The Boy on the Porch - 11. Growing Relationships, Home Ownership, and Court Looms

Brendan and Skylar spent nearly three hours together, talking about anything and everything. Skylar was a die-hard Braves fan and practically drooled when Brendan told him about his brother. Skylar had known Rich traveled a lot and that eliminated him from fostering, but he wasn't aware what the travel was for. Brendan had to promise to introduce them. It had been nearly a month since he saw Rich, although they spoke on the phone a lot. He'd have to invite them both over to dinner soon. Although that may be tricky, with the Braves in position for one of the wild card slots. Skylar shared that he didn't have a lot of experience of a carnal nature. Brendan assured him that taking things slow would be fine; especially with Skylar being the kids’ caseworker.

Brendan came home from his date with Skylar in a great mood. They got to know each other a little better and shared a chaste kiss upon parting. Skylar was timid, so Brendan knew he'd have to take things slow with him, but he was okay with that. He was willing to take things at Skylar's speed because, if he was honest with himself, he was very attracted to the man. Was it love at first sight? While Brendan didn't think so, he knew strong feelings existed almost immediately. It would take a few more dates, but he would discover Skylar had similarly strong feelings.

Jill noticed his good mood, "Was it a good date?"

"Yes. It was. We talked a lot, got to know each other better. It will be the first of many, I hope."

"I think you're right. You have this sparkle in your eye. You're happy."

"Yes, I am. I have a wonderful family, a good prospect for a satisfying relationship. On Monday, I'll be the owner of a gorgeous house. Yeah, I'm very happy."

"Good. You deserve it."

"Thanks. Where's Andrew?"

"He left a little while ago. We watched a movie with the boys and talked for a while after it was over and I sent them upstairs. Nick's asleep, Steve was playing on his phone when I went up a couple minutes ago. All quiet on the western front."

"And was Andrew a gentleman?"

"Yes, he was. Um, he knows my father abused me, I didn't share any details, but he understands that it's pretty much hands off until I’m ready. We held hands and he kissed me goodnight. I'd guess it’s like with you and Mr. Lewis, it was a 'getting to know you better' date. We didn't talk too much when we went to the movie, and I didn't share my troubles when he was over swimming."

"So, when is the next date?"

"Oh, U.B."

"Okay, just let me know. We have to coordinate our dating schedules. One of us has to be here."

"Yep. I don't think I scared him away with the prospect of no action for a while. At least I hope not. He's really sweet. Speaking of you dating, is it payday?"

Smiling, Brendan took out his wallet, "Here you go, three hours, right?"

"Close enough."

Brendan handed Jill thirty dollars and said goodnight. He looked in on Steve on the way up and said goodnight to him as well. Like Jill said, Nick was sound asleep.

Rich called on Friday before his game to make sure everything was set for Monday's closing.

"We still on for Monday?"

"Yep, everything's ready to go."

"Great. Our last regular season game is tomorrow night. Can I stop by on Sunday to drop off the cashier’s check?"

"That would be awesome. I can give you yours, too. Why don't you come by mid-afternoon. I'll get burgers and dogs and give you a tour of the house you're buying."

"You're buying it, I'm only playing banker. But sure, that sounds great. Um, can you get some salads and a couple vegan burgers?"

"Since when are you a vegan?"

"I'm not. My new girlfriend is. Is it okay if I bring her along?"

"Are you kidding? Of course. I'll invite my new boyfriend and we'll both meet our significant others."

"New boyfriend? What happened to, what was it, George?"

"Greg, he broke up with me, he's getting transferred the first of the year and didn't want a prolonged goodbye."

"Sorry to hear that. So, the new guy is just a rebound fill-in."

"I hope not. I really like him a lot."

"That's great. Good for you. Okay, gotta truck. I'll see you Sunday."

"Okay, bye Rich."

"Bye bro. Take care."

Brendan gave Skylar a call to see if he was willing to come over Sunday. He was hesitant to publicize their relationship in any way until Brendan told him Rich was coming. He immediately said he'd be there.

"He won't mind if I bug him for an autograph or two, will he?"

"Nah. He's always cool about that. He thinks ignoring the fans would be like cutting his salary. No fans, less money."

"Cool. What time?"

"You can come by any time. I told him mid-afternoon, so, one or two would be fine."

"Great. I was hoping I could see you again soon. I had a really good time Wednesday night."

"I did too."

