Home Away From Home - 35. Chapter 35

The next project, was to convert the large storage area over the garage into an apartment for the pilots, two bedrooms with bath, large living area and an eat-in kitchen. They were happy with that. Rita took it upon herself to send furniture and appliances for the apartment. We had a ribbon cutting ceremony and the pilots moved in. Dan had his place in the house.

Carlos started school. No one remembers him as Chago. He’s doing well in school and we're proud. Doug was accepted to our college, like that wasn’t a sure thing, he'd start in the fall. I laughed, to go from the Guam to Wyoming in the fall might cause him to come back. Joe and Roy were to meet him, get him settled and then return with the plane. We were anxious to see them again. It was several months since they left.

Puppy is doing well at the Hospital particularly with the females. Although I suspect there were some males as well who would prefer him to be their doctor. I was flying at least once a month for a week at a time. I knew that would increase, as long as it was not longer than a week away, I’d be ok. I missed my Puppy. Some weeks I’d fly for a two day meeting, home for a few days and gone again for a few days. Those I liked because it allowed me to see Puppy more often. Home comings were always fun.

We continued to get letters from Mario. He’s loving his job and on occasion, he sends us the magazine featuring his pictures. He has started to write articles, we always get to see them, sometimes before they go to print. He told us that he was going to do a stint on television, I asked Dad to tape it.

Joe showed us some of the paintings he had made from Mario’s photo. They were beautiful. For an anniversary gift, Joe gave us a large painting of our home. It hangs in the living room. There are other paintings done by Joe decorating our walls. We bought them from his gallery and had them shipped to us. He was surprised to find so many.

The surprise was Dan and my assistant Charles, started to date. I have never seen Dan so happy. The assistant wasn’t sad either.

There were a few rumblings from various drug cartels but I think they may have given up. However, we never let our guards down. For that reason, I got permission to park the plane at the base. I had to haul a few high officers around, I figured it was the better part of the deal since I didn’t need to worry about someone putting a bomb on the plane.

We found another waif. We had decided to go the southern part of Guam for a picnic. There was to be some sort of festival and we were encourage to go. Puppy had the day off, so we packed a lunch, now when we pack a lunch, it’s more like 10 lunches. The gang, including our security, headed out. When we got to the place where the festival was held, there were people all over. I think half the Island was there. “This must be a very popular festival. What is it about? What are they celebrating?”

“I don’t know, we should ask.”

Larry asked, they told him it was the celebration of freedom. I guess it was the liberation from Japan. They were having a good time.

We walked around for a few minutes found a spot where we could sit and watch. We must have sat there about an hour when Carlos came over and sat in my lap. “Are you having fun?”

“Pop, there’s a little girl over there, going through the garbage.”

“Take this sandwich over and give it to her. Tell her there’s more here, but she has to come and get it.”

I watched Carlos go to the little girl. He had the sandwich stretched out in his hand. She took the sandwich and was going to move away. Carlos went to her and said something. We watched as they talked. He looked back as us and then followed her. I looked at Larry, he got up and followed at a safe distance. Soon I saw him waving us over. David and I went, I told the others to stay here. When I got there, the little girl was crying. Carlos was talking to her and a small boy. Larry heard what was being said and waved us over. “The little boy is the girl’s brother. He had hurt his leg and couldn’t stand, she was hunting food for him and her.”

“Carlos, go and get Dad.”

“Don’t cry. I know it hurts, the doctor will be here and he’ll help you.”

“What’s the matter?”

“This little fellow hurt his leg.”

“It isn’t broken, bad cut and his foot looks like someone stepped on it. We need to take them home. They need to be cleaned up and fed. Larry, drive the bus over here and we can load them up and take them home.”

I knew they were scared. “Carlos, talk to them, tell them not to worry we’ll take care of them.”

When we got home, “Puppy, do still have some of your hospital clothes here.”

“I have my scrubs.”

“Good put them on and get these kids into the bath to get them clean. Take a tee shirt from Carlos for the boy and one of mine for the girl.”

“She will swim in yours, I’ll see what I kind find.”

While the kids were in the bath being soaked clean, Puppy called someone. About 1/2 hour later there was a knock on the door. One of the nurses from the hospital was their with a small tee shirt, bigger than Carlos’s but just barely. “Doc called. I have these from my kids, if you need anything else let me know.”

“Thanks, I’ll tell Doc. Right now he has a foot that needs attending.”

“Here Puppy, your nurse friend said if you need anything else let her know. I’ll go down and start to fix some food for them. Bring them down when you’re ready.”

I went to the kitchen, Larry, David, Vic were sitting there eating. “Where’s Ed?”

“He’ll be here shortly. He’s parking the bus.”

“I need to fix some food for the kids.” I made a thick soup and then I’ll see if they are still hungry.

“Are you going to adopt them like Carlos?”

