Shadow of my Father - 35. Chapter 35

As Principal Michaels watched the students eat breakfast and talk amongst themselves, he made sure to keep an extra close eye on Elizabeth. He wanted to make sure whatever happened the day before wouldn't happen again. Elizabeth promised that it was over and she wouldn't try anything again. Still, Principal Michaels felt that Elizabeth wasn't the type of person that was willing to let things go until she got her complete revenge.

Just as the cafeteria was starting to fill up, Principal Michaels got a call over the walkie-talkie. His secretary asked him to return to his office because he had a visitor. As he walked out of the cafeteria, he instructed the guards to keep a close eye on Elizabeth. He explained what he was thinking, and the guards agreed with him.

On his way back to the office, Principal Michaels caught several students writing on the lockers. He pulled them along with him to his office. Once they got to the office, he asked the students to sit down and wait until he had time to deal with them. He walked over to his secretary to see who pulled him away from the cafeteria.

The secretary pointed towards his office and whispered that the School Superintendent was waiting for him in his office. Principal Michaels asked his secretary to have one of the assistant principals come down and deal with the two students that he had brought in.

He explained what they were doing and left the punishment up to the assistant principal. The secretary immediately picked up the phone and called one of the assistant principals down as Principal Michaels walked to his office. He had no idea why the Superintendent needed to speak with him.

He walked into his office, closed his door and made his way to his desk. Before sitting down, Principal Michaels asked the Superintendent if he wanted anything to drink. He asked for cup of coffee so Principal Michaels got a cup for himself as well as the Superintendent and sat down.

"Let me start out by saying this, you walked into the school with a mess on your hands. You have done a great job fixing things here. When I selected you, I knew I picked the right person for the job because we haven't had any lawsuits since you took over; unlike your predecessor.

With that said, I don’t like getting calls at home from concerned parents. More so when that concerned parent is the Governor. Governor Lopez wasn't happy with you on many fronts. He made it clear to me that he tried to speak with you, and it seemed to him that you were not willing to work with him.

We are having problems dealing with his kids at school. From that substitute teacher carrying a gun, to the ongoing issues with the other student here at school, you continue to step in and keep the security detail around the Governor's kids from doing their job. What did you do with the student that tried to harm the Governor's son yesterday?"

"With all due respect to the Governor, this is my school. When anything happens here, it is up to me to decide the punishment that the student gets. The Governor does not have the complete story about what the student did or why she did what she did. Once I heard her side of the story, I had to let it go.

The student in question got jumped by one of the Governor's son’s friends. A friend of the Governor’s son not only wrote on her face, but put something in her hair that caused it to fall out. Being a teenager she wanted revenge, and that is who she was after, not Josh."

"To be completely honest with you, I don’t care why she did what she did. She was instructed to stay away from the Governor’s son, and she didn't. I don't care if she didn't mean harm to the Governor’s son, but she attacked another student. The student can no longer be at this school, I can’t make that any clearer to you."

"If I suspend or expel Elizabeth, I will have to do the same thing to Josh's friend Bernice. I am pretty sure, if you let the Governor know this, he will drop his request. I really do believe nothing more is going to happen from this day forward."

"You gave me that same assurance the last time we had an issue dealing with this student and here we are again. Your word is becoming less and less credible, each time you give it. You are risking your career on just one student. She has shown over and over again that she won’t stop until she gets what she wants."

Principal Michaels leaned back in his chair trying to figure a way out of this. He knew one thing was for sure, anything dealing with the Governor's kids needed to be dealt with immediately and with as much tact as possible. They couldn't get away with things, but at the same time, they were allowed special privileges that they were unaware of.

"This friend of Josh's that Elizabeth claimed hurt her. Why didn't you deal with that student when it happened? I understand that Elizabeth got attacked last week, if I'm not mistaken. She's just now coming forward and telling you that it was a friend of Josh's that harmed her? That would make me think that she's trying to find a way out of what she did. Don’t you think so as well?"

"When Elizabeth was attacked, I thought it was one of Josh's friends. I knew it wasn't Josh, but it was one of his friends. Since Elizabeth wouldn’t tell me, I couldn't do a thing about it at that time. Now that I know, I can actually suspend and or expel Bernice. So let me ask you this, are you sure you want me to expel Elizabeth?"

"I'm tired of this game you're playing and since you don’t want to do your job, I will. Immediately, you will expel Elizabeth and send her to an alternative school. I am getting tired of her being a thorn in my side. As far as Bernice is concerned, you will leave it alone for now.

Elizabeth may be telling the truth that it was Bernice that attacked her but we don’t know that for certain. Elizabeth has lied so much to us, we can’t believe a word that comes out of her mouth. She had a chance to tell you who did this to her the day it happened. She chose not to do so and this is the end result.

You can’t do anything to Bernice by the uncorroborated word of Elizabeth. If someone else comes forward and backs up Elizabeth's story, then we will look at it again. To tell you the truth I really won’t believe anyone from this date forward that claims they saw it. Basically the attack on Elizabeth is a dead issue, and she can only blame herself for that. She chose to take the punishment upon herself to deliver instead of letting you deal with it like what should have happened."

The Superintendent put down his cup on Principal Michaels’ desk as he got up from his seat. Principal Michaels got up and escorted him out. As they reached the front of the building, they nodded and shook each other's hand. Before leaving, the Superintendent reassured Principal Michaels that he is still doing a great job.

Principal Michaels walked back to his office and asked his secretary to get Elizabeth for him. He is not to happy that decision has been taken out of his hands, but at the same time he is kind of glad that the Superintendent is making him do this. At least now, everything should calm down; once Elizabeth is gone.

Josh and Cesar got their breakfasts, but didn't sit at their normal table. Instead, they sat at another table that they found empty. Cesar kept looking over at the others as he ate. He caught everyone at the other table at least once looking over at them.

"Josh, do you ever think that you will forgive Eric and the others? I have looked over at the table several times and it looks like they regret what happened. That gets me thinking that I really don't think they meant what happened yesterday."

"You need to stop looking over there at the other table Cesar! From this moment on, we are no longer friends with them. If you don’t agree with me, that's fine. You can go over there and talk with them whenever you want to and I won’t hold it against you. I have never once told you who you can be friends with. I am not that kind of boyfriend. I hope you understand that."

Cesar just nodded his head and turned his attention back to eating. He had hoped that Josh thought it through that night and changed his mind. Now he knew that Josh has no plans to let Eric or the others off the hook. Eric went too far this time and there was no coming back from it. The bridge was burned beyond repair so it seemed.

Instead of going up to the library after they finished eating, Josh and Cesar went outside where the school buses park. Not once did they talk about Eric and the others as they sat there. They talked about everything else under the sun, except that one subject. Cesar couldn't wait for the bell ring and end this uncomfortable conversation.

During the first two periods, Eric kept trying to get Josh's attention. Every time he tried, Josh simply ignored him and worked on the assignment or looked straight forward at the teacher. When the bell rang to dismiss them from second period, Eric caught up to Cesar and pulled him to the side of the hall.

