Adventures of Devon Carlton - 10. ADC Chapter 10

When Edgar had finished, he pulled out a pair of pyjamas from his backpack and helped Devon into them, before removing the towels, and placing them in a plastic bag on the lower shelf of the trolley, along with the two washcloths and the two drying towels. Edgar pushed the trolley to the corner of the room near the door and opened the curtains, and the door, to let the nursing staff know he had finished.

“I hope you don’t mind, I brought a clean pair of my pyjamas, so you don’t have to wear that silly hospital gown, and also some more books and magazines and today’s newspaper,” Edgar said to Devon who is almost ten years in age difference.

“Cousin, you are a very caring young man, who did a very professional job just now, which I am very grateful, and I’m proud to have you as my cousin, thank you for all the care you have given me so far, I don’t know why I deserve it” Devon said.

“Well there are a number of reasons why” Edgar began, “the first being because you are in this situation because my stupid brothers have not been listening, they have been told over and over again not to run around downstairs, secondly somehow I like taking care of people who are less fortunate than me, and lastly it gives me the chance to get to know my Aussie cousin”.

Devon gave a short laugh at the last comment and grabbed hold of Edgar’s hand as best as he could, “Well Edgar, I am very grateful and lucky to have a kind and caring cousin like yourself, thank you” Devon said.

After a length of silence Edgar looked into his cousins eyes, “When I accidentally called you Carlton instead of Devon earlier, it occurred to me that the name Carlton is the name of the mystery singer for EQD and since you know them and brought them to our home, is it possible that you are that mystery singer? Edgar asked quietly so no one outside the room could hear.

“That piece of knowledge is for you to know and no one else ok. Yes, I am he, and apart from the band and their manager, my twin brothers, sister and parents, no one else knows” Devon said with a smile.

They talked for a short time, mainly about music, as it was one of Edgar’s favourite subjects at school before Edgar had to dash off to attend his sports event back at school, but before leaving Edgar wrote down his mobile number on the front of the newspaper.

Shortly after the lunch tray arrived, which was good as Devon was very hungry.

After having a short nap after lunch, Devon read the local newspaper, and it was in this paper that he saw the real estate listings page, and just as a matter of interest, Devon had a look at what was available when he saw a small two-bedroom cottage for sale.

“Quaint, 2-bedroom stone cottage, with study and two living areas. Situated on 4½ acres of land off the main road. On edge of Inverness, 1 km from a private school. Extras include a 4 stall stable with tack room, a work/training yard, small barn, double garage and workshop” Devon liked the sound of this straight away, but there was no way he could do anything about it.

After thinking about it some more, and with the cottage being well within his budget, Devon called for a nurse and asked for a telephone, as he had to make some urgent calls. Firstly, he called Edgar, leaving a message asking him to call back as soon as available, and gave the number of the ward he was in; next, he called the real estate agent regarding the cottage, to get some more information about the property.

The property had been vacant for 2 months and the price had already been reduced twice, the buildings were all built in the late 1890s, and had been well maintained, while the cottage had been fully restored just 5 years earlier, with modern upgrades with electrics and plumbing, plus some improvements to the kitchen. Devon informed the agent that he was currently in hospital recovering from an accident, but he would like to arrange for his cousin to view the property.

The final phone call was to Julia, asking her to arrange for his mobile phone, wallet and briefcase to be delivered to him as soon as possible, so he could organise some business while he is confined to bed in hospital, and so he can contact his parents in Australia. Not long after completing his evening meal, Douglas, Julia, Edgar, Eliza, Angus and Rupert unexpectantly arrived for a visit, bringing with them what Devon had requested, plus some clothes.

Devon asked his cousin not to get mad with Edgar coming to the hospital to visit him, as Edgar has been a great help with looking after him and keeping him company, Douglas said he was not angry with his son, but the school was a bit concerned that he was disappearing without letting anyone know where he was, Douglas said he explained to the school that he had a sick cousin in hospital, and they agreed to give Edgar so leniency since it was a family emergency.

Devon asked if Edgar could visit tomorrow, and Edgar said he could as soon as School chapel was over at 10 am, Devon was pleased with this news and he laid back in his bed and listened to Eliza’s report on the latest news on EQD, who were having sell-out concerts where ever they perform.

