what had happened the evening before. What I didn’t know is that Judge Riley had seen the whole thing as she was in the arcade with her grandkids. I was asked about a variety of other things over the next twenty minutes before I was told that it was time to head back to the court room. The bailiff stopped us just outside the door to the courtroom and whispered something to the judge. I saw that her eyebrows went up in surprise a bit before she nodded and had him open the door for us. I saw that my uncle was now seated at our table with Darcie. Without hesitation I rushed over to give him a hug. To this day, I’m still not sure what caused me to do this.
“Now that we’re all here let us begin with the matter at hand.” The judge told us as she took her seat.
“Senator, I have to say that I’m highly disappointed in the case before me. I would have assumed that someone with your reputation would have known better than this. Given the fact that in several years the minors record would have been cleared and the file sealed. I’m almost inclined to dismiss the case.” I froze at this thinking that I was going to be sent right back to the detention center. It was only my uncle’s hand on my thigh that prevented me from jumping out of my seat.
“My apologies to the court, your honor. It’s just that when my client had informed me that he had been given a life sentence I was assuming that he had been tried as an adult and that normal procedures wouldn’t apply. I didn’t receive his file until after I had already submitted my motion for fast tracking a new hearing for him. Once I learned of my mistake it was to late to try and amend it.”
“I see but what was this you said about a life sentence?” We were asked as the judge started shuffling through the papers before her.
“That is correct your honor. My client first told me of this during our second meeting. I was only able to get the sentencing file a week ago. It seems that it had been sealed and then misfiled. Here is a copy of it.” my uncle said as he handed several sheets of paper to the bailiff who in turn handed them to the judge.
“Mr. Hadley is there any truth to this?” The man was asked coldly.
“Yes, there is your honor. Given the brutal nature of the crime committed it was felt that a life sentence was warranted.”
“I find that hard to believe but we’ll get to that later. I’d like to address the glaring mistakes made in this boys original trail. I’d like to speak to Mr. Hayes about this please call him in.” The bailiff was told.
“Is there a problem with this request Mr. Hadley?”
“Uh.. Mr. Hayes passed away almost four years ago your honor.” We were informed nervously.
“I see then I’d like to see Mr. Miller’s current counsel.”
“uh. Our office has yet to assign him a new counsel.” the prosecutor told us meekly.
“Are you Telling this court that this boy has been held in custody for almost four years without counsel?!” The judge roared. I came damned close to wetting my pants at this point and was very glad that I had declined the drink offered to me earlier.
“It was a simple oversight. Your honor.”
“How about I throw you into Mr. Miller’s cell for four years and see how you like it.” I knew right then that not only was I going back to Raven Creek, I was going to have to spend it in the same cell with the person that put me there in the first place.
“Would you care for a few minutes to get your client composed counselor?” My uncle was asked when the judge saw how worked up I was getting.
“That’s alright your Honor. He’ll be fine in a moment.” I quickly calmed down as my uncle whispered in my ear.
“And was it also an oversight that you held the trial without the defendant present, or that no witnesses were called on his behalf?” The judge asked rhetorically.
“Your Honor those mistakes were made by an over zealous your prosecutor. He has since moved from our office.”
“Sir, you were the prosecutors supervisor. Which means that you should have been providing oversight on the case. In all my years on the bench I’ve never seen such a gross miscarriage of justice. After looking over all these documents and from what I’ve just heard, I’m ready to make my ruling. At first I was going to grant Senator Miller’s request for a new trial and sentencing , I’m no longer going to do that. Instead, I’m granting the immediate release of Mr. Miller and that his record be expunged of this entire incident and his file sealed.”
“I object your honor. This boy is a clear and viable threat to the public. He’s already proven that he’s capable of murder. Not to mention that While in custody he broke one boy’s neck and seriously injured a second!” Mr. Hadley practically screamed.
“Mr. Hadley the incident you mentioned was a result of self-defense. According to affidavits provided to this court by Senator Miller the boys in question were attempting to rape his client. And surprisingly enough, your office choose not to do anything to the boys in question except for Mr. Miller. Who was placed in solitary for the three and a half years. The only threat to the general public I see before is you, Mr. Hadley.”
“Regardless, your honor the state strongly objects to releasing the defendant!”
“THE HELL WE DO!!” I voice called out from behind us. All heads turned at this and I noticed both of the prosecutors going visibly pale.
“My apologies to the court for my out burst your honor.” the man said.
“Apology accepted Mr. Governor. As I was saying, Seeing how Senator Miller has placed before this court a plan for both psychological and educational rehabilitation I’m ordering Mr. Miller’s immediate release.”
“Your honor, It’ll take several weeks for the center that Mr. Miller is currently enrolled in to do the pre-release screening.”
“I said immediately. Mr. Miller’s current doctor can handle all of the screening and his payment will come out of your budget Mr. Hadley. It is further ordered that no one from your office or department is to come near Mr. Miller for any reason. If this court finds out that they have then I’ll be holding you personally responsible. Is that clear counselor?” The judge announced with the voice of death.
“Court is adjourned.” Judge Riley announced as she raised her gavel.
“Uh.. Your honor Mr. Miller is currently in possession. The only equipment available to remove is at one of our offices.”
“Fine, I amend that CPS may come into contact with Mr. Miller only for the time needed to retrieve state property! Court Adjourned!” Judge Riley said. I thought she was going to break the gavel with how hard she slammed it down.