"Okay. See you Sunday, then. Bye."

"Bye Skylar."

Friday night's dinner saw Brendan smiling the whole time. Everything was coming together for him. He was the happiest he'd ever been. Jill begged Brendan to let Andrew join them on Sunday to meet their other uncle. Since neither Nick nor Steve were concerned about their friends meeting Rich, they didn't make a fuss, but reserved the right to invite friends the next time he came. Brendan accepted all conditions.

He took the kids for their regular Saturday shopping trip, remembering to buy a couple vegan burgers and a few different salads. The Braves had clinched a playoff spot, so he had ordered a cake, to congratulate Rich. Later in the afternoon they took a trip to Best Buy.

"Why are wu-we here U.B.?"

"Time for you all to move further into the twenty-first century. You have cell phones now, but playing games on them all the time will strain your eyes. So, you're all getting tablets."

"No way!"

"Yes way, Jill."

They walked through the store, arriving at the computer section. Brendan told the salesman what he was looking for and they were shown a number of options. Nick got a mint green ten point one inch Amazon Fire. Steve and Jill were allowed to get something a little better, since they probably wouldn't grow out of them as quick as Nick. Jill and Steve both chose ten point nine inch iPads. Jill chose pink and Steve chose yellow. Brendan ended up spending less than he would have for another week in the motel and meals out that he never spent.

Skylar arrived a little after one o'clock on Sunday, carrying a nine by twelve envelope.

Nick was curious, "What's in there Mr. Lewis?"

"A couple baseball cards and photos."

"Wu-what f-for?"

"I want to have your Uncle Rich sign them for me. Do you think four things is too many, Brendan?"

"No, I think he'll be okay with that. Is Andrew bringing anything to get signed, Jill?"

"He said he had a couple cards he'd ask about."

"I guess that's okay. At least nobody's asking for a dozen things to be signed."

Jack Markson brought Andrew over a little before two o'clock.

"Is your brother here yet?"

"No, but I expect him any time."

Jack looked disappointed, "Oh. Okay, well, maybe I can meet him when I pick Andrew up."

Brendan decided to have a little fun with him, "Yeah, I guess that'll be okay. I don't know how long he'll be staying, though."

"Oh."

"I'm kidding. Why don't you stay? I have plenty of food."

Jack cheered right up, "Really?"

"Sure. You don't have a million things you want signed, do you?"

"No. I don't need an autograph. Just meeting someone kind of famous is enough for me."

"Come on out back, everybody is hanging out there."

Rich showed up a short time later with his latest girlfriend, Theresa. He happily signed autographs, and everybody got along and had a good time. Brendan especially had a good time, surrounded by family that weren't assholes, and a couple good friends. He never realized what he was missing because his sister was such a bitch. But he had it now, and he would do everything he could to keep it.

Monday morning, instead of heading to work after the kids left for school, he headed to the lawyer's office where the closing was occurring. He met the owners, thanked them repeatedly for the rent break they gave him and for cleaning the pool. He made sure he had taken some pictures of the kids to show them, since they apparently were so happy to be helping out children in need. They gushed over the children as if they were their own grandkids. Brendan said if they ever wanted to stop over and meet them, they were welcome. They traded phone numbers, he gave them the mail that hadn't been forwarded, and then they all signed a shitload of papers. Even though he already had keys, they gave him one more set they had discovered.

Brendan was curious about their buyer’s requirements.

"If you don't mind me asking, Mr. and Mrs. Duncan, why were you requesting a family with children in school, and who 'really needed it?'"

Mr. Duncan replied, "We don't mind. We had a child die young and weren't able to have any others. To try to fill that hole in our hearts, we fostered children for nearly twenty-five years. It may be silly, but we wanted to make sure that whomever bought our home was at least somewhat like us."

"It's not silly at all. I think it's a very good reason for your view. I'm also thankful you had that requirement. Otherwise the house would have been sold long before we ever got a chance to look at it."

"Well, when Ms. Walsh told us she had a family that wanted to look at the house, and she indicated, generally, what your situation was, we knew we'd found the right buyer."

"Well, again, I thank you. We already love the house, it's really perfect for us, if not a touch too big. Although, I already have some thoughts about use for the extra bedroom."

They all said goodbye, Brendan took his copies of all the paperwork and headed into work. His co-workers recognized his good mood, so he spent most of the rest of the morning filling people in on what was happening in his life.

