Bork to be King I - My Little Gypsy Prince - 12. Chapter 12

Early in the morning, I woke up, still feeling tired.
The bright morning sun peeked through a crack in our curtains, and tickled my eyes.
However, I wanted to have some more sleep, grunted, and tried to shift away from the irritating assault...
Immediately, a heat radiating small body followed mine until it glued itself to me again, on its way uttering protesting sounds.

I started to laugh, and turned onto my side to have a look at it.
Again, my little soul mate had crawled into my bed during the night...
Well, I had better get used to my son's nightly escapades; and, to be honest, I didn't mind at all.
Carefully, I put my arms around his small frame and pulled him into my embrace.
He heaved a deep sigh of content, purred with delight, and fell asleep again.

I had a morning erection, because my bladder was full and told me to visit the bathroom.
However, it felt so good to have my boy in my arms, that I decided to wait for another minute.
He was sound asleep again, and wouldn't feel my stiffy until he woke up...
Then, I would immediately leave our bed and go downstairs to relieve myself.
Feeling happy, I dozed off again...

To my surprise, I woke up in our safe and cozy log cabin, having my snoring little son in my arms under our fur blankets.
Outside, the wind swept through the snowy trees, making them rustle and lose their remaining dead leafs.
In a far distance, a couple of hungry deer grunted loudly, looking for something to eat.
I hoped one of them would step into the hidden traps my son and I had set up, so that we would have enough meat for the upcoming weeks.

After my wife started to bleed and died in childbirth, I had been devastated.
Here I was, burying the only person in the world I truly loved.
The only thing she left me, was a small and hungry little baby, shivering from the sudden cold.
How would he survive without his Mom to nourish him?
I knew that he needed lots of milk and wouldn't be able to digest any solid food for a long time.
Where could I find enough milk to feed him?
And, how would I be able to warm him sufficiently?

Carefully, I wrapped my son in a deer pelt, and put the package in front of the glowing fireplace.
Then, I hasted outside to look for some breeding animal to milk.
Fortunately, I found a live deer with a young one in one of my traps.
I took the mother to my barn, closed the door, and tried to calm it down.
After a couple of failed tries, I learned how to milk it without being kicked and spilling all the milk onto the floor.
Now, I would be able to still my little son's hunger, supposing the deer survived.
I took my baby into my arms, and tried to feed him the still warm milk with a spoon; until he suddenly burped and threw up all of it onto my lap.
What had I done wrong?
I had no idea, sighed, cleaned us up, and started again.

Slowly, I learned how to feed and nurture my little boy, without any outside help.
During the day, he slept in an old cardboard box in front of the fire, now and then waking up to be fed and cleaned, or to play with his little fingers and toes.
At night, I took him into my bed to keep both of us warm.
He always fell asleep with a deep sigh of content, lying peacefully in my arms and snoring softly.
Fortunately, he was very healthy and never had any serious illness.
He was always good-tempered, never cried, and trusted me absolutely.

My son grew up prosperously and healthy; and soon followed me wherever I went, always trying to help me.
I taught him how to set up hidden traps, skin animals, and roast the nourishing dried meat over our campfire, using some herbs to make the food tastier.
During the day, we were clad in heavy fur coats to keep us warm; and, at night, we slept together under a couple of pelts to keep each other warm.
We didn't have any problems being naked, because nobody ever taught us the silly habit of being ashamed of certain parts of our own body...

One morning, the little imp felt my morning erection, poking against his bottom.
He grinned and started to wiggle and slide up and down, until he managed to let it slip in between his small legs.
Next, he started to play with its peeking top, until I almost exploded and hasted outside to relieve myself in a hurry!
From that time on, it became his favorite way of waking me and letting me know that he was hungry and wanted us to get up...

Slowly, I woke up from my slumber, still having little Harry in my arms.
Suddenly, I was very aware of my rigid morning erection; tenting my briefs and poking against my boy's small bottom!
I jumped up in shock, left the bed in a hurry, and hasted downstairs to empty my full bladder.

Feeling very uneasy, I went upstairs again, hesitating about what I should do now...
Had little Harry felt my morning erection, poking against his unclad bum?
What would he think of me now?
Our society changed quite a lot, since we lived in our log cabin and my little son teased me by tickling the top of my penis...
The same behavior that once felt 'normal', and was looked upon by my close friends as being funny, nowadays had turned into a serious crime!
Nobody would ever accept my explanation; but our society would see me as a filthy child molester, and my playful boy as the poor victim of my sexual aberrations...