“I want you in my office first thing in the morning.” The prosecutor was told by the governor as he walked past us.
“We’ll be in your office to have the monitor removed in twenty minutes. Be ready for us.” The other man was told by my uncle when he came by us.
“It’ll take..”
“Twenty minutes.” my uncle said coldly. The younger man just nodded at this and left the room quickly.
“Thanks for your help in their James. For a while, I wasn’t sure which way this was going to go,” my uncle said with relief.
“No problem cuz. Besides this was just a formality. Judge Riley is already placing a copy of this in Brad‘s file.” We were told with a smile as James pulled an envelope from his coat pocket and handed it to my uncle.
“That sneaky Son of a bitch.” my uncle laughed as he read the paper that was in the envelope.
“I’ll be sure to tell him you said that.” James laughed.
“Who’s a sneaky son of a bitch?” I asked without thinking. I thought I was going to die when both my uncle and James looked down at me. It was only when they started laughing that I knew I was off the hook.
“I was referring to your Uncle Jason.” I was told as my uncle handed me the paper. I almost crapped my pants when I realized that I was holding a Presidential Pardon. Though I didn’t fully grasp what it meant for me.
“We’ll we better be going. I can drop you off at Stonehenge after we get one last thing with this young man taken care of.” James said. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the two men standing outside the courtroom door.
“It’s ok Brad they’re just here for my protection. Nothing is going to happen to you.” James told me after he told the guys in dark suits to go on ahead of us. I nodded at this but still looked at the guys in front of us warily.
“I thought you said I was going to be going home with you?!” I yelled in panic when I saw that we had pulled up to Raven Creek.
“You are going home with us Brad. We’re just here long enough for you to get that monitor removed. Unless you’d prefer to keep it on?” I was asked with a raised eyebrow. This calmed me down greatly as we got out of the car and walked towards the building.
“We’re here to see Mr. Langston.” My uncle told the receptionist as he, the governor, and myself walked into the office.
“I’m sorry but Mr. Langston is out for the day. May I tell him your name and he can get back to you?” We were asked. My uncle was about to reply when the other man from my hearing came rushing into the room.
“It’s ok Sally. I was expecting them.” Mr. Langston said slightly out of breath.
“Follow me please.” We were told coldly as Mr. Langston led us out of the room we had just entered and to another one. I stiffened a bit when I saw who was in there but my uncle’s hand settled me down some.
“Sit over here Miller.” I was told gruffly.
“He’ll be staying right where he is.” my uncle said as he sat us down in some chairs behind us. Muttering something under his breath, the guard came over and after pushing my pant leg up and roughly pulling my sock down he took a key and removed the monitor that I had on my ankle. With a final snort he let my pant leg fall down.
“Officer, please put the stocking back how you found it.” the guard was told firmly. He paled a bit when he realized who was giving the order. I soon felt my sock being pulled back into place and my pant leg being smoothed over it.
“Well let’s go get your cousins and celebrate.” My uncle said as we walked out of the building and headed towards James’s car. Twenty minutes later we were pulling up to my cousins’ school.
I was surprised to see that Brian was already waiting for us when my uncle and I walked into the office.
“I didn’t do it Uncle Ian. I swear.” Brian said when he saw his uncle walk in.
Going off the look on my uncle’s face he seemed like he was waiting to see what
my cousin might confess to, but this was short lived when he started chuckling
and a smile spread over his face.
“Relax Brian, I called ahead and had them pull you out of class so you could join the rest of us for lunch and then I figured you’d like the rest of the day off.” Brian was told with a laugh has he got a hug.
“How did the hearing go?” Brian asked nervously. At this point he still hadn’t noticed that I was standing just inside the door to the office.
“I’m sorry Brian, I tried my best, but they let him go.” My uncle’s frown quickly turning back into a smile.
“You’re mean.” Brian said as he hit his dad before running over to where I was standing and gave me a hug. All this commotion brought an older lady out of one of the offices.
“What’s going on out here?” She asked in a slightly angry tone.
“Sorry Mrs. Dubov, I was just playing a small joke on my son here.” My uncle said as he took the hand the lady was offering to him.
“Ah, Senator Miller I should have known. Looks like you’ve put on a little weight since last time I saw you in uniform last year.”
“Just a little bit.” came the prideful answer. Brian gave another yell as he ran over to hug his dad when he noticed the third star that my uncle now sported on his shoulder.
“Why didn’t you tell us? I would have like to have seen you get that.” Brian pouted as he let go and stepped back a bit.
“I was wanting it to be a surprise. The surprise turned out to be on me. Now you know why Isaac was in town. Well, how about we go get your dad and brother and blow this joint.” Mrs. Dubov just started laughing when she heard this last part.
“Don’t bother coming back by on your way out. I’ll let the attendance office know.” We were told as Mrs. Dubov headed back into her office.
It took us just a few minutes to get to David’s classroom. I guess they where having some kind of presentation or something because the back of the room was lined with people of various rank from all of the services. I saw that Steve had seen us first and was about to say something when my uncle motioned for him to stay seated and quiet. This allowed us to hear the end of what the person speaking was saying. As he finished speaking, I could have sworn I heard David cough the word bullshit.
“You have a comment to make Mr. Miller?” His teacher asked.