"What's it going to take to get Josh to talk with me? I know I fucked up and I need to correct that. Everyone is angry with me for letting Josh know about the conversations we had in private. None of what was said in private should have ever been revealed to Josh; at least not the way I did it and I know that now."

"You still haven’t learned from the mistake that you made. Come on, you have known Josh a lot longer than I have. You should have known what would have gotten him angry and could have ended a friendship. This talking behind his back can’t continue if you ever want to become friends with him again. I can only do so much. It's squarely on your shoulders to correct this. What you need to do is remember that you're a friend Josh. If you do that, you will figure out how to approach him."

"The problem Cesar, is that he won’t even look at me or the others. I am the one that screwed up and I should be the one in the doghouse. Everyone in the group shouldn’t end up losing Josh as a friend. I think first what we need to do, or should I say, you need to do, is get Josh to be friends with the others. After that I will deal with me and him."

"I really don't know what else to tell you, because you still don’t get it. What you told Josh yesterday included everyone else. You made it clear to Josh that you all have talked behind his back, not just you and that hurt the rest of them. We all talked behind each others backs, but we never let the person know nor did we ever talk negative about each other. You guys talked negative about Josh and that’s the bottom line here. Think about that and put yourself in his shoes. What would you do if you found out what he found out yesterday? I promise that you would have reacted the same way."

Cesar left Eric standing there against the wall thinking about the conversation. He barely made it to class in time as the tardy bell rang. He walked over to his seat and pulled out his books as he sat down. He hoped that he got through to Eric and this awkwardness would be over very soon. Cesar thought how nice it would be when things got back to normal.

Josh never once looked over at Cesar when he walked in. He didn't even need to ask Cesar what the conversation between he and Eric was all about. He already knew, and he really didn't care at this point. He wanted to just move on and either make new friends or become a loner. That was one of the conclusions Josh had come to the night before. It might be best for him to not really make many friends because they will get tired of the security detail really fast.

During lunch, Josh and Cesar did the same thing. They got their tray of food, but once again, they didn't sit with the others. Instead, they sat at another table on the other side of the cafeteria. They sat there eating in silence, not saying a word to each other. All of a sudden, they heard someone clearing their throat. At the same time, Josh and Cesar looked up to see who it was.

"I know this looks weird,” Emma started talking as she looked down at Josh. “but I really don't know what else to do. Somehow, we became enemies, and I really don't know how that happened. I haven’t got anything against someone being gay or being different. At the same time, I never abandoned a friend. I need your help, and I know your first instinct is going to be to say ‘no’ to what I want to ask you, but hear me out before you do.

Principal Michaels dropped everything dealing with Elizabeth. He just let her go back to class with a promise she will leave you and your friends alone. From the conversation they had yesterday, to this morning, your father spoke to either the Principal or someone higher up. Elizabeth got called back in to Principal Michaels’ office and was expelled. I know she is a really big pain in the ass, but she is my friend. Can you please talk with your father and ask him to let her come back to school?"

"Let me say this first, Emma. I agree with you I don’t know how we became enemies, but we have. I hope in time, we can overcome whatever caused us to become enemies. As far as Elizabeth is concerned, there is nothing I can do for her. Once my father makes up his mind, no one will be able to change it."

"He is your father, and he will listen to you if you ask him to do you a favor. I know this is a favor you don’t want to ask your father for. I'm not asking you to ask on behalf of Elizabeth I am asking to ask on behalf of me. Once again I do realize that we are not friends and I am asking you this, but you can see how much I really want my friend back."

"I can’t go back to my father and ask him for a favor that I already asked him in the past. Emma, he had his mind made up seeing to it Elizabeth was expelled the time that she helped those guys try to kidnap me. I asked him then not to expel her and let her stay here at school. He was completely against it, but he did it for me. I can’t go back to him again and ask for that. I already know the answer and the answer will be ‘absolutely not’ without question."

Emma nodded her head and walked off. As she walked off, Chris and Rusty walked up to Josh and Cesar. At first, they just stood there not saying a word hoping that Josh would just invite them to sit down. When they saw that Josh was not going to ask them to sit down, Chris broke the silence.

"Not once have I ever talked behind your back.You know how hard I worked to become friends with you again. I don’t want to lose you again Josh. It hurt too much the first time, and I don’t want to feel that hurt again. I really want us to stay friends and I hope you do as well."

Josh waved them over to join him and Cesar at the table. Chris sat next to Cesar on the other side of the table, and Rusty sat next to Josh. They shook each others’ hands before anyone replied to what Chris had said. Josh is the one that broke the silence and started talking.

"In time, I believe, we all will be friends again. I have known Eric for way too many years to end our friendship now. At the same time, though, you guys know what it is going to take to stay friends with me. My dad is trying to give us a normal life as much as is possible, but there are going to be some things I won’t be able to do. You guys need to be able to take the good with the bad. If you can’t, just walk away now."

Chris didn't say a word while Josh explained to him and Rusty about what to expect from this day forward. They sat there in the cafeteria talking about plans for the weekend. When the bell rang, they still hadn't decided what to do. So they put it off until after school to decide on what to do and then let Jonathan know about their plans.

Martha was in her cell, wondering what was taking so long to get the paperwork done. She has been up and back from court and had been in her cell for over three hours now and still nothing. She pulled her wheelchair to the bed, and maneuvered onto it. Just as she wheeled herself out of her cell, the PA came on. The guard spoke over the speaker yelling out her name followed by B and B. She had no idea what the abbreviations meant until one of the other inmates yelled out from their door to her.

"Don't you want to go home? They just told you to grab all your stuff and be ready when they open the gate."

Martha didn't need to be told twice. She turned her chair around and rolled as quickly as she could back into her room grabbing everything that she planned to take with her and leaving the things she didn't want before heading to the gate. Just as she reached the gate, the guard put the key in to open it.

The guard looked in and saw that Martha didn't have her mattress. "You can’t leave without bringing your mattress out. If you plan to go home you need to bring your mattress with you."

"Sir, how am I supposed to pick up that mattress when I limited to this chair. I had help from another person when I arrived. She carried two mattresses and brought mine into this room. If you help me put the mattress on the chair, I can hold on to it as I wheel down the hall."

"No, just leave it there and I'll have a trustee get it later on. Just make sure you have your blanket, towel and razor. You will need to turn in all three of them before getting your personal street clothes back."

Martha turned and wheeled herself back in to her room to get her towel. Once she had the three items the guard told her she needed. She headed back to the gate and waited for it to open. Once she got out of the gate and into the hall, the guard checked all of her stuff before heading to the elevator. She got down to the third floor, the guard handed her over to another. He helped her into the holding tank, while they finished processing her paperwork.

By the time they finished doing the paperwork and gave her clothes back, it took another hour. The last things she needed were her personal belongings such as her watch, belt and money. Once she got those, they wheeled her back to the elevator and down to the first floor. As the elevator door opened, she spotted her friend waiting for her.