Tuesday afternoon, he left Jill and Steve home and went with Nick to his psychologist's appointment. Due to Nick's age, the doctor felt it best that Brendan stay for the whole visit, at least for the first time, rather than speaking to him solo, like he and a partner did for the other two. Nick had the same doctor as Steve, while Jill was seeing a female doctor that was part of the same practice. Having a woman in the practice was one of the determining factors in choosing them.

"Hello, Nicholas. Or do you prefer Nick?"

"I like Nick, Doctor Lansing."

"Fine. Nick it is. How old are you now?"

"I'll be eight the end of the month."

"So, you were a Halloween baby?"

"Yes."

"How do you like living with your Uncle?"

"It's great. Way better than it was with my parents."

"I can imagine. Your uncle has told me you were abused, but no details. Can you tell me some of the things your parents did to you that you didn't like?"

The 'no details' wasn't exactly true, but Dr. Lansing wanted to hear things directly from Nick, in order to judge his manner discussing them. Nick talked about the accidents, his father's kissing, the punishments and the hole.

"Well, you've been through a lot for such a young man. How do you feel toward your parents now?"

Nick looked at Brendan, afraid to say exactly what he wanted to. Brendan encouraged him, "Go ahead, be honest. I know how you feel about them."

"I hate them. I'm happy they're in jail and I hope they stay there forever. I don't ever want to see them again, but I know I will when I have to, I think it's teftify at their trials."

"You're close. It's testify. But how you feel is completely understandable. Are you angry at them for what they did?"

"Yeah, I guess. But it's hard to stay angry, because I can't do anything about it."

"Ah, but you can. You can direct that anger into making sure you tell the truth when you testify. Telling the judge, and jury if there is one, will likely ease some of that anger, because you will have done everything you could to make sure they get punished for their actions. And not punished like they punished you, punished in a legal way. Which is always better."

"I guess."

"Are you afraid they won't get punished?"

"A little. What if the judge doesn't believe us? If they don't stay in jail, I'll have to go live with them again."

"You don't want to do that, I'd imagine?"

"No. I like it with Uncle Brendan. I don't even have my accidents anymore. Well, I dropped a dish once, and at first I was afraid. I knew a broken dish hurt, because I had to squeeze them a couple times with my parents. But he just said it was alright, it's only a dish, and didn't make me squeeze it."

"Did that surprise you? That he didn't punish you the way your parents did?"

"At first. But I remembered he said he wouldn't do things like my parents did. I guess until something happened, I wasn't really sure."

"Do you think that maybe because you were afraid all the time at home, that may have been a reason you had so many accidents?"

"You mean like I was trying too hard to be careful and messed up?"

"Basically, yes."

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Can we talk about the hole in the backyard?"

Another look at Brendan, "I guess."

"Were you afraid when you were in there?"

"Yes. It was dark, I couldn't see anything. I didn't know if any animals or anything could have come through the dirt."

"And did they?"

"I felt something crawling on me a couple times, but it was tiny, like an ant or something."

"And you had no food or water. Did you think maybe your mother would never come back to let you out?"

"Not at first, I had a little water. But the longer I was down there, yeah, I thought that might happen. She was really mad when she put me in."

"Where did the water come from?"

"It was just there. I saw it when I went down the ladder. Just a couple swallows in a plastic bottle."

"Do you remember ever being put in there before?"

"Once, but she didn't close the top and didn't leave me too long. She said it was a short time out."

"Could the water have been from then?"

"No. I didn't have any that time, but like I said, I wasn't there long."

"All right. I think that's all for today. Would it be okay if we talk again maybe in a couple weeks?"

"Sure, you're pretty nice."

"Thanks. I just need a minute with your uncle, if you can wait with my receptionist for a moment."

"Okay."

Nick left, and the doctor queried, "Did either of the other children ever mention being put in the hole?"

"No, neither one ever said anything about it."

"You need to ask. The fact that the water bottle was already there, and it wasn't from Nick being there before bothers me. Please, call and let me know when you find out."

"I will."

"Great. I'd like to see Nick again in two weeks. I must say, after seeing all three children, you must have made them feel very comfortable. What they've all been through... Would have affected them much worse if it continued."

"Well, I've been trying. After hearing their horror stories I may even be too lenient."

"Leniency at this stage wouldn't be a bad thing. But you also have to make sure they don't take advantage of it. If they see they can get away with anything, you'll soon find it harder to keep control without some level of discipline. Parenting walks a fine line."