“Not really ma’am. It’s just that I’ve heard this story before only this wasn’t how it was told to me.” David said and explained what he had been told.
“And what delusional idiot gave you that version?” the speaker asked snidely.
“That would have been me Commander.” My uncle said conversationally. At this time, Steve did come to his feet.
“Attention, Admiral on the deck!” He called. This brought all the uniformed people jumping to their feet.
“As you were people. Anyway you were saying?” My uncle asked turning his attention back to the person who was speaking.
“It was nothing sir.” The guy said nervously.
“Oh, not at all. Now why don’t you explain what really happened during the story you just told the class.”
“I don’t really think this is the time to discuss this sir.” Came an even more nervous reply.
“Commander, if you don’t tell them, I will.” The speaker was told with an iron voice.
“Sorry sir, I don’t know what you mean.”
“Fine, then please take a seat and I’ll fill in the gaps for the class.” My uncle said. Seeing an empty next to David I went over and sat down next to him.
“What’s going on?” I asked in a hushed voice as my uncle and his dad walked over to stand in front of the class.
“I’m sorry for the interruption to your class, and to the people that have yet to speak, but I feel that you should all hear the real story behind what the Commander was just telling you. Most of what he did tell you is true, except for the fact that it was myself and not he who gave the order to launch the only nuclear weapon of the last world war.” My uncle started. It was then that I saw the same haunted look in his eyes as I did just a few days ago when Brian made the joke about the nuke. I guess I was just about to learn the reason behind it.
“It was during the final weeks of the war. The ship I was assigned to had a few days before taken up a position to help cover the entrance to the gulf. All the Senior officers and department heads were in a conference when several notices came in that were eyes only. One was telling us that a submarine attack was probable in the next 24 to 48 hours. The second was even more ominous. The second one was authorizing the use of nuclear weapons if such an attack came. After I had authenticated the second message, I had the assistant weapons officer take one person he trusted to arm the nuclear depth charge we had on board at this time. I was planning on informing the captain of this when the meeting he was in broke up in twenty minutes. I never got that chance. No sooner had I been told the task I gave the officer had been completed, when the attack I had been informed wouldn’t be happening for 24 hours happened. The first missile hit us just as I called for general quarters. That missile unfortunately hit the area just to the left of where all the senior people on the ship were having their daily meeting. Since I had command at the time, I immediately ordered the ship to flank speed on a course away from the engagement area.”
“So the other guy was right, you were a coward.” a dark haired boy said loudly.
“Not at all. Look at the facts. I had just had two missiles slam into my ship. At the same time we had lost four of the five other screening ships. I didn’t know how bad the damage was to my own ship at the time or how many more enemy subs or ships might be in the area. I did the only logical thing I could do. Put as much space between me and the attacking force as I could. I’m sure that all the ladies and gentlemen who have commanded ships in either war or peace would tell you the same thing.” Looking towards the back of room with most of the rest of the class I saw several people nodding in agreement.
“Anyway by this time, I had learned that all the senior people had been killed by the first hit and I was last remaining senior line officers.”
“Wait a minute, the commander had told us that you had just been promoted to Lieutenant. That means he should have taken command.”
“Unfortunately that not how the chain of command works on board ships. While the Commander at the time did outrank me he was an Engineering Officer. So he wasn’t able to take command while a line officer was still able to. I would have been more than happy to do this but the Chief of the Boat, or CoB, had explained that the other guy couldn’t take command until all line officers were either dead or unable to take command. After running down all people that could possibly take command from me it was discovered that I was last surviving line officer. Anyway, It was that this point I had announced what the two messages I had just received less than an hour before were and that I was going to be following through with the second message as soon as I had two other officers agree that the message was authentic and back me up giving the launch order. Of course, I turned first to the Commander to back me up since he was the most senior officer in the room. He declined to back me up on this and I relived him of duty and sent him down to assist with damage control. And regardless of what he might say, I’ve never held this decision against him. He had to do what he felt was right and I wasn’t going to force him to go against those beliefs. Well, we launched the weapon and as history shows the war ended a few weeks later with the downfall of the Russian hardliners that had seized control of their country to begin with.”
“Damn.” David muttered to me as My uncle moved aside a bit to let the teacher say some thing.
“Does anyone have any questions for the Admiral?” She asked.
“Is that what you got the Medal for?” One boy asked.
“How many people did you end up killing with that bomb? Another girl asked loudly. My uncle put his hands up to stem the flurry of question he was getting hit with.
“Son, if you’re referring to the Medal of Honor I hold, I received that for an incident that took place a couple of weeks before. And young lady to answer your question, I have no idea how many sailors lost their lives when I had to launch the weapon. I will tell you this, it was to many. Had the Russians come to us at the time they had started having fuel problems I’m sure our government would have done everything reasonably possible to help them out if it would have prevented the war we found ourselves faced with.” This last comment got a good deal of agreement from the more senior officers and enlisted people sitting
behind us.
“Colonel, I’m afraid that we won’t have time to hear your presentation today. If possible we would be more than happy to have you back tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry ma’am but my duties prevent me from coming..” The Marine Colonel started to answer before getting cut off by David’s dad.
“He would be happy to come back tomorrow Mrs. Stenberg. And I’ll be here tomorrow as planned as well.”