"I started to think they decided to keep you in there! Man did it take forever to get them to release you. When I talked to your attorney I understood you should have been out of there hours ago." Kimberly walked over to the guard and took the wheelchair from him to start pushing Martha out the door.

"Believe it or not, I thought the same thing. It took them forever to release me. It took less time for me to go to court and come back than it took them to get the paperwork done to get me out of there. I spent an hour just getting my clothes, can you believe that?"

"To be completely honest with you Martha, I do believe it. These people that work here don’t care how long it takes to release anybody. They get paid no matter how many people they release during a shift."

Martha laughed as she agreed with Kimberly about how lazy the guards were. When they arrived at Kimberly's car, Kimberly helped Martha into the front seat. Once Martha got settled, Kimberly folded up the wheelchair and put it in the back seat. She secured the wheelchair and got into the car.

As they headed to Kimberly's house, they talked about what laid ahead of them. Both of them knew it wasn't going to be easy. Once the press found out that Martha got released, they wouldn't stop bothering her until they got their questions answered. Right now, the press had no idea that Martha was staying at Kimberly's house, but they figured they would find out.

Jonathan was greeted by his sister the minute he walked in the door with Josh and Cesar. Isabella whispered into her brother’s ear that the Governor was holding on the phone for him. Jonathan nodded and walked into the study to take the call in private. As soon as he sat at the desk, he picked up the phone and greeted the Governor.

"I'd like to believe Jonathan, that I am a very fair and just person. When you sat in that study and took the job of heading my sons’ security detail, I made it very clear what I wanted done. We have had this conversation several times after that and to be completely honest with you; I am getting tired of this conversation. I have so many other things on my plate right now; I don't have the time to keep calling you on this issue. I am paying you to do a job, not for me to do it for you.

We had a conversation about Elizabeth and the very next day you went against what I wanted done. To top that off you didn't put it in your report. I found out about the altercation from reports filed by another security agent under you. Do you care to explain why you chose to leave off the altercation between Elizabeth and my son?"

Jonathan had no idea how to answer his boss. With this conversation, he was now starting to think that maybe he took on responsibilities for which he was not ready. He also knew that there had been many mistakes since they came back from Austin that were looking bad on his part. He couldn't believe how bad this week was turning out.

"Sir, I know we spoke about the Elizabeth issue last week. There was no excuse for me not putting the altercation from yesterday in my report. We successfully stopped her from getting close to your son, but the principal demanded to take care of her himself. I resisted at first, but eventually I did fold. The reason I did that was out of respect to the principal."

"I don’t care whose feelings are hurt or who thinks we are stepping on their feet. If someone tries to hurt one of my kids, you take them down with whatever force is necessary. I spoke with the Superintendent last night and got it taken care of. She is now expelled from the school and you should not have any more problems with her, at least at the school. This is what should have been done; by you, not me.

Another thing, I know your job is hard as it is. Having teenage kids to guard, it makes it even harder for you guys to do your job. With that said, you know the promise I made to my kids. They are going to have as close to a normal life as possible. You can’t keep my kids prisoners in their own home. They are teenagers and they want to go places when they're not in school. Do what you can to let them have as normal of a life as possible but at the same time keep them safe. If you feel going to a certain place threatens their safety, then don't do it."

"With your two oldest and your youngest sons, it's a lot easier to keep them safe whenever they are out and about. People know who they are, but they really don't get that close to them. With Josh, it is a totally different story. Because of that, it makes it harder for us to keep him safe.

Let me explain what I mean about Josh's security. We know for fact that he was the one that your ex-wife tried to kill. On top of that, we have the nuts coming at us from all directions because he is gay. Add that with him being your son, the son of the Governor, it is hard to keep him secure. We feel the best solution is to limit exposure of your son to the public. That is the only way we are going to be able to really protect Josh."

"I don’t believe that and that is not what you are there for. Yes you're going to have nuts coming at you from all sides because of who Josh is, but you're going to have to deal with it. And yes, my ex-wife was shooting at Josh and nobody else. But why should my son be limited on doing what he wants to do because of my ex-wife and crazy people? I don’t want to sit here another evening and read another report from one of the agents stating that you denied letting Josh go with his friends."

"You won’t get any more reports like that again, Sir. If we can secure the location where your son wants to go, we will go. I am just worried that Josh is going to be hurt by some loony out there. Josh and your other sons are like my brothers. I don’t want any harm to come to any of your children."

Jonathan and the Governor went down a list of where Josh can go without a week’s notice. After they finished with that, Governor Lopez broke the bad news to Jonathan; the news about Martha getting bail and now being free on the streets again. As the Governor gave complete details on how Martha got bail, Jonathan couldn't believe it.

Before letting the Governor go, Jonathan promised that he would make sure extra precautions were put in place now that Martha was on the street again. The Governor didn’t care what or how Jonathan planned to keep his family safe; as long as he did it.

Josh and Cesar completed their homework way before dinner. They headed down to the den to watch some TV since they actually had time to spare. When they walked into the den, Brandon and several of his friends were sitting on the floor playing a game. Josh and Cesar called ‘next’ and sat down.

They played all the way up to dinner. It took Rose to call them three times, to get them away from the TV. Brandon asked his friends to stay for dinner, but they couldn’t. So Brandon walked them to the door, while Josh and Alex walked to the table. Once Brandon joined them, they started to eat.

As soon as they finished eating, Brandon, Josh and Cesar raced back to the den to take the game off of pause! They didn’t know that their grandmother had turned it off when they left to eat. With her doing that, they lost where they were in the game. It didn’t bother them. They just bet each other that they could get back to where they were faster than before.

Taking turns, they played until bedtime. Isabella actually let them stay up a little longer so they could reach a spot in the game where they could save where they were. Once they did that, they ran upstairs and went to bed. It didn’t take long for Josh or Cesar to fall asleep once they got under their covers.

With what was going on back at home and not getting his first bill through the State Houses fast enough, Governor Lopez couldn’t sleep again. He felt like he was letting the people of Texas that put him in this position, down. They have had too many Governors take the office and blame the other side for their inability to get things done. Governor Lopez didn't want the past to come back to haunt him

Instead of trying to force himself to sleep, he got up and went to his office. He figured if he was not going to get any sleep, he might as well do something with his time, earning the pay that he was getting from the people of this State.

The Governor picked up the reports from yesterday that the security details had sent him. He went through them quickly, not finding anything that needed his immediate attention. After reading the reports, Governor Lopez pulled out the next bill he wanted to put before the State Houses. There were a couple things he needed to do to it before it got to that point.

One of the things the Governor prided himself on, was that he wrote the majority of his bills that he sent before the state houses. With the help from his administration, he molded the bills the way he wanted them to be. In his mind, that was the only way he was going to fulfill the promises that he made to the voters. He needed to be part of the bill writing process of each bill he sent down.

As he reached the end, the phone started to ring. Governor Lopez almost jumped out of his seat. It is way too early for anyone to be awake. That meant the caller on the other end had to be someone from home. The Governor answered the phone, holding the fear back in hopes whoever was on the other end didn’t hear the fear in his voice.