“Yes, unless you want to?”

“No, unlike you I can have my own.”

“Not till you’re married.”

“Well, I think your mother is working on that already.”

“Then your bachelor days may be finished. She got Doug married.”

“I’ve seen Doug’s wife, if she finds me one like that, you may be right.”

“You know I haven’t seen Doug since the wedding. I need to get his butt over here. He’s still working for Tony. So I can fly Mom and Dad as well as him and Clair here. That way Mom can size you up with Clair’s help.”

We all smiled as Vic seemed to like the idea.

The soup was ready. I got two glasses of milk, set them on the table when the kids came in all clean. The girl had beautiful black hair that shone. The boy’s hair was the same color but needed a hair cut. While they were eating, I sat down in front of them, Puppy sat next to me. “As of this moment, you’ll be called, looking at the girl, Maria Teresa Wyman Romano. Looking at the boy, you’ll be called Tony Carlo Romano Wyman. These are your new names and as of this day, this is your new home.”

“We can stay here and eat like this.”

“Yep, Maria you’ll call me Dad and this man Pop. Tony, you’ll call me Pop and this man Dad. What do you think?”

“What happens if someone comes and takes us away?”

“Who is going to do that?”

“A man came to my mum’s house and said I was to go with him. I ran away and then went back for my brother.”

“You have a house full of uncles that will not let any one take you. Now finish eating and then to bed. You can sleep in the room next to Carlos and no one will bother you. Carlos, would you please show them to their room and Dad and I will be up to tuck them in. After we tuck them in, I’ll call Dad and get him on this. We’ll have the papers by noon tomorrow.”

I cleaned up the kitchen, “Whose turn to cook breakfast?”

“Checking the roster, well, Mr. Ed, it’s your turn.”

Saying good night I went to tuck a couple of kids in bed. When I went into the room, I could hear Puppy, “Yes, you’ll be our children. We’ll look out for you and you’ll never have to eat out of garbage cans again. Wasn’t the soup good tonight?” I could hear a small yes.

“Well, are you all snug as a bug?”. They smiled, I wonder if they’ll ever giggle. Kids giggle.

“You need to sleep now. You know where the bathroom is, suppose I leave the light on with the door just open a little bit in case you have to get up.” I kissed them on the forehead as did Puppy. We went back down stairs, I had to call Tony and have a cup of tea.

Puppy fixed the tea while I called Tony. “Hello, are you sitting down?--- Well, you better sit down. I need another favor.--- Yes, don’t I always. Remember what you did for Carlos.---Yes, how did you guess. --- Well, we went to some celebration and came back with two kids. The oldest is a girl and her brother. He looks about 6 and my guess she is about 8.--- Yes, the girl’s name is to be Maria Teresa Wyman Romano and the boy is to be Tony Carlo Romano Wyman.---Yes, it did occur to us but we didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feeling by selecting one name over the other. ---Yes, he’s here.--- Sure, Puppy your dad wants to talk to you.”

I went and got another cup of tea and headed to my office. About 15 minutes later Puppy came in. “Dad said he’ll fax the papers to you tomorrow.”

“Was he upset?”

“I don’t think so. He wanted to make sure I was happy with the names. I take it he gave you some bull about the last name.”

“Yes, he did until I told him we didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. If my parents were not here, then I'd take your last name in a heart beat. The name for me is secondary to the guy, and in that case, it’s you. Now we need to get clothes for them. When do you go to work?”

“My shift starts at 6 in the morning. We have an operation planned and they want me to witness it. It’s a simple appendix removal.”

“Well, in that case let’s get to bed.”

“You know I’ll get a better sleep if you give me a massage.” I did and he did.

I woke up early, Puppy was still sleeping. I went to the kitchen, fixed tea and stated to fix breakfast for Puppy. At 5:30 he was in the kitchen along with David. How David knew to be up and that he was the designated security, is a mystery to me. We had dispensed with designated security personnel. So who ever showed up, took the job for that event. I made a coffee for David, I set a breakfast wrap in front of each of them and started to make one for myself. It must have been the smell. Slowly the kitchen began to fill up. Puppy left with David, and as each of the stragglers came in, it was coffee and a breakfast wrap. Our pilots came in with Dan, they had a ferry job today. A general was being flown to Japan. They would be gone all day but will be back tonight. I gave Dan a list of things to pick up in Japan if he had the chance. I filled a thermos bottle of coffee for them, they declined a breakfast wrap, had a cup of coffee and left. I noted that our garage was getting full. The pilots had a jeep from the base and Tony had a small car shipped from Japan for Puppy to use. I thought we’re getting quite comfortable here.

After everyone ate, I started to clean up the kitchen when three little kids entered, “We’re hungry Pops.”