“It would be a pleasure to have you back before our class again.” We heard the bell ring a few seconds later and everyone started packing up their books and heading to their next class.
“Not so fast David. You aren’t going anywhere.” His dad said as he grabbed his son’s backpack as he walked past. Before anything could be said between the two the Marine Colonel came up to us.
“Admiral, I really need to be back on base tomorrow. My leave ends today.”
“Don’t worry about it Eric. I’ll give your base commander a call later tonight and ok an extension for you. Besides, I wouldn’t want to deprive the kids of some of the interesting stories you could tell them.”
“What stories would those be sir?”
“Oh, I don’t know. How about the still you had operating on back on the Schwarzenegger.” David’s dad said with a smile.
“Oh shit, you knew about that?” The Colonel replied turning red in the process.
“Yeah, I knew about that. Along with that floating casino you and your brother tried to keep hidden. Don’t worry the higher ups never found out about either one of them. It was me that had the CoB quietly shut the things down before the guys upstairs did find out. And let me tell you it was a close one.”
“Then I guess I owe you one then.” my uncle was told.
“Don’t worry about consider it as payment for that round you took for me a couple of weeks earlier.” The Marine was told seriously.
“If you don’t have any plans, how would you like to join us for lunch?” Ian asked.
“That’s very kind sir, but I already have plans to meet up with Aaron and his wife for lunch.”
“How about dinner then? It’s be good to see Aaron again. I haven’t seen him since he was medivac’d off the ship.”
“I’ll need to see if they have any plans, but even if they don’t accept I’d like to.” we were told.
“OK, here’s my number. Let me know how many people will be coming and we can get things set up.”
“I’ll be sure to do that, sir.” We were told with a salute as the other man walked off towards his car.
“You know Ian, this could be a very interesting party if you three start telling stories.” Steve said with a laugh as he pocketed his phone. I guess he was giving Anna the heads up about possible dinner guests.
“You know you might be right.” Ian replied with a laugh. To my relief, most of the conversation on the way to the restaurant centered away from the hearing I had that morning.
“So Ian how did the hearing go?” Steve asked suddenly after we had placed our order.
“It was an absolute slaughter.”
“If it went that bad, I’m surprised that Brad is here with us.”
“No, I mean it was a slaughter for the prosecutor. For a while there I though that he was going to get tossed in jail for contempt of court. Not that that would have been a bad thing. I won’t be surprised if he gets brought before a Bar review.” My uncle said before taking a small sip of his drink.
“But what was the final Out come dad?” David asked nervously.
“I’ll let Brad handle that one.” David was told with a smile.
“Well?” I was asked impatiently.
“They let me go for now. I guess later on I have to go back in for another trial.” I said softly.
“That’s not completely true Brad. Why don’t you show David that piece of paper in your coat pocket.” Ian suggested to me. With a shrug, I pulled the paper out of my pocket and handed it to my cousin. The next thing I knew David was almost knocking me out of my chair from the force of the hug he was giving me.
“OK David settle down. Since Brad doesn’t seem to fully understand what’s going on I’m going to need to explain it to him more clearly.” David was told by his dad.
“sorry sir.” David mumbled as he got back into his seat.
“It’s OK. Brad what that piece of paper says and what the judge said is that you’re free. You won’t be going back to the center.”
“But what if I’m bad or something?” I mumbled.
“Well, if you break one of the house rules then Steve or I will handle your punishment in a fitting manner. But as far as the courts are concerned, what you did in the past never happened.” My uncle explained to me. Though at the time I didn’t fully understand what he was telling me. Our meals came out a short time later, and the conversation switched to what my cousins had done in school that day.
“Dad would it be ok to have a small party for Brad this weekend. To introduce him to some of my friends and such?” David asked as we pulled up to the house.
“How many people were you thinking of?”
“I don’t know. Probably no more than fifty or sixty.” David told his dad simply. I thought maybe David was trying to pull a joke on me. That thought died a quick death.
“Hey! What about some of my friends?” Brian interjected.
“Hey, no fighting guys or I’ll nix the plans right now!” My cousins were told sternly by their dads.
“ Stop the list at Seventy and twenty people invited has to be from Brian’s group of friends. Now go get with Anna and set up a menu then get the invitations ready to be handed out at school tomorrow. And Speaking of school, Brian don’t forget that you’re staying home tomorrow since you have your doctor’s appointments.” my cousins were told as we walked through the door. I wasn’t sure what Brian’s doctor’s visit was about but I could tell that he wasn’t happy about it.
“Brad, why don’t you go up and change into some other clothes. I don’t want you to mess your suit up.” Steve told me as I followed David and my uncles into the kitchen.
“OK.” I answered and headed back towards the stairs. I was almost there when Ian spoke up.
“Just put some swim trunks on. It looks like you could use some sun.”
“OK, I’d like that.” I replied as I bounded up the stairs.
“Oh, man. That’s right.” I muttered to myself after I had gotten the suit off and started looking for some swim trunks and realized that I didn’t have any.
“Wait Brian offered me some the other day, I don’t think he’ll mind if I borrow some.” I added mentally a moment later. With just my skivies on, I headed out of my room and down the hall.
I thought I heard Brian tell me to come in when I knocked on his door a moment later so I opened the door and started to enter.