“Good morning Governor Lopez! I’m sorry for bothering you so early in the morning! I have some great news that I couldn’t wait any longer to deliver to you. I know you are like me in getting up earlier than anyone else.”

“That is true Al and good morning back to you. You are never a bother to me. In fact, I'm always glad to hear you on the other end of the line. It seems whenever you call, I get good news. So what is the good news you have for me today?”

“Well Governor, I was on the phone all evening yesterday and finished the calls just moments ago. The first thing I needed to make sure of is that we still have the democrats voting for your bill, and we do. I moved on to get the other votes you needed to get the bill passed and on your desk. As of last night, we had the votes to get it done. This morning I lined up even more votes in both houses to get the bill through without a hiccup.

What I am trying to say is when the houses go into session this morning, they will vote on your bill. By lunch, both houses should have the bill passed and on your desk without you breaking a sweat. Then you can sign it when you are ready to do so.”

“Now that is indeed great news Al, great news. I didn’t even know that you were making the calls to get the bill passed and on my desk today. What did you give up in order to get the bill out of the houses and on my desk? They had to ask for something to get their vote. I have learned they are all greedy and out for themselves.”

“I didn’t give them one thing. I knew that you wanted the bill as is, no changes. They did ask for things, but I told them ‘no’. They need to stop thinking that they were going to get something for their vote. I made it very clear to them, what they get is their jobs and a pay check. No longer will one district get more than the others.”

“I love the way you do business Al. I agree with you one hundred percent. No district should get more because of their elected official being slimier than the others. Those are the days of the past and they need to get used to it. I won’t give them everything and leave the voters of this State without anything.

You did a great job Al! I can’t ask for anything more than what you have done for me. As soon as the bill passes, I will be sending my next bill to the floor. This next bill is going to be even harder to pass, but it needs to be done.

It hits them right where it counts, the pocket book. I feel very strongly that the legislators here in Austin and in Washington should feel the pinch just like the regular Americans do. My next bill does just that. The long and short of it, the bill freezes pay increases to every legislator here in Austin, including me. It also brings their pay back down to earth.

I believe if they pass a bill they say is good for all Texans, they should have to do it as well. In other words if this bill passes as is, they will no longer get the huge breaks between sessions like they do. They will get the normal holidays off like all Americans do, but not months at a time. I am replacing it with earned pay vacation, just like everyone else has to do. Every change I am doing hits me as well. This bill also does…….”

Al sat there listening to the Governor go through his next bill, point by point. He has never heard of a Governor of any State willing to go this far to bring the legislators back to the level of the voters. Al felt it was about time there was a Governor willing to do that. Hopefully, after he passed that bill, other states would follow.

They finished their phone call and let each other go. As soon as the Governor hung up with Al, Rich started knocking on the Governor’s door. Governor Lopez waved Rich in. Before Rich took two steps in, the Governor started to tell him about the news that he had just heard. Rich couldn’t believe that Al actually pulled it off.

“Al talked with me about this the other day, but I didn’t think he would get it done. I thought this bill would be stuck on the floor for at least a year. We would have to give up some things in order to get the bill to pass. But Al got it all done without giving anything up and faster than any of us thought it could happen.”

“I am telling you Rich, you know how to pick them! I brought Al on board on your say so and he has been working out way above what I thought he would. I need more people like him on my staff to get things done a lot faster. We are going to have a battle on our hands dealing with the next bill that I am going to put before the State Houses.”

Rich and the Governor started to work out a strategy dealing with his next bill. One thing they knew for sure was that Daniel would need to take this bill before the people. The voters needed to be aware of the details of the bill as the legislators from both houses argue and fight about it. They would fold when they get pressured by their voters.

Josh tried to get himself to fall back to sleep, but no matte what he did, he couldn’t. He turned and looked at the time. He sat up in his bed and just sat there looking into the dark. He looked over at Cesar, but he couldn’t see him at all in the dark. Josh could hear him breathing, but he couldn't see him.

Leaning forward, Josh kept trying to find Cesar in the dark. He kept looking, straining his eyes, for over five minutes. He finally gave up and just walked over to Cesar’s bed. As he reached the side of Cesar’s bed, Josh fell to his knees. With his hands shaking, Josh reached out and laid his hand on Cesar’s back.

That is when Josh figured out that Cesar was asleep on his stomach. He slowly put his hands under the covers. Not stopping until he could rest his hands on Cesar’s butt. Once he felt the heat coming from Cesar’s body, Josh leaned in and didn’t stop until his lips touched Cesar’s lips.

It didn’t take long for Cesar to come to and start returning the kiss. Cesar opened his eyes to see the beautiful eyes of his boyfriend before him. He reached out and wrapped his hands around the back of Josh’s head. He pulled Josh into him as much as he could. At the same time, he rolled up on his side.

Cesar let go of Josh’s head in order for him to lift the covers. He patted the bed to get Josh to climb in. Josh understood what Cesar wanted and he did it. As soon as Josh crawled into the bed with Cesar, Cesar covered them up with the blanket. Immediately they wrapped their legs around each other's.

“I love it when I get this kind of wake up call. Your face is the first face I want to see when I wake up and the last thing I see when I go to sleep.” Cesar looking deep into Josh’s eyes as he brushed his fingers down Josh’s face!

Josh didn’t reply to Cesar, he just leaned in to kiss him. They moved their hands up and down each other's bodies as they kissed each other. Neither of them wanting to stop feeling the other! They just couldn't get enough of the other's body.

Cesar broke the kiss, pushed Josh onto his back and started to kiss his way down Josh’s neck. He made his way down to Josh’s chest, spending equal time on each of Josh’s nipples before moving down to his six-pack. Cesar stopped right at the waistband of his underwear. He slapped the waistband several times against Josh’s skin.

When Cesar lifted Josh’s waistband the third time, Josh grabbed Cesar and rolled him onto his back. The same way Cesar worked his way down Josh’s neck, chest and mid section, Josh did the same thing not leaving one bit of Cesar’s skin untouched.
Once Josh got to Cesar’s waistband, he didn’t tease Cesar. He gently lifted the waistband from Cesar’s skin and moved it down. As Josh moved Cesar’s underwear down, he could see Cesar’s dick waking up. He didn’t even touch Cesar’s dick, it rose all by itself. By the time Josh got Cesar’s underwear to his thighs, Cesar’s dick was fully hard.

Not wasting anytime, Josh grabbed Cesar’s hard dick and started to lick up and down it like a lolli-pop. Every time Josh licked across the head, it sent shivers up Cesar’s body. Right before Josh put Cesar’s dick into his mouth, Cesar pulled Josh back up to him. Cesar kissed Josh’s forehead and then Josh’s lips.

“I want both of us to feel the same feelings at the same time. Let me have you as you have me Josh? I want to taste your sweet cum in my mouth Josh!” Cesar reached between Josh’s legs and squeezed Josh’s dick several times.

Josh jumped off of Cesar’s bed, pulled off his underwear and crawled back into Cesar’s bed. Josh lay down with his head at the head end of the bed, and Cesar lay down with his head at the foot. Both of them took each other's dick in their mouths at the same time. Neither of them warned the other that they were about to take the other's dick.

