Salvation - 2. Chapter 2

Chris came over and stood by my desk, “Are you still concerned about your future?” He nodded, yes.

“My boys call me Dad, you can do that as well, if you want, or you can call me Mister Jeffries. I’m an international lawyer, and I have clients all over the world. For me, this has been a fantastic occupation as I get to travel and meet fantastic people. It also provides me with the opportunity to help children like yourself. I have my office in New York City, but I live in Connecticut, which is very close to New York. I have a large home where I live with my boys. That’s where you’ll live as well. You’ll have your room, but there are chores you’ll need to do, and of course, you’ll have to go to school. I know you’ll have fun.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I think you still don’t trust me. I want you to relax and to trust me. I’m not going to hurt you. If we go home and you don’t want to stay, I’ll bring you right back here or wherever you want to go.” I got the feeling he didn’t buy it. I also knew once he’s at my home and meets the other boys, he’ll be glad that he came home with me.

The day passed fast for me, but I knew it passed very slow for Chris. We had dinner at the hotel, only this time there was no buffet. We had to order from the menu. I explained the menu to him, making suggestions. He waited until I ordered, “I’ll have the same”

The waiter brought our appetizers. I watched Chris look at the shrimp. “Have you ever eaten shrimp before?”

“No, are they good to eat?”

“I like them. Take one by the tail and dip it into the sauce.” I watched him mimic me as I did just what I told him to do. One bite and he was sold. His smile said he’d enjoy the shrimp. “Take the lemon and squeeze it into the sauce. If you like it a little spicier, add some of that hot sauce. Go carefully as it’s really hot.” I watched as he followed my instructions. He took a bite, and I knew it was too hot for him. He grabbed the glass of water and took a huge drink. “Here, take mine and add just the lemon.”

I ate two of my shrimps. He had finished his, so I pushed my shrimp toward him and watched as he finished eating mine. The smile was worth missing a few shrimp. Our next course was our salad that he knew and dug right in. I didn’t share mine.

Our steaks came with a rather large baked potato loaded with butter and cheese. I noticed he watched me cut a piece of my steak. He tried to mimic me but was having trouble. I put my hand over his and guided the knife to cut a piece of his meat. I suddenly realized that I enjoyed doing this. At home, it was Maria who did this. I did this a few times, and then he took over. The first few cuts weren’t the cleanest, but by the time half of the meat was gone, he was doing just fine. Of course, the potato was no problem. The waiter had brought a side dish of a medley of vegetables, Chris had no problem with that. He tackled that and then looked at mine. I passed that to him as well.

The waiter returned to pick up our plates and left a dessert menu. I ordered coffee and pie a la mode for Chris. “Do you want a glass of milk or a coffee au lait?”

He took the coffee. He looked at me and smiled when he saw the pie and ice cream. I loved that smile.