"I understand. But that discipline won't be physical, that's for sure."

"Very good. I'll see you in two weeks, then."

"Thanks Doctor Lansing."

"You're welcome, goodbye."

Once again, time passed quietly. Jill had a couple more dates with Andrew, as did Brendan with Skylar. As expected, both relationships moved slowly. Jill and Andrew had moved on to a few kisses each date, but not the the extent of of making out. Brendan and Skylar were a little bit further along, but even they were still relatively tame, having done no more than passionate kissing. Brendan discovered neither of the other two children had ever been in the hole long enough to need water. Dr. Lansing was still concerned how the bottle got there. Rightly so, as it turned out.

The time had come for the children's pediatrician visits. Once again, Jill saw a female doctor. Aside from a short discussion with Brendan present at the start, her visit was private. Nick had his appointment with a male doctor at essentially the same time. Brendan remained for that one. Since he didn't have any records, they all received the expected inoculations for their ages, and any that, if they were given previously, would not be harmful to receive again. Nick was given a clean bill of health, seeing as his abuse wasn't as physical as the other two. Any scars he had would be of the emotional variety.

Jill stayed out in the waiting room with Nick while Brendan stayed with Steve. The doctor was justifiably concerned with his stuttering, due both the physical and emotional abuse he had endured. He ordered an MRI to ensure the hits to his head by his father had caused no long-term effects. Brendan told the doctor that he felt the stuttering had improved a little after his psychologist appointment. The doctor explained that the emotional trauma was just as easily a cause as the physical, but the MRI was necessary to eliminate any possibilities of any unseen injury. Otherwise, Steven was physically healthy as well.

Brendan had a short discussion with Jill's doctor before they left.

"Thanks for staying to see me, Mr. Nelson."

"Not a problem, Doctor Backle."

"I need to ask you what you know about Jill's abuse."

Brendan went over what Jill had said during her deposition.

"I was afraid of that. Do you think it's possible she told the police woman more than she said to the lawyer?"

"I suppose it's possible."

"She may not have told the police woman anything different. Here is the problem. I found both vaginal and anal scarring, Mr. Nelson. Neither of which would be caused by what she's already shared. Both instances were definitely not recent, so I can't see how you'd be the cause, apologies for thinking that, but I have to be concerned for the child."

"I understand. When you say not recent, are you thinking months, years, what?"

"It's hard to say without a more detailed examination, but very likely it's been at least a couple years. Is there a specific officer you've been working with? I am legally bound to share my findings in this case."

"Yes. The lead detective is a Detective Taos."

"Good. Unfortunately for another child, I have had the need to deal with him before. I will ensure he gets a full report. I must insist that a more detailed examination be done. It would have to be an outpatient procedure at the hospital. I can schedule that for Saturday, if that would be convenient."

"Any time would be convenient, doctor. That's obviously not something I would want delayed. Her father's trial is coming up in a couple weeks, so the timing of this discovery is very fortunate."

"I'm glad you feel this way. I'll be in touch with the hospital and will give you a call about what time on Saturday."

"Thanks for sharing this with me doctor. I'll talk to Jill about it after we get home, let her know you want further tests."

"I suggest you play down the severity. It may be something she's blocked out, especially if she was very young."

"I understand."

"Thank you. I have had parents who didn't understand when a situation like this occurs. Your attitude is refreshing. I'll let you get back to the children now. I'll be in touch."

"Thank you Dr. Backle."

When they got home, Brendan told Jill that the doctor wanted to do a couple more tests to make sure everything was fine in her nether regions. Jill didn't seem upset about it at all. Obviously, that led Brendan to believe she had blocked it out.

Brendan received a call from Detective Taos the following day.

"Did you know about the scarring and/or potential rape and sodomy?"

"No, I found out yesterday from Dr. Backle. Jill said nothing about that, not even at the deposition. The doctor thinks she may have blocked it out."

"I'll let Jenny Smart know about this. But unless Jill remembers it, Abel's lawyer will chew it up and spit it right back out. Shit, they could even accuse you of being the cause."

"I had thought of that, but I lived with them less than a week, ten years ago. That and the doctor thought it was probably more recent."

"Just letting you know we may not be able to use it. Hopefully we can, it'll add twenty years to that bastard's sentence."

Next Up - “More Tests, More Evidence, and the Trials Begin”