Cesar started out slowly, but eventually gained speed. Josh on the other hand started out fast and slowed down when he saw the clues that Cesar was about to cum. He wanted to cum at the same time that Cesar did. He knew he was close to climaxing, but he was not there yet. He slowed down to bring Cesar back from the brink.

At the same time, Cesar slowed down. He was thinking the same thing that Josh was. He wants to explode at the same time Josh did. Cesar let Josh’s dick slip out of his mouth so he could play with Josh’s balls. One of the first things he learned having sex with Josh, was that playing with his balls drove him crazy.

Gently sucking on each of Josh’s balls, Cesar could hear the muffle moans of Josh. He started to moan, while still sucking on Cesar’s dick. Josh loved how he was feeling down below as much as he loved having Cesar’s dick in his mouth. He didn't want Cesar to stop. The only way he knew how to tell him, without letting Cesar's dick slip out of his mouth, was by moaning.

Josh started playing with Cesar’s balls as he continued to suck on Cesar’s dick. Cesar was now moaning as much as Josh. They were both getting close, but they kept letting each other come down from their climax. They were reading what the other was feeling. Both of them were getting frustrated that they were not being allowed to cum.

Cesar let go of Josh’s balls and went back to working on Josh’s dick. He deep throated Josh’s dick and kept it there for a few seconds before coming back up. He did that a couple times, driving Josh even crazier.

They were both in their rhythm; they didn’t see that the other was about to cum. At the same time, they started to shoot in each other's waiting mouths. Both of them swallowed as fast as the cum shot out of their partners dick. They didn’t let one drop of the cum drip out of their mouths as they swallowed.

Once they sucked each other dry, they let the dicks slip out of their mouths. Cesar got up and lay back down with his head next to Josh’s. He reached over and pulled Josh closer to him. Cesar started to kiss up and down Josh’s face. Josh just laid there letting Cesar have keep control of his body.

Cesar kissed his way up to Josh’s ear to whisper to him. “I love it when you pull me to my breaking point, then let me down and then pull me right back to my breaking point. You are the only person I ever want to be with Josh. You are the only person I can ever love!”

Josh opened his eyes and turned his face to look Cesar straight into his eyes. “You are the only one I want to be with as well Cesar. I have made love with one other guy in my life, but there is something about the way you make me feel; feelings I never got with Chris, and I love those feelings. There is no way I can be without you now.”

They held each other as tight as they could. Not wanting to let the other go no matter who walked in and saw them. But common sense took over; they both reluctantly let each other go. Josh crawled out of Cesar’s bed, kissed him one last time before walking back over to his bed.

Right when he crawled into bed, he was asleep once again. This time Josh didn’t wake up until the alarm clock went off forty-five minutes later. Josh turned and pushed the snooze button. Fifteen minutes later, the alarm clock went off again. This time when Josh reached over to hit the snooze button, he felt someone standing in his way.

Josh rolled over to see who is not letting him turn off his alarm. At first he thought the face he is going to see is Jonathan’s, but it wasn't him. Josh jumped up from his bed, tucking the blankets around his body. He didn’t put his underwear back on after last night’s events with Cesar.

The look of surprise quickly got replaced with anger. “Who in the hell let you in my room when I am not awake? I don’t like anyone in my room, looking at me as I sleep. Tell me who let you in my room!”

Bernice stepped back a couple steps surprised with Josh’s reaction to her being there. By the looks of it, Josh still has not forgiven her and Eric. The speech she had been practicing to give Josh went right out the window. She couldn't remember one word of the speech that she prepared.

“If you just came here to look at me sleep, you did it. So get the hell out of my room so I can get dressed for school.” Josh now is almost yelling at Bernice as she backed up almost on top of Cesar’s bed.

Cesar walked in hearing Josh yelling. “What are you so angry about Josh? Bernice has seen you in you underwear before. If I am not mistaken, she has seen you asleep before. You guys need to talk things out before it gets to a point that you guys can’t.”

“It is already at that point Cesar. Bernice and Eric already abused the trust they built and they did it again. They gave me their word that they wouldn’t do anything like that again. But what they did is even worse than what they did before. If I can’t trust the people around me, I can’t have them around me.”

“Josh you need to hear her out. She is here to speak with you in the privacy of your house. That way the whole school doesn’t know that you guys are fighting. I know you! I know that you don’t want to lose Bernice as a friend. I also know that you don’t want to lose the life-long friend you have in Eric.”

“If you think that Cesar, then you don’t know me. Eric stopped talking to me for days when I told him I was gay. It took him forever to come around to something I don’t have a choice about. Then he talked to Bernice about what we talked about. He promised me that he wouldn’t do that again. Then he tells me that they have been talking behind my back. I keep letting things go. When does it end?

Bernice isn’t as bad as Eric, but pretty close. She did the same thing with the things we have talked about that should have stayed just between us. Then, according to Eric, she talked about me behind my back in the negative way.

I keep letting these things go. When the dust settles from the last thing they did, they come back and do something else. Each time it’s worse than the time before. Like I asked moments ago, when does it end?”

Cesar stood there waiting for Josh to settle down. He was now thinking it was wrong to let Bernice into the room while he was asleep. He should have woken Josh up first and let him know that Bernice was there to speak with him. Maybe this would have gone a little smoother than it was right now.

“Forget it; I am the one that is always wrong. I am the one that is always the bad guy here. I can see it in both of your eyes that I am over reacting on all this. Fuck it! I’m the one who’s wrong and you guys are right for what you have done to me. Let me get ready for school and I will see you there.”

Josh looked at Bernice as he finished talking. She didn’t know what to say. Both she and Cesar were so confused about what was going on, they couldn't even move. Josh asked straight out for them to leave so he could get dressed. That snapped Bernice out of it. She walked out of the room, but Cesar stayed.

“I am so confused about what just happened here. Bernice is scared out of her mind as well. You are taking what everyone was trying to say or do wrong. You are refusing……”

“I don’t want to hear anymore about this Cesar. You have been mad at me ever since I stood up to them and ended the friendship. You have taken their side on this whole thing. That’s fine, I did what you wanted. I will swallow my pride because I want to make you happy. If being friends with back stabbing assholes makes you happy, so be it.”

Josh brushed by Cesar with his clothes in his hand. He walked over to the bathroom and shut the door. Cesar walked up to the bathroom door, but found it locked. Josh never locks the door. That meant Josh was really angry right now and wanted to be left alone. Cesar just walked away and headed down to talk with Bernice.

“He doesn’t look too happy with either of us. I hope I didn’t get you in bad with Josh, Cesar. When Jonathan let me up to your room and I asked you to let me talk with Josh. I knew you really didn’t want me to. I shouldn’t have pushed it.”

“There is nothing we can do about it now. He is angry and it will take time for him to cool down. I know I am going to be in the dog house for a couple of days for taking your side on this. He made that very clear and he’s right. No matter what my thoughts were, I should have backed him before anyone else. Then in private, I could let him know what I was thinking.