Still feeling very uneasy, I crawled back into our bed, trying to keep some distance.
Immediately, little Harry shifted towards me and worked his small body back into my arms.
He heaved a deep sigh of content, purred with delight, and fell asleep again.
How could I ever deny my boy the feeling of love and safety he so obviously craved?

This dream made me painfully aware of the vulnerable position I was in.
I had to be very careful about what to do and how to react; always keeping in mind our over-prudish and mistrustful big brother society.
One wrongly understood or thoughtless word from my little soul mate, and I would lose him and never see him again.
Society would without any doubt convict me and put me in jail, for 'displaying indecent behavior' or 'assaulting an innocent minor'.
Nobody would ever bother about our 'past lives' and the innocent fun we once had as father and son in our cozy log cabin...

Little Harry started to stir, and yawned a couple of times.
Lazily, he stretched his small arms and legs, grunting and trying to wake up completely.
He turned around, crawled onto my stomach, and offered me a warm kiss.
He looked at my still sleepy face and chuckled, with a twinkle in his eyes:

"Dad, today it's your turn to make breakfast. Yesterday, I did it..."

"What time is it? Sorry, but I am not a morning person. Maybe, I am too old for this. Couldn't you bring me breakfast in bed?"

Little Harry chuckled at my grumbled protest, kicked our blankets away, and started to tickle me mercilessly.
For a moment, I let him have his fun, until the tickling became too much for my old body and I couldn't stand it any more.
I grabbed his hips, lifted him off my chest, and plopped him down next to me, making our waterbed wobble.
I turned around, crawled onto my knees, and triumphantly straddled him.
I started to tickle his small frame, playfully teasing him:

"Now, who is the real boss here?"

"Stop, Dad! Don't do that, because I have to pee and I'm nearly wetting the bed."

"Really? I think you are a little baby, and I have to buy you a packet of diapers."

"I think you are an old and senile man, and you ought to wear diapers yourself!"

"Did I hear somebody use the word 'senile'? WHAT do you think I am?"

Suddenly, our doorbell rang, loudly reverberating through the house.
At first, I thought it was John, planning to have breakfast with us as he promised...
But, why hadn't my clairvoyant boy sensed his presence ten seconds in advance, as he always did?
Maybe, his strange abilities only switched on every now and then...

Little Harry hurriedly wrestled from beneath me, while I helpfully pushed myself up to let him escape.
He didn't bother about putting on any clothes, but immediately raced downstairs to open the front door.

A split second later, he hurried back and bolted into our bedroom, looking upset, and almost tripping over his own feet:

"It's Mom. Err... it's John's mother, and she is crying..."

I rushed out of bed, wondering why Trudy would be crying and little Harry was upset.
Had something happened to John, or had Eric done something nasty?
I hoped not.
I almost started to HATE that cruel man, who didn't seem to have a heart.
Fortunately, his son John had a different character!

Little Harry raced to his own room to get his clothes.
He dragged them to my room; and both of us dressed in a hurry, without bothering about washing or combing our hair.
With little Harry upfront and skipping a couple of steps, we hasted downstairs.

Trudy waited for us in the hallway; wiping her eyes with her handkerchief.
Looking a bit ashamed, she tried to hide a black eye and a couple of nasty bruises...
She blew her nose in her handkerchief, and sniffled:

"Sorry, for bothering you this early. Please, may I have a word with you?"

"Of course, you may. Shall we go to the living room? Harry, could you get us a glass of water, please?"

Little Harry hurried towards the kitchen, while Trudy followed me to the living room.
She collapsed onto a chair, and started to cry her heart out.
Suddenly, she shouted:

"He ATTACKED me, the son of a bitch. He says he wants an immediate divorce. He wants to take Mark and Marrie, and I don't know what to do...
"This is too much for me. Why doesn't he leave my children and me alone? What have I done to deserve this..."

She started to cry again, and I offered her some tissues.
Little Harry returned with a glass of water, and stared at Trudy with concern in his eyes.
He put the glass down and consolingly threw his small arms around her neck.
I heard him whisper:

"It's okay to cry, Mom. Just let it go, and don't bottle it up. In a few minutes, you will feel a lot better."