The twins also apologised for running in the house and bumping into him, which caused him to end up in the hospital. They said they were shocked and upset when they were told that the accident had caused a blood clot which meant Devon had to have an operation and that they were truly sorry for making him so ill.

Devon gave his two youngest cousins a big hug and said he forgave them, and not to worry about it any more, he then informed them all that the doctors said he would be out of hospital in 1 week’s time but would require therapy on his leg and arm, to improve movement in both limbs, which is still a bit sluggish.

Because he will need to have daily therapy, Devon was looking at temporary accommodation for a few months while he completes the therapy, and once that is done he will decide what he will do after that.

Once the family had left, Devon started to read a magazine, when his mobile rang. “Hey cousin, Edgar here, I presume you didn’t want to tell me details in front of my folks and others” came the voice as soon as he answered, Devon, chuckled.

“Yes, I have a few special chores for you tomorrow, do you have a digital camera by any chance… good man, can you go to Inverness Highlands Realty straight after chapel and meet Angela Brimley, she knows you are coming, I just didn’t tell her how old my cousin is, so she might be a bit surprised, she is going to show you a property that I saw in the newspaper.

It’s a 2 bedroom cottage on 4 ½ acres of land, it has a barn, stables, garage and a work yard, can you take as many photos as you can, look at everything, check the plumbing, make sure there are no leaks anywhere, and that everything is in good condition as they are suggesting, then come over and let me know what you think of the place and let me see the photos, which we can load onto my laptop computer for better viewing”.

“Sure Devon, if you are sure I can do it, then that’s what I will do, I got to go now, see you tomorrow, bye,” Edgar said and he hung up. Now with his laptop computer with him, Devon was able to do some online web searching and found the listing of the cottage, and it included a number of pictures, which made it look perfect, but he knew that sometimes they can be very misleading, so he decided to wait till Edgar arrives before making a final decision.

The next day at 11.20am, Edgar arrived with his camera in hand, plus a property report and cottage floor plan of the cottage and land, which Devon looked at carefully as he waited for his computer to boot up, and for the photos to be transferred using the memory card from the camera.

Edgar waited patiently for Devon to finish reading before giving his view on each of the rooms in the cottage, and the outside buildings.

As Devon started to view the photographs, Edgar explained each one, with which room it was, and what way it was facing, showing Devon on the floor plan which rooms the photos were of, they paused when Devon’s lunch arrived, and Edgar went down to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat at the same time.

Once lunch was over they continued talking and looking at the photos, and Devon kept asking questions and Edgar’s point of view of everything, until they had seen all of the photos and discussed everything, when it was 4 pm, Edgar had to leave to return to school, and Devon thanked him very much for all of his hard work during the day, especially with the detailed points of view on everything.

Soon after Edgar had gone, Devon telephoned the real estate agents after hours number, and made an offer on the cottage and property, when he did this the agent said there was an option to purchase the 15 acres of land behind the cottage, which consists of 70% woodlands, with a permanent brook running, through the back section of the property, with 3 acres of the land being on the other side of the brook, also on this section of the property there is a stone shed with lean-too, built around the same time as the main cottage, and a solid 2 metre wide bridge exists across the brook.

Devon agreed to place an offer for the extra land also and requested that a fast settlement be agreed on, as he would require the cottage to live in very soon, as he will be released from the hospital soon. The agent said that the owners had already expressed an interest for a fast settlement, so that would not be a problem. Devon hung up from that call very pleased at how well the day had gone, and that he would hopefully have a new home in Inverness.

Just as Devon was about to drift off to sleep, his phone beeped, and he looked at the screen – “Devon, I’m pleased I was able to help you today, I think the cottage would be great for you while you are recovering. Edgar”, and just after reading that message, the phone beeped again.

“Mr Carlton, I am Happy to inform you that your offer for both properties has been accepted, I will be over to visit you at 10 am tomorrow with paperwork to sign, Angela Brimley”.

Devon drifted off to sleep a happy man, and now he was looking forward to moving into his new home in Inverness, he already knew that his architecture future was probably over, due to his injuries and now he was considering what to do instead of architecture.

The next morning the doctor informed Devon that he was very happy with the healing process and that he would be happy to release Devon at the end of the week, but he would need to come in for three hours of therapy, six days a week.