You guys were wrong no matter how you look at this Bernice. But I am not going to rehash this whole thing again. It's over and for the next couple days, it's going to be rough. Once we get over this bump in the road, we can move on.”

Just then, Josh walked into the den where Cesar and Bernice were talking. He just looked at them both with daggers in his eyes. He walked back out and over to the kitchen. He found Jonathan sitting at the kitchen table.

“Hey sport, I have some good news for you. I spoke with your father yesterday and we came up with a game plan to give you a chance to go places. I really believe this game plan will keep you secure and safe from those that want to hurt you.”

“You know I find what you are saying right now a fucking joke.” Jonathan couldn’t believe what Josh just said to him. Isabella walked over to her brother’s side when she heard the tone of Josh’s voice.

“Excuse my language, I don’t mean any disrespect. You keep talking about my security and what you are doing for me is keeping me safe. But yet, you guys let people that you know are out to harm me get close enough to slap me; to get close enough to actually burn me with a can of hairspray. You let everyone that comes through those doors up into my room when I am sleeping. That is not security at all, in my opinion.

So with all due respect, stop acting as if you care, because you don’t. You just want your job to be easier. You let me go to school and back home and that is it. Once I am here, I can’t go anywhere else like my brothers can. I am getting very tired of it. The only reason I haven’t ditched you guys is because I promised my father I wouldn’t. But I am about to break that promise I made to my father and ditch you asses!”

Josh slammed the refrigerator door and walked out. Jonathan just looked at his sister as he got up and followed Josh out the door. He heard Josh yell at Cesar and Bernice that he is heading to school. Jonathan quickly ran up to try and stop Josh so he could get his detail ready to go as well.

“This is one place you know I go everyday. I don’t need to give you a weeks' notice to go to school. So you need to be ready when I am, or I am leaving without you. If your guys aren’t ready yet; too bad. I am going to school right now. So catch up with me when you have your detail ready to go.”

Rose walked into the hallway and called Josh over to her. Jonathan was about to walk out to get his detail when Rose called him over as well. They walked into the living room where she was sitting and drinking her coffee. Rose sat down, but Josh and Jonathan stayed standing, but at opposite sides of the room.

“I knew this was going to happen, I am just surprised it took so long. Good for you Josh for finally standing up for yourself. What these guys are doing is completely wrong and I think they know that. I just kept hoping that they would realize it before it got to this point. Now that it has, we need to fix it.”

Jonathan sat down, but Josh remained standing. Rose looked at her grandson and couldn’t help but see her son Daniel standing before her. Josh was taking her back to when Daniel was young and refused to back down when he felt he was right. No matter how much her son and grandson refused to acknowledge they were so much alike, they were.

“Ma’am, my job here is to make sure Josh and this family are all safe. Josh is a little harder to keep safe than the rest of the family. I spoke about this very issue with the Governor last night and we came up with a solution to the problem. Josh just needs to be a little patient and adjust to the changes.”

“I have been very patient with you and this change. I have allowed you to walk into my room without knocking. You have run off my friends because you refuse to keep your distance from them when they are around. At the same time, you haven’t run off those that are out to hurt me. I can go on and on, but I won’t.

The way you keep security, I am safer without you. As of now Jonathan, I don’t want your security any longer. Don’t come around me with your security detail.” Jonathan looked at Josh with a look of surprise on his face. “I am tired of being patient with you and this so called security. I am done and if I need to speak with my father, I will. If you try to guard me, I will promise you that I will find a way to ditch you every chance I get.”

With that, Josh walked out of the living room. He walked to the front door and grabbed his coat and book bag before walking out. Cesar looked at Bernice not understanding what was going on. They ran after Josh to catch up, once they did. None of them spoke a word as they walked to school.

After getting their food, Josh and Cesar sat down at their original table. Everyone said good morning, but Josh didn’t give the greeting back. He ate his breakfast in silence, not joining into the conversation. When they headed to the library, Josh followed, but didn’t join in any of their conversations.

“Hey Cesar, where is Josh’s security detail at this morning. They are normally all in our faces, but not this morning. They seem to be absent from the scene.” Eric leaned in and whispered in Cesar’s ear.

“You shouldn’t get so close! Someone may think we're dating.” Cesar moved away from Eric. “As far as Josh’s security detail is concerned, that is none of your business. You may not see them but that doesn’t mean they’re not watching him.”

“Look Cesar, I don’t know what is up your butt and Josh’s this morning. I thought we buried the hatchet. Just stop being a smart ass and leave the past where it belongs, in the past.” Eric spoke in a louder voice, but not loud enough for the entire table to hear.

“I made a mistake not letting Josh come to this decision in his own time frame. Instead I backed you and the others on this and let Bernice in the room to talk with Josh. And now I 'm in the doghouse way deeper than any of you are.”

Cesar got up and walked over to Josh at the magazines. “We had a great morning and I went and screw things up. I should have never let Bernice in the room while you were still asleep. I just wanted you two to talk. I never thought you would react the way you did. You were being hard headed on the topic of talking to them. I thought that maybe if I got you two in the same room, you would talk with Bernice.”

“Cesar, I am tired of going through the same thing over and over again. It looks like I am the one acting like a spoiled little brat right now. Everyone else didn’t do anything wrong. Poor little Josh got his feelings hurt and is acting like a baby. That is what everyone thinks about me, including you.

You want me to talk with them, fine I will. I will put on a happy face with them, but don’t you ever think I will ever forgive them for what they did. I just can’t trust them when they bluntly tell me that they talk behind my back all the time in a negative way. If they ever ask why I all of a sudden decided to talk to them, you can them I did it for you. I don’t want to fight with you and this is causing too much friction between us.”

Josh looked up at the clock on the wall. He leaned in and kissed Cesar on the lips before he made his way out of the library. Cesar walked with Josh to their locker. As they started to get their books, the first bell rang. Cesar went to close the locker, but Josh stopped him.

He kept the locker door open to keep them hidden from the other students. Josh leaned in and this time the kiss he was giving Cesar was more than just a peck on the lips. They kissed each other, not wanting to ever let this kiss end. The warning bell rang, causing Josh to break the kiss. He licked his lips as he closed the door to their locker.

They walked to their class and barely made it in time before the final bell. Throughout the morning, Eric talked with Josh, but Josh only gave him one-word answers. Eric actually felt worse with the one-word answers from Josh than Josh ignoring him.

The only period Josh actually looked forward to was Glee Club. He had found this class to be his escape from everything going on in his life. None of his friends were in this class, including Cesar. He could just sink himself into the music and just ignore everything else that was bothering him at the time.

When the bell rang, Josh felt empty as he walked to his next period class. The day that he wanted Glee Club to drag on went by way too fast for him. Now he had to return to reality and deal with the mess he had created for himself.

After school, Josh and Cesar walked home in silence. Josh spotted his security detail throughout the day and even now as they walk home. The only person he had not seen was Jonathan. Josh figured that Jonathan was trying to give him some space to settle down.