“NO! Don’t Come IN!” Brian practically yelled. However it was to late. I saw him standing there with a pair of wet pull-ups half way down his legs. I just stood there speechless for a moment before coming to my senses.
“I’m Sorry.” I stammered as I quickly backed out of the room. Closing the door behind me.
“What’s all the yelling about?” Steve asked behind me causing me to jump.
“Easy there.” I was told with a bit of a smile.
“I was going to ask Brian if I could borrow a pair of swim trunks And I thought he said to come in after I knocked on his door. And he was getting undressed from school when I started to walk in to his room.” I explained nervously.
“That shouldn’t be enough reason for..” Steve started to sat before he stopped suddenly.
“You said he was getting undressed from school?” I was asked.
“Yes sir.” Knowing that I was going to get in trouble at any second.
“Ah. Tell you what, why don’t you see if David has an old pair of trunks you can use for now and when Ian or I go out later we’ll pick you up a couple of pairs of trunks.” I was told as Steve stepped around me to enter Brian’s room.
“Could you tell him that I’m sorry that I walked in on him and that I won’t tell anyone.” I said looking at the floor.
“Hey, you didn’t do anything wrong. It was an accident. But I’ll be sure to tell Brian what you said.” Steve told me after kneeling down so he could look me in the eyes. I just nodded at this. And headed off to David’s room to get some trunks from him.
“What was Brian yelling for?” David asked as he came out of the bathroom as I walked into his room.
“I accidentally walked in on him while he was changing out of his school clothes.” I said, turning red again at the though of what I had done.
“Ah. Well you were bound to find out about that sooner or later. I’ll admit that Brian was kind of nervous about how you’d react to that little bit of information. Now that you know about it don’t be surprised if dad and Steve have a talk to you about it. So what were you needing to get from him anyway?” I was asked as David changed tracks on me.
“Oh, I was wanting to borrow some swim trunks. Uncle Ian thought he’d have an extra pair we’d be able to loan me.” I replied once I was able to shift my thoughts enough to answer him.
“Yeah, I might still have a pair that would fit you.” David said as he walked over to his dresser and started searching through one of the bottom drawers.
“Speaking of swimming, if you and Brian get home soon enough tomorrow do you think you’d be able to make it to my swim practice?” I was asked excitedly as David finally tossed me a pair of trunks.
“Those should fit you well enough.” I was told with a smile.
I was still trying to wrap my mind around the request my cousin had just made when I finally took a look at the trunks he had tossed me.
“Uh, David, I was needing some swim trunks not underwear.”
“Those are swim trunks.” I was told with a laugh as David pulled out a pair for himself. I was still giving the skimpy garment a wary look when I noticed that David had stripped all his clothes off and was climbing into the trunks he had gotten out for himself.
“So are you just going to stand there staring at those all night or are you going to put them on?” This broke me out of the trance I seemed to have gone into.
“Sorry.” I said turning red when I realized that I had been staring.
“No problem.” my cousin chuckled. Moments later I was stepping into the trunks I was being loaned. Once I had them on, I looked at myself in the mirror that was hanging on the closet door and could have sworn that I was wearing a pair of two sizes two small underwear.
“I guess those are a bit on the small side but they’ll do till we can get you some proper ones.” David laughed as he took me by the shoulders and moved me towards the door.
“We definitely need to go out and get you some decent trunks” Steve laughed as David and I walked through the kitchen.
“Is Brad OK with what happened?” I asked sheepishly.
“Yeah, you just startled him a bit. You aren’t the first person to find out about his problem like that.” I was informed with a smile.
“Everyone else is already in the pool go get your butts out there and out of my hair.” Steve said as slapped David’s and mine butts playfully. I was almost tempted to asked what hair, since Steve is bald, but didn’t want to press my luck with jokes like that.
Like Steve said everyone else was in the pool when David and I came out the door Brian and Uncle Ian were tossing one of the Trips between themselves with the Trip in question giggling his head off. The other two were being pulled around the shallow end of the pool by the dogs and seemed like they were having the time of their life. Both of them let go of the dog they were holding on to and started swimming awkwardly toward David and I the moment we entered the water. As I returned the hug that I had gotten, I heard Steve’s mom mutter something under her breath. For some reason this finally set me off. After handing the Trip I was holding to David and getting out of the pool, I walked over to the older lady and lit into her.
“Ma’am, I don’t know what I’ve done to piss you off like this, but if you’d going to bad mouth me at least have the decency to do so in English.” I told her heatedly and loudly before switching to the little bit of rusty Spanish I had picked up at Spring Hill before getting thrown in solitary. I guess every one in the pool not only heard me but understood me as well since it went deathly quiet the second I finished say what I did. I was surprised when Steve’s hand suddenly appeared in front of me catching his mom’s hand before it could complete the slap that she was sending my way.
“Don’t even think about it.” Steve told her coldly before turning to me.
“Brad I think maybe you should go up to your room and cool down for a while. I’ll have someone call you when it’s time for dinner.”
“Yes, sir.” I told him softly as I headed for the door but this wasn’t before I gave his mom a look that told her what I though of her.
After I got to my room and took a shower to wash what little chlorine I had on me off, I climbed into a fresh pair of briefs and shorts before going over and sat down on my bed. I started sobbing a bit when I realized that my dream of freedom and a family that really cared about me was going to be gone in less than twelve
hours after I had managed to finally get it. I barely even paid attention to the yelling I heard coming from patio area that was below the balcony off my bedroom.