I gave Carlos a hug and saw the other two behind him holding hands. “Maria, Tony come and give me a hug and I’ll get you some breakfast.” Timidly they did. Carlos led them to the table, I placed a glass of orange juice in front of them. “Carlos, did you take Anthony out this morning?”

“Yes, I left him out. I think he’s hungry also.”

“While I fix your breakfast, why don’t you put fresh water in his dish and feed him.” I watched for a moment, Anthony’s tail wagged so hard his whole body seemed to twist. Anthony was becoming Carlos’s pet and by the look of things, Anthony was all for it,

Breakfast for the kids was cereal with fruit. I tried to remember the breakfasts I had as a kid and duplicate them for the kids. I always thought they were good. Larry came back into the kitchen looking for more coffee. “What’s the plan for today?”

“First thing, we have to get the kids some clothes. They can’t keep running around in t-shirts. I’ll call Brenda and find out how she can help so we don’t have to take the kids to town dressed like that.”

Brenda was a lot of help. She said that the PX has some children’s clothes that might fit Maria but not sure about Tony. “I think a trip to the PX might solve a temporary problem. Do we have anything here to measure the kids with?”

“I think there are some old tools in the garage, I’ll check.”

Larry came back with a broken ruler, “Will this do?”

“I can make it do. Let me get a piece of string and then we can measure.” I found a piece of string in what we called the junk drawer. I wasn’t sure how this would work but it was better than nothing. “Larry, get a piece of paper and write down the measurements as I call then out. Will start with Tony first.” I asked Tony to stand nice and tall. I took the string and measured his waist, then from his waist to the top of his foot. I set the ruler on the floor and had him step on it with his good foot, and finally I measured his chest. I repeated this with Marie. “I think this will give us some idea of what to get.”

I called Vic, who was by the pool, “Vic, we're going shopping at the PX, please keep an eye on the children.”

Larry pulled the bus out and off we went. It was fun shopping for the kids and I saw Larry get into the act as well. Once we were able to determine the approximate size from the measurements, he’d go one way and I another. He brought sandals and socks, I looked for pants and tops. On the way over, we decided to buy just pants and tops, no dresses. I picked up a package of underwear for Tony but Marie was a problem. I looked at the various packages when a woman laughing asked if we needed help. I told her I needed to buy some underwear for my eight year old daughter. She picked up a package, “This is what you want.” I thanked her and made my way to checkout. Larry picked up a six pack, held it up, I nodded yes. Even though Puppy and I don’t drink beer, some of the guys do. Larry had two six packs.

Loaded up, we headed home. The clothes were washed and dried by lunch time. I took Tony and Maria, ran some water into the bath tub. “Maria, I want you and Tony to wash real good like you did last night with Pops. Then on your bed, there will be clothes for you to wear. When you are done, come to the kitchen for lunch. OK? If you need help call.”

I figured they would get wet and call it clean, but that’s ok. I went and heated left over soup, made melted cheese sandwiches, called Carlos for lunch and all of the security guys came as well. The kitchen table was full. I placed a large salad and plate of fruit on the table, every one wanted grilled cheese sandwiches, Vic pitched in and helped the kids, milk for them and beer for those who wanted it. I had an ice tea. We chatted as we ate. I noticed the kids, every once in a while Carlos would say something to either Tony or Maria. The kids ate their lunch and smiled when Vic asked them if they were full. I’m not sure they realized it, but the guys adopted them just like they did Carlos, who now called them uncle.

Everything seemed to be perfect. But I felt a little too perfect. Was this the calm before the storm.

When Puppy came home we had dinner. He told me he did his first appendectomy. “I thought I was to watch, but it turned out to be a teaching lesson.”

“I’m sure you did well,.”

“The best stitching job ever.”

‘We went to the PX today got some clothes for the kids. On your next day off, we need to take them shopping. Carlos needs new clothes as well. We also have to think about taking one of those bedrooms and making a room for the kids. I thought if we could partition one room into two, then we could put bunk beds in them. What do you think?”

“We should do that. Sooner or later Marie is going to need her own room and privacy. And now I need some privacy because some man is going to show me the reward for doing a good job today.”

“Before dinner?”

“It might just be dinner for you.”

“I think I could use an appetizer.”

Laughing we went to our room, Puppy wanted to take a shower and I joined him. I did get my appetizer served in a novel dish, actually my favorite dish. My love for Puppy grows deeper each and every day. To my way of thinking, what he wants he’ll get, no questions asked.

As I entered the kitchen, “Who is cooking tonight?”

“It’s Dave’s turn.” That meant something fried or grilled. Dave’s speciality was frying or grilling.

“I’ll be in my office if you need anything.” I took a glass of iced tea and headed for my office. I called the contractor who had built the pool house and cabana. I told him what I wanted, he said he would come over this week-end and check it out.

Dinner was a simple affair, Dave grilled hamburgers, which the kids loved. We had the usual, salad and fruit plates. That seemed to be a standard for every meal, fruit and salad for lunch and dinner.