That thought got thrown out the window as Josh and Cesar reached the house. Without even walking in, they knew Josh’s dad was in the house. Josh looked over at Cesar with fear in his eyes. He knew the only reason his dad came in was because of his behavior in the morning. There was no other reason for his dad to have come home.

Josh walked in the house and tried to escape upstairs when he heard his grandmother calling for him. He walked back down the couple of stairs he managed to climb and headed over to the living room. He looked into the living room, but the room was empty. Then he heard his father's voice coming from the study.

Straightening himself out, Josh walked over to study and found his dad, his grandmother and Jonathan sitting down. He walked in and hugged his dad before he took his seat. Daniel walked over to the door and closed it before saying a word.

“I understand that we had a big fallout this morning. In fact, I understand you are asking not to have a security detail Josh. Do you care to enlighten me on your request? Tell me why you should not have a security detail around you, of all of my kids.”

Josh just looked at his father as he stood in front of him. “Damn it Josh answer me why you threw a fit like a little baby this morning. This whole thing pulled me away from a very busy day.” Daniel slammed his fist on the desk out of frustration. “You know what Josh; I have been dealing with your issues ever since I got sworn in. It is getting very old and very tiring quickly.

Until you are eighteen and out of my house, you will do what I say to do. You will have the security detail and follow whatever they ask you to do. If they don’t want you to go somewhere because it is not safe, then you can’t go! If they don’t approve a person to be your friend, then that person can’t be your friend. What Jonathan is doing has my complete support. Do you understand what I am telling you Josh?”

Josh stood up and looked his father square in the eyes. “You are the one that ran for this office, not me. Yet I am the one that is being treated like I did something wrong. My brothers can go and come as they please whenever they want to, but I can’t. No one else in this house gets walked in on all the time. Their phones calls are not listened to. There friends are not chased off because they are being spied on. Or you don’t hear your security detail talk with each other saying they want to keep me here because it makes their job a lot easier.

They aren't even doing their job anyways. Those that are out to hurt me get through all the time. I am better off without a security detail! At least then, I could have friends around me that will stand up for me. They can do a better job protecting me than this, 'so called' security detail!

But like you said, I live in your house, so I must do as you say. I will take this security detail because I have no other choice in the matter. But let me say this, once I do get old enough, I am gone from this place. I will go as far away from you and this security detail you have for me as I can! I WILL get a normal life once I am eighteen.”

Daniel sat down in his seat. He could see the hate in his son’s eyes that he had for him right now. He wanted this job, but not at the cost of his family. That is what was going on right now. He was losing his family, and he had no idea how to stop it.

One thing he knew for sure was the fact that Josh needed security around him. More so now that Martha had gotten out on bail and was out in the free. Daniel feared that Martha was going to try again and take Josh away from him. If she got Josh, she would put him in one of those brain-washing camps that he broke up before becoming Governor. Rose broke the awkward silence.

“What we all need to do is settle down and let cooler heads prevail here. Both of you have said things that, in the heat of the moment, you can’t take back. To top that off, you are both the same; hard headed and unwilling to bend on your point of view.

I have been here Daniel watching the way Josh has been treated since we got back from Austin. He has been treated a lot differently than your other boys. I don’t know the reason why and I won’t say what I am thinking the reason is. Because if I find out that Jonathan or anyone in Josh’s guard detail is treating Josh differently because he is gay, I will throw them out of this house without talking with you about it.

If they feel they can’t guard Josh, then they should not be in this business. If they feel they need more men, then they should get more men. I don’t see why they need more men when they have the same amount with my other grandsons. Still, they need to do whatever they need to do in order to carry out your promise to your kids.”

Rose looked away from Daniel over to Josh. “Now for you young man, what you did this morning will never happen again. You will never walk out when I or any grown up is talking with you. I know you have been brought up better than that. The reason I know is because my son is your father. I brought him up to have respect.

You were right on every point you said this morning and here again this afternoon. You need to give us a chance to figure out a way to fix this so everyone is happy and safe. The guard detail needs to be able to do their job without worrying that you are going to ditch them whenever you get a chance to do so. They already have enough to worry about.”

Rose sat back in her seat looking at Daniel. Not once did she look over at Jonathan as she spoke. She really doesn’t like him or respect him. Jonathan knows that and doesn’t know how to show her that he has the best interests of her family in mind.

Daniel leaned forward and set out new ground rules for the guard detail to follow with Josh. From now on only one guard is allowed to be in the classrooms with Josh. They are to go in and secure the classroom before class, but the rest of the guards must stay out in the hall. They are not allowed to listen to Josh’s phone calls, talk to his friends once they are approved, or walk into Josh’s room without being invited in.

They all agreed to follow the new rules that Daniel set out. As they got up to leave the study, Daniel remembered about the conversation he just had with Jonathan. He included in the rules that Josh is to be treated the same as they treat his other sons without adding more guards to his detail. Once that got settled, everyone got up to leave the study.

“Jonathan, can you please stay for minute so I can talk with you about one last thing.” Josh and Rose walked out not looking back. “Jonathan, what my son said about the guard detail not able to keep away those you guys know are out to hurt him, is true. If the detail can’t handle it, get some that can. If one more person gets close enough to my son to do him harm, I will hold you solely accountable. I hope you understand what I mean by that. You will no longer have this job. I will do whatever it takes to get you out.”

Jonathan nodded his head in acknowledgement and left the study. He walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Isabella walked up to him and saw that he was really worried. She knew by the look on her brothers face, whatever happened in that meeting didn’t go well for her brother.

“What happened, John? Please tell me what happened?” Isabella sat down next to her brother.

“If anyone else gets close to Josh again, I will be without a job. The Governor no longer has the confidence in me that he did when he hired me for this job. I made mistakes, but some of the mistakes weren’t mine. For example I was not there the last time Elizabeth slapped Josh in the face. I got there after the fact. I can’t stop something when I am not around.”

“I know you can’t say that to the Governor. You are in charge no matter if you were there or not, if anything goes wrong, you’re responsible. If the detail you have can’t do the job when you're not around, get new ones.”

“Can you believe that Rose thinks I am treating Josh differently because he is gay? She doesn’t trust me at all. That is going to be another problem for me. If she doesn’t trust me, she can talk ill of me to the Governor. No matter if I do the job right or not, I can still be gone.”

“When the Governor hired me, he didn’t tell me that he had a gay son. I don’t care about that, but it would have been nice to know. You are like me and we don’t care if a person is gay. It is their life, not ours. You will get Rose to see that you are not like that. I believe in your ability to show others that you are able to do this job.”

Just as Josh closed his science book, he heard a knock on the door. He looked over at Cesar and he just shrugged his shoulders. When the person on the other side of the door knocked again, Josh invited who ever is at his door in.

When the door opened and Daniel walked in, Cesar got up from his bed. Daniel greeted Cesar before asking him if he could speak with his son alone. Cesar walked out of the room to give Josh and his father privacy.

“What is going on right now is the very thing I worried about when I weighed the decision to run for this office. Back then, your mother and I were still married. So I thought I would have her here to help out with this change if I won. I don’t have her to help me and I need to get used to that.