“Man, I don’t think I’ve ever seen dad go off like that before.” Brian said in awe a few minutes later as he helped David usher their brothers up to their room to get them cleaned up from their time in the pool.
“Tell me about it. Your grandmother better be glad that the slap she was aiming at Brad didn’t connect.”
“I know. I don’t know what dad would have done then. I remember him telling me before she moved in with us that she tended to be a bit heavy handed when it came to discipline when he was growing up.”
“That to, but I was meaning Brad. You didn’t seem to catch the look he was giving her. I think he was almost wanting the excuse to go off on her.”
“Are you kidding, he did go off on her. I mean I don’t think anyone has ever had the balls to say something like he did to her face.” Brad told his brother with a laugh.
“Well, I’m not complaining. I’ve been wanting to say something like that to her for years. But I meant that Brad was wanting to off on her literally. And from what I’ve read and seen it wouldn’t have been pretty if he did.” David said as he helped Brian get their brothers into some clean diapers and clothes.
“What do you mean?” Brian asked as the last trip was sent out of the room.
“Come into my room after you’re done getting cleaned up and I’ll tell you.” With a curious look on his face Brian left to do as he was asked. Twenty minutes later both boys were sitting out on David’s balcony.
“You’ll need to be quiet about what I’m about to tell you. I’m not even supposed to know but I happened to read some of the information dad brought home about Brad. You know how dad and Steve told me to take things slow around Brad and any possible relationship between us.” David started softly so I wouldn’t be able to hear what they were saying. I was able to anyway.
“Yeah, they told us it seems that Brad had been abused by some of the inmates and for you not to push things along that line until they had a chance to have Dr. Genault talk to Brad about it.” Brian replied just as softly.
“Well, the other day I went into dad’s office to talk to him about how Brad started to freak out when I tried to take him to the arcade. Anyway, he wasn’t there so I decided to wait for him and saw Brad’s file on his desk. The section I happened to read dealt with the last time some of the older guys tried to have sex with him. Brad managed to break one of the guys neck and the other he busted the guys jaw, arm, and four ribs. And this was when he was Eight.”
“You mean the guy we ran into last night..?” Brian interrupted.
“Exactly. He was one of the two guys.”
“No wonder Brad wet himself a little when he saw the guy. But if he had his neck broken how could he be walking?”
“That was the guy that got his jaw broken. The guy whose neck Brad broke killed himself a few years later. I guess he couldn’t stand being in a wheelchair any longer.” All I heard of Brian’s response was a low whistle.
“That explains why the guy went ballistic when Brad asked him about his boyfriend.” Brian said a second later with a smile in his voice.
“Bri, that wasn’t the guy’s boyfriend, it was his brother.” David said simply.
“oh shit.”
“What’s more, I think those two are related to you.”
“What?!” Brian yelled
“Keep your voice down will you.” David said urgently.
“I’m not sure about that. It’s just that the file listed a person with your dad’s half-brother’s name. I remember a couple of years ago your dad and grandmother getting into a fight because Steve wouldn’t invite them for the holidays.”
“I think I remember that a little. Grandmother barely even spoke to dad at all that year.”
“Right and if it’s true then this would explain why she would take such a hatred towards Brad.” David said. Before the conversation could go any further I heard the intercom in David’s room go off and Uncle Ian saying that it was time for dinner. By the time I heard Brian knocking on my bathroom door, I was already back in bed trying to wrap my mind around what I had just heard and if it was true. At the time I didn’t have any reason to doubt it.
“Brad, I said dinner was ready.” Brian called again this time opening the door.
“Yeah, I heard. Could you let them know that I don’t really feel hungry right now.” I told him softly from the darkness. I figured that I probably wouldn’t have anything to eat till breakfast the next morning but I just needed the time to be alone right then.
“I’ll let them know.” I was told as I heard the door close.
“Where’s Brad?” Steve asked as his son came into the room.
“He said he wasn’t very hungry right now.”
“I’ll go up and have him come down. What happened is no reason to hide from everyone.” Steve said as he got up from his chair and giving his mother a pointed look as he did so.
“Steve, let’s leave the boy alone for now. It’s obvious he needs some time to think some things out. I’ll check on him later.” Ian said to his husband while placing a gentle hand on his arm. This just garnered a small nod as Steve took his seat again. Most of the conversation now being around the party that was planned for the coming weekend.
“Brad you feeling better now?” I was asked several hours later when my uncle came into check on me.
“I didn’t mean to kill him.” I sobbed as my uncle sat on the edge of the bed.
“Didn’t mean to kill who?” I was asked with some concern.
“The guy at Spring Hill. I didn’t mean to kill him.” I cried even harder.
“Brad, you didn’t kill him he killed himself. You were just trying to protect yourself.” I was told as I was pulled into a tight hug and my uncle figured out what I was referring to.
“How did you find out about that anyway?” I was asked gently once I had calmed down.
“I overheard David and Brian talking about it.”
“What else did you hear?” I was asked and soon found myself replaying the entire conversation.
“Don’t worry about any of that now. It’s in the past. Dwelling on it won’t help.” I was told softly.
“There’s some dinner for you on the desk. I want you to eat everything OK?” I just nodded as I felt my uncle get to his feet.