The week followed a pattern, the plane only made one other flight for the base commander, so the guys were home most of the time. We used the large dinning room when everyone was here. For the most part, our pilots had dinner with the group. They had breakfast and lunch in their apartment. Sometime, Vic and Ed would join them in their apartment for lunch, I’m sure the subject was girls. The surprise of the week came from Dan. He wanted to know how we felt if Charles decided to move into his bedroom. Inside I was happy for him, “Dan, it took you long enough.” I have never see Dan smile so much. The rest of the day, he had this smile on his face.

The one thing that never changes is time, it always marches forward. Carlos’s school had a break for some Guam holiday. It was only one day, but it was a Friday this year. I took the day to take the kids shopping, Puppy had to be at the hospital all day, so all of the guys came with us. I don't know what Tony pays them or how much money they have. When we got to town, Larry took me to the cafe, “We’ll sit here while they shop. The guys are going to pay for everything.”

“Are you sure, I don’t mind them taking the kids to shop but I’ll pay for their clothes.”

“They want to do this. If you haven’t noticed, all of us have adopted them as our nephews and niece. So let us show some love and to you and Puppy.”

I felt really blessed, we had such a good group of guys. Being gay and seeing it, made no difference to the men who have become as close to us as brothers. “Ok, what would you like to drink?”

We sat there and chatted about various things. Larry had indicated that they would remain with us only a few years longer. They wanted to adopt a family as well, but felt that they should get out of the security business first. If one got killed, it would be doubly hard on the one left alive, if they had children to worry about. They also couldn’t do their job as well, if they had to worry about their children all the time. Made a lot of sense to me. I’ll see if Tony can find a place for them in the organization so they will remain in close contact with us. They have been with Puppy and me, not a lifetime, but what we have gone through together, it seems like a lifetime.

We had been sitting there for two hours when the gang came into the diner. “You have been shopping for two hours and no packages?”

Carlos laughed. “We had so many we had to put them in the bus. Can we eat here?”

I nodded yes, the waitress came over and took their orders. I saw Carlos whispering to the kids and pointing to something on the menu. They nodded their heads. Carlos showed the waitress and said three. She nodded and left.

She brought our lunch just as Carlos was finishing telling me what the guys had bought. They seemed to have almost bought the store out. I watched the kids eat, they were hungry and had a smile on their faces. Looking at them, I realized that Carlos had accepted his position as big brother very seriously. I was proud of him. It was hard to ever think of him as Chago. That person was dead. There are times when I could see something in Carlos’s eyes that would indicate that he was thinking back to the times of Chago, then you would see the twinkle and know Carlos was back. I wondered about the future for him, will his early life as Chago haunt him or will the good Carlos give him the guidance to put that experience behind him forever. For once, I knew how my parents felt about me, I knew they must have wondered what my future held. I smiled when I realize they had no idea and neither did I until Puppy came into my life.

We finished lunch, I paid. On arriving home the kids took their packages to their room. I told the guys about separating the room into two bedrooms, they thought it was a good idea. When the kids came down, they were in their bathing suits, which the guys bought. “We’re going swimming. Larry and Vic are going to teach us.”

I thought I’d watch for a while. I sat in the cabana and that was a mistake. “While you’re here, can we get a massage?”

I couldn’t say no. I think they all got a massage except Larry and Vic who where with the kids. Modesty was not a concerned, as they stripped down and then walked naked back to their room. I would have to remind them that there’s a lady present now.

Our contractor showed up. I showed him Carlos’s room and told him what I wanted. He took some measurements and said he would be back with some drawings for approval.

I don’t know if you have ever had fished grilled in banana leaves, but David did a marvelous job. I’m not sure what spices and herbs he used, but there wasn’t a bit left over. Even the kids enjoyed it. “David, this was fantastic. You must make this when the old folks are here.”

“I’m a lucky guy. David will be cooking like this for me until the day I die.” There has never been a lot of times I’ve seen Larry kiss David. But I swear I saw David’s toes curl. Puppy looked at me and smiled.

“Larry, I think Tony said you had a degree. What is it?”

“I have a bachelors degree in business. When I left the service I used the GI Bill to study. I have never used it because I started to work for Tony in my senior year.”

“I might have a job for you but it would mean you would have to leave David.”

“Then forget the job, there is no way in hell I’ll leave David.” We all laughed, “I’m joking. I would leave David for a job.” Then he broke out laughing, grabbed David and another curl toe kiss. “I'd never leave you even if I had to scrub toilets. You’re my other half and no man can live unless they are whole. You make me whole.” Then I saw Larry’s toes curl. I was happy that they were happy.

But I did think about finding them something. I knew that they wanted to have children and they couldn’t work as security. It was too dangerous a job, the way Puppy has been targeted, they were in danger all the time.