I wanted you guys to move to Austin with me when your mother and I got divorced. But I decided that you guys deserved a normal life. I know you haven’t had a normal life at all. I have looked at the logs that your detail summits and your brothers’ details submitted to me. It is very clear that you have been treated like a prisoner in this house. I am hoping that the changes I made with your detail fixes that. If it doesn’t, I will make changes again.

With that said, I want you to know, that no matter what, you guys are my world. I don’t care what I get in life. You guys are the only ones I am doing this for. If it ever gets to a point that you or your brothers are put in danger or can’t live a normal life, I will quit. No job is more important than my family, Josh.

You are right when you said I am the one that ran for this position. But at the same time, this job does change all over our lives. You have to adapt and move on Josh. I know you have adapted a lot already. Just do me a favor and work with this change. It will get better as we work out the bugs.

I hope you know that I love you. That hate you have for me right now, I hope you can overcome. You are me when I was younger. All of my kids are going to do great things and you have the same fire in you that I do. That is why we are able to have a disagreement, but come out on the other end better than we started.”

“You are wrong dad when you said I hate you, because I don’t. You have done so much for me, I can’t ever ask for a better father. No matter what I have done to let you down as a man, you have accepted my faults and loved me the same as you do my brothers. I love you so much dad! I will do whatever you ask of me. I don’t want to make things hard for you. There are plenty of other people doing that.”

Daniel grabbed Josh into a hug and whispered in Josh’s ear. “You have never let me down as a man or any other way. You are growing into the man that you were born to be. Nothing you can do will ever make me feel ashamed of you Josh. Whenever you need to speak with me, no matter what it is, I am just a phone call away.”

Daniel broke the hug and held Josh’s face. At the same time, they both said the three little words that carry a lot of weight, ‘I love you’. Daniel got up and walked out of the door telling Josh that dinner was almost ready.

Josh watched his father as he walked out of his room. He felt what he was unwilling to say out loud to himself or anyone else. The feeling of emptiness when his father was not around! He really missed his father and he felt at the same time, that this shouldn’t happen at his age. He needed to be able to be away from his father and not miss him as he did.

TO BE CONTINUED………………..

WRITER’S CORNER:

{I know this chapter only covered a couple of days. I wanted to speed up the time table in this story in order to catch it up with my other three stories. But it has so many mini plots I can’t write about them. If I do that, you guys will be left twisting in the wind. I will get emails asking me what is going on in a certain plot.

I am trying to find a way out of a plot I wrote myself into. The plot of Josh’s friends talking behind his back! If I put the friendship back together way too quickly, I will upset some readers. If I take to long on this plot, I will upset the other readers. I am trying to walk a line to make everyone happy here.

I still don’t know if I am going to bring the friendships back together. Right now I am leaning towards that to happen. Chris and Rusty have come back without much of a problem. I will do the same thing with Patrick and Frank. The only ones I will have jump through hoops is Eric and Bernice if I have them become friends again.

I am trying to write the plot where Josh is the one that got done wrong to. But I am getting a feeling that I am not getting that job done. The more and more I try to write him into a better light, I think I am writing him looking like a spoiled little kid. He has so much going on; he is coming off as a spoiled little kid.

He is having the problems with his friends and he is throwing a fit about his security detail. But come on, they are treating him a lot different than they are treating his brothers. Who cares what the reason is, they need to stop. This plot I will bring to a close in the next chapter, if I didn’t clear it all up with Daniels visit.

The other plot I plan to settle down in is the plot of Josh’s friends. One way or another in the next chapter you will find out who is staying and who is going. Also the plot of Elizabeth is closed off with Daniel’s demand of getting expelled. As of now I have no plans to bring Elizabeth back into this story.

Martha is out and about now ready to cause trouble. We know what she plans to do. The question that we are all asking is probably the same. Is she going to get her children back and send Josh away? This will unfold over several chapters to come.

Finally in this chapter, I had Daniel in it a lot. First we had the Governor getting his first victory. He got his budget passed and is getting ready to send his second bill down to the State Houses. We found out that the Governor likes to write his own bills. I really think that is a good idea. That way he can say what is in his bills. He helped write them.

The Governor appeared again at the end of this chapter. He had to fly home in order to fix what is going wrong in his house. At first it looked like he was taking Jonathan’s side as he yelled at Jacob. I think the Governor has so many balls in the air right now. One slip up, everything will come falling down around him.

Do you all think that Jonathan is going to make it much longer in the position he is in? He has lost the confidence that he once had with the Governor. Normally when a detail screws up once, they are pulled off of their assignment. Jonathan and his detail have gotten a lot of wiggle room. Now the Governor really put his foot down and told Jonathan one more mistake and he is gone. But I want you guys to keep in mind the way I write. I get a plot moving one direction and all of a sudden I change course with that plot.

So many open plots and so many more plots to come in this story. I love the political scenes a lot and I hope I am not offending anyone with them. Keep in mind it is only a story and I am trying my best not to preach my beliefs. Please stay tuned and I promise that you guys won’t regret opening every new chapter.

I could stay here all day long, with all the open plots already in this story, but I won’t. I warn you though! Don’t skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR’S CORNER:

Josh is reacting to negative situations that are making him miserable.

Like anyone, you have to be able to trust your friends and his have been being very two faced, particularly Eric and Bernice. His reactions are a bit over the top, but understandable. I agree that the friends need to be held accountable for their bad acts, but he’s really going a bit far, in my estimation. Cesar has a more reasonable stance, but it is not he that has been wronged. It’s easier to see clearly when it is someone else’s problem and you’re looking in from the outside.

Everyone complains about things. “Bitching” might be a more accurate way to describe the friends’ feelings of constraint with Josh. Josh needs to consider that there were feelings that needed to be vented that were about circumstances, not about him personally. Perhaps a cooler more impartial head can let Josh in on that point of view.

Yes, Jonathan is in the deep weeds and that’s another bug Josh has up his butt. Every word Josh said on that subject was dead on, but the way he went about it compromised his position to a degree. Daniel got the message but had to get him back on the right side of the respect line before he could deal with the issue with Josh. In the end, the father-son bond won the situation over.

I hope that Virginia will be more proactive when she senses things aren’t right. She held back on this scenario and it hurt Josh. I hope she’ll step up faster in the future when needed.

Martha is going to bring some real interesting reading to us, I expect. She will make attempts to get her children back but unless a judge is crooked, she won’t be able to make it happen. No, she’s going to have to deal with her feelings for Josh and his demise some other way. First, Martha is wheel chair bound and her means of support is only from Daniel. Then there are her actions against one of her own sons. No matter if there’s a conviction or not, the cloud of suspicion hangs over her.

Elizabeth is gone. I guess we can only imagine her angst at having been transferred to an Alternative School. That has to be the ultimate slap in the face for her. She lost; period. It would be interesting to hear some “news” from Emma or someone like that at some point.

Thank you for the e-mails where I am spoken to specifically. Those mean a lot!

Until next time,

“Daddy” Rick