“You aren’t going to beat David and Brian are you?”
“No. Absolutely Not. But I am going to have a talk with them about this.” I was informed gently but firmly.
“Could you let Steve know that I’m sorry about what I did to his nephew and that I hope he doesn’t hate me for it.”
“Brad, Steve and I have talk about this at length when I found out you were still alive and wanted you to come live with us. He doesn’t blame you for what happened to his nephew. I will give him your message though.” My uncle said as he left the room. I soon caught the smell of the food that was brought up to me and my stomach made it’s displeasure known about my waiting so long to feed it. Once I was done eating, I still didn’t feel like eating so I grabbed the book I had started a few days before and got back into bed. Though I knew my reading skills were below what they should be, I was glad that I was still able to get some books from the center’s library while I was in solitary.
“Brad, lights out will be five minutes. I thought I’d come in and give you a hand getting ready for bed.” Steve called from the doorway jerking me out of the phase out I was in.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to scare you.” I was told with a smile.
“Brain said you tried the cloth diapers last night . So I thought we’d go the same route tonight. Also, Ian told me what you told him earlier and I want you to know that I don’t hold anything against you for what happened. As you’ve discovered , my mom is another story. I’ve already made it clear to her that that subject is off limits and if she has a problem with it she can find another place to live. Just ignore what ever she might say to you. I know your cousins already do for the most part” Steve said with a grin as he pulled my shorts and underwear down. Normally I would have been close to red lining in panic but for some reason this didn’t happen. In fact, as the diapering went along I became more relaxed.
“Try to get some sleep you have a very busy day tomorrow.” I was told softly as Steve pulled some plastic pants up over the thick night diapers that he had just put me into.
“Thanks for understanding .” I said a moment later as I was helped under the covers and had them tucked in around me.
“It’s OK. Goodnight, Champ.” I was told as Steve kissed my forehead lightly. That night the nightmares weren’t nearly as bad as they normally were and at one point I could have sworn that I felt that my father was in the room smiling down at me.
“Get up Bad! Get up!” A small voice called out. Before I could do anything I felt one of my eyelids being pulled open and bright light came pouring into it.
“UH.. I’m UP I’m UP!!” I yelled as I flipped my arm over my face to shield it from the light. I was about to move the weight from my chest when I heard the door crash open and the weight on my chest was joined by even more.
“OK! OK! I’m UP Already!!” I called. On removing my arm from my face and opening my eyes I found that the weight on my chest was Devon and all three of the dogs.
“Now this is definitely a Kodak moment.” A voice laughed from the doorway to my room as a flash went off. Looking that way, I saw that both of my uncles were standing in the door and Steve was holding a camera. I soon had two other giggling toddlers joining their brother in his assault on me.
“Some help would be nice.” I laughed while trying to fend off not only the Trips but the dogs as well.
“I guess we can help him now that we’re sure he won’t fall back asleep.” Ian laughed as he grabbed to of the Trips and tossed them over his shoulder while Steve did the same to the third. As I started to get out of bed, I noticed that I must have wet my night diapers even more at some point during my wake up attack since they were now to the point of almost falling off.
“Hurry up and get a shower, get dressed, and join us downstairs. So you can get something to eat before Brian and David eat everything.” Steve said with a laugh right before he took a couple of more pictures with me standing there in just my pee soaked diapers.
“Steve!!!” I yelled as he ran out of the room with the giggling toddler still over his shoulder.
Twenty minutes later I was joining everyone at the table. Steve had this goofy smile on his face as I sat down.
“I want those photos. I told him seriously.
“Sure I can get you some copies of them.” I was told by the still grinning man. Feeling that at this point it was a losing battle I concentrated more on eating.
“David, I’ll be giving you a lift to school today since I have that presentation to make to your class today. And Steve if you could use my car to get the boys to their appointments. I have some errands to run afterwards.” Ian announced as the meal wound down.
“That’s fine. Brian, since Brad has more than just one appointment you need to bring a book or something along with you to keep you busy during the rest of them.” Steve replied and told his son. I was getting a bit nervous with all the appointments I had and I guess Steve was picking up on this some.
“Don’t worry Brad, they’re just a basic doctors appointment then one with the hearing and eye doctor. It‘s nothing major. The Doctor‘s appointment might be since we‘ll be having them run some tests to find out why you have the problem with sleep wetting and what we can do to help you past what we already are.” I was told honestly. I didn’t really like hearing the last part brought up but if they could find out what might be causing my nightly accidents and do something to get me out of diapers then I was all for it.
“Mr. Levinston, Dr. Banks will see you now.” I heard the nurse say. Brad and I both stood up with Steve and headed over to the nurse.
“I’m sorry sir, but the doctor just asked for you to join him. I’m sure the boys won’t mind waiting.” We were told as we got to where she was standing.
“What room?” my uncle asked simply.
“Room Twelve. But the boys really need to wait in the main room.” The nurse said to our retreating backs.
“Come in.” A voice answered after Steve knocked on the door.
“Uh, Mr. Levinston I really just wanted to talk to you for the moment.” We were told as we walked through the door.
“I know that’s what the nurse said out front.” the doctor was told as all three of us sat down.
“Then I think the boys should wait outside then.”
“Doc, does what you have to tell me concern the boys’ health in any way?”