At 10 am Ms Brimley arrived with the paperwork for the property, and she went through it all before asking that it be handed in as soon as possible and that if there are no problems, the settlement can be done within 8 working days. When she had left, Devon telephoned Douglas and asked if he had a family lawyer in Inverness, and could he arrange for the lawyer to visit him in hospital as soon as possible.

Much to Devon’s surprise, the lawyer arrived just after lunch, and within two hours, all the paperwork and been reviewed and signed, and Devon arranged for the lawyer to collect a bank cheque from the local bank and deliver that and the paperwork back to Ms Brimley.

By the end of the day, Devon received another text message from Ms Brimley, “Paperwork and bank cheque received thank you, and the settlement is now in process, will let you know when it is all finalised so the settlement documents can be signed.”

For the next few days Devon was busy with his therapy and afternoon visits from Edgar, who would happily keep him company and help where needed, by Friday Devon was in a wheelchair and able to move around a lot more, even down to the television lounge where there are more books and magazines to read, and he was in the lounge when Edgar arrived at 4 pm as usual.

They talked about the cottage, and Devon asked his cousin if he thought the passageways where wide enough for a standard wheelchair, or would he have to try and get by with crutches or a walking stick, as he was now able to walk short distances with a single walking stick.

Devon asked about the sports that Edgar participated in at school, and Edgar said he plays soccer, hockey, tennis and cross country running, plus he is in a local polo team that plays once a fortnight, with his own horse from home having agistment locally.

Devon said to Edgar that he can have his horse staying at the cottage stables if he wants to, once he has settled in and made sure everything is in order. Edgar was thrilled at the offer and said he would very much like to have his horse at the cottage, so he can come and visit Devon also.

The next morning after breakfast, Devon announced to the nursing staff that he was going to have a shower, as he no longer wanted sponge baths each day, so a shower chair was placed in the bathroom, and the towels were placed on the towel rail close to the shower, and Devon was left on his own to undress and shower. All was going well until he was drying off, and he lost his balance and tumbled to the hard floor, grabbing at the shower chair as he went town, which tipped over with a lot of noise.

The door to the bathroom flung open and Edgar came racing in, and he grabbed a towel to give Devon some privacy, as two nurses walked in soon after Edgar had covered his cousin, Devon assured them all that he was not hurt, and that Edgar would be able to assist me, so the nurses retreated out of the bathroom and returned to their duties elsewhere.

Once Edgar had Devon seated in the shower chair, he began to towel dry Devon with the spare towel, while the other one remained over his lap. “I hope you don’t mind me asking this, but how come you are different to my brothers and me in the downstairs department,” Edgar said shyly, it didn’t take a moment for Devon to realise what he meant, and thought about how he could explain.

“I guess it’s just a matter of preferences with our parents, in Australia a lot of boys around our age were all circumcised at birth, but that is starting to change a lot now and is more of the other way around, where it has been more popular for boys to be not circumcised in the UK and Europe, it’s just a family choice” Devon said as best as he could, trying not to get embarrassed himself.

“Nearly all the boys at school are like me, I’ve only seen one who isn’t the same, and he used to get teased a lot at first, but not so much now, can I ask you a personal question please?” Edgar said as he finished drying Devon's upper body, Devon smiled and nodded yes.

“Does it make it harder to masturbate, not having any foreskin to help?” Edgar asked and Devon shook his head before saying “No not really, that’s when you just use a lubricant to help with the process”.

Edgar didn’t say anything more he just concentrated on drying Devon's legs, before helping Devon to stand so he could dry the last of his body himself, while Edgar went into the room to fetch some pyjamas. Once Devon was settled back in bed, he asked Edgar to sit so they could talk.

“For the past week you have taken very good care of me, and you did it with dignity and care, and that is a very rare trait these days. I have spoken to your parents, and they are happy with my suggestion along as you are interested, how would you like to change from being a border to a dayboy at school and come living at the cottage as my carer and companion” Devon said, as he watched Edgars face change from puzzlement to joy all within a few seconds.

“Cousin, I would be honoured to be your carer and companion, and I thank you for asking me and I accept,” Edgar said and he jumped out of his chair and leaned over the bed to give Devon a warm hug of thanks. They chatted for the next few hours, and in that time, Devon suggested that Edgar move in when the school holidays commence in three week’s time, that way he can bring his horse with him also.