“Well, yes, it does concern the results of the tests we ran.”
“Then I think it’s necessary for the boys to be here to hear what you have to say don’t you.”
“Possibly, but I think it would be better for me to explain the results to you first.” the doctor answered a bit flustered.
“That would be a waste of time because whatever you tell me you would just have to repeat to the boys. This way you don’t have to say the same thing twice. Now what did the test results show?” Finally getting the drift of what he was being told the doctor sat back down and opened a file.
“OK, We’ll start with Brian’s results since they’ll be the quickest. His tests came back almost the same as when we ran them six months ago. The nerves and muscles of his bladder are still showing marked weakness and slightly more degeneration that they did last time. This means, of course, that his day time will decrease even further and his night control will still be nonexistent. The good point to this is that while he has lost a little more of his day control the weakening has come to a complete standstill. This means that he’ll still have some control during the day. Unfortunately, since he’s allergic to the line of drugs we’d normally use to treat this problem we can’t go that route. The only other option would be surgery and implant an artificial bladder. Like Dr. Grant had explained last time, we’d prefer to wait till Brian is in his late teens to try this procedure to give his body the most time to grow and mature. Of course, the final choice on this is up to you and your partner.” We were told.
“Brian do you have any questions” Steve asked.
“What could happen if we were to do the surgery now?” Brian asked.
“If we were to try it now then there’s the chance that it would leave Brian completely incontinent. By waiting we see if the body could possibly repair this damage itself. The fact that the degeneration is almost fully stopped is a good sign. At the least, we might be able to give Brian exercises later on that could help him regain day control at least. From what I can tell right now, it’s doubtful we can do anything to help with the night control. This could change though and it’s why we would prefer to wait. Aside form his bladder problems he’s completely healthy.” The doctor said addressing Steve. I could tell that this was the wrong thing to do.
“And what about Brad’s results?” The doctor was asked tersely
“Brad’s results are a bit more complicated. His bedwetting ,it seems, is the result of a bladder infection that had been left to long before being treated and was not entirely cured. This weakened the muscles of his bladder. For now, I’m going to be starting him on some diuretics and a mild antibiotic to clear up the rest of the infection and flush his system. Once his bladder has had a chance to recover we’ll bring him back in to run the tests again to see how everything is doing and go from there with his treatment if anything more is required. The rest of the tests show that he’s slightly malnourished should be about four inches taller and about fifteen to twenty pounds heavier than he is. I would suggest changing his diet to something a bit healthier than it has been and start making sure he’s getting some more exercise instead of letting him sit around the house all day. Are there any questions?” We were asked that id saying yes would be a major problem for the doctor to answer. I thought Steve was going to go off on the guy sitting in front of us.
“No, that should take care of everything. If any questions arise, We’ll take them up with Dr. Branford when he returns from vacation next week.” Steve said as he stood up. I got the feeling that any questions Uncle Ian had wasn’t going to be the only thing that got taken up with their regular doctor on his return. Without another word, we left the office for my other appointments.
We got home just in time for lunch. Steve dropped up off and told us that he had some things to do and would be back in an hour or so.
“Anna would it be Ok for us to eat up on Brad’s balcony?” Brian asked on seeing his grandmother already sitting at the table.
“I don’t see a problem with that. I’ll get a tray set up for you boys. Would you mind feeding Dev, Ryan, and Andy as well?”
“Sure we can do that. I doubt they’ll mind very much.” I replied before Brian could say anything. The food was quickly set up on a tray and as I was carrying it up the stairs I saw Brian stop and grab a picnic blanket.
“I’ll send the Trips in while I take care of something.” I was told as we carried these items into my room.
“That’s fine.” I said with a knowing smile. I chuckled a bit when Brian sent the boys in wearing just their diapers. From the looks of them, I could tell they had just woken up from a nap. All three of them started smiling and rushed towards me when they came into the room. I can’t even say how good it made me feel any time this happened. It made me feel that people actually cared about my well being.
“Lunch?” I got in stereo when the boys saw the food laid out.
“Not till Brian gets back.” I laughed as I quickly gabbed all three boys before they got near the food or more importantly the balcony’s ledge.
“You guys didn’t need to wait for me.” Brian said as he walked back into my room. It was all I could do to keep from smiling when I saw Brian wearing just a T-shirt and some type of pull-up.
“I figured it would be more comfortable this way. Not to mention easier to clean up.” Brian only muttered the last part but I didn’t like to think what he meant by it.
“You guys go ahead and start eating. I need to use the bathroom really quick.” I stated as I headed that way at almost a run. Just as I was finishing washing my hands I heard Brian yell franticly. Racing out of the bathroom and onto the balcony, I saw that one of the Trips was turning a bit blue and grabbing at his throat.
“Go Get Anna!” I yelled at Brian as I raced over to choking boy. I still don’t know how I knew what to do but after checking to see if the object could be removed easily, I started giving the Heimlich maneuver. I didn’t notice Steve’s mom coming into the room till I felt Andy getting pulled out of my arms. This was just after I had managed to dislodge whatever it was he had been choking on. Before I could say anything, I felt myself getting pushed harshly backwards. Without having the time to brace myself, I felt myself flipping over the balcony’s railing. I felt weightless for a few moments before the patio came rushing up for me. I didn’t even have a chance to cry out before I hit the edge of the pool and darkness took me.