Trudy looked at his worried eyes; and a feeble smile crossed her face.
She tried to suppress her sobbing, put her arms around his small frame, and pulled him onto her lap.
He smiled back at her, took the tissues out of her hand, and started to dry her puffy eyes.
Slowly, her sobs diminished, while little Harry took the next tissue.

After a moment, Trudy pulled herself together completely and stopped her sobbing.
Little Harry hopped off her lap, and politely offered her the glass of water.
She thanked him, took a couple of sips, and told us:

"I know I can trust both of you, and that is why I want to tell you what happened. I never told my life's story to anyone before, until two days ago I told Eric..."

Looking shameful, Trudy revealed to us the true story of her marriage:

Fourteen years ago, she met a nice and warmhearted man, living on his own in the neighborhood.
They started to talk, drank some wine; and, to her own surprise, they suddenly found themselves in each other's arms.
A moment later, they went upstairs and made love, and both of them enjoyed it very much.
However, Trudy didn't want to have a relationship, and honestly told him so.
They parted as good friends, but decided to let their escapade be a one-time happening.
They would leave each other alone from now on, and there wouldn't be any continuation.

After a month, Trudy was sure she was pregnant.
She decided to raise her child and nurture it, although she didn't want to be an unmarried mother.
However, she felt too ashamed to tell the father the truth, and blamed herself for not using any protection.
She also was too concerned about what her parents and the neighbors would say.
That is why she decided to seduce an unmarried friend from another town, named Eric.
She paid Eric a visit, told him she liked him, and persuaded him to make love to her.

A few days later, she went back to Eric.
She told him that she was pregnant from him, and wanted to marry because of their unborn child!
Eric immediately believed her, and blamed himself for not using any contraception.
They married in a hurry.
Eight months later, a little boy was born, and they decided to call him John, after Trudy's father.
The boy didn't resemble Eric, and their friends even started to joke about 'a nice postman', but Eric didn't suspect anything.
Trudy was in heaven with such a friendly and healthy child, and silently thanked Jack in her mind.

Two years later, Trudy and Eric had another boy, Mark; and, after another year, they had a girl, Marrie.
Eric never suspected that John wasn't his own child, although the boy clearly differed from his other children.
The only peculiar thing was that Eric hated Jack, and John could never do any good in his eyes...

Two days ago, after I took little Harry home, Trudy and Eric had a fight.
Eric accused Trudy of being too softhearted, especially regarding his oldest son, John.
He thought that John behaved too cheeky since he met that so-called 'Big Harry', and didn't show enough respect to his own father.
He also stated that they had to punish John more sternly from now on.
To start with, he wanted to forbid John from visiting Big Harry ever again...

Trudy was flabbergasted, and didn't know what to do.
She knew that John and I were already good friends, that he trusted me, and that he almost saw me as his second father.
She also wanted to protect John from her too rigid husband, who didn't understand anything about their true feelings.
In her grief and desperation, she finally told Eric the truth...
She exclaimed that he was stupid and jealous, and John wasn't even his own descendant!

Eric exploded with anger, called her a 'filthy whore', and told her he wanted an immediate divorce.
He almost hit her, but stomped upstairs and hastily filled a couple of trunks with his possessions.
Next, he promised her to be back soon, to take his own children, Mark and Marrie.
He took his trunks and left the house, slamming the door and still raging and swearing.

Yesterday evening, Eric returned suddenly, wanting to take Mark and Marrie to a juvenile home.
He wanted them to have a better education, and he also would save them from being corrupted by that 'Big Harry'.
The 'bastard child' could do as he liked from now on, because Eric didn't want to waste any more time on him...
He ordered Mark and Marrie to go upstairs and gather their belongings immediately.

Trudy was perplexed, but decided to defy her husband.
She started to yell; and threatened Eric to call the police and sue him for abandoning his family.
Feeling more and more angry, she pushed him towards the door and demanded that he leave immediately and never come back!
Eric exploded with anger again, attacked her, and forcefully slapped her face.

At that moment, John yelled at Eric to leave his Mom alone.
He threw himself at Eric with all his might and kicked him out of the house, raging and using his fists and his feet.
He told Eric to leave NOW and never come back, unless he wanted to be kicked out again by the only REAL man in the house!

Eric seemed to be afraid of John's sudden outburst of rage, and didn't dare fight him back.
The chicken turned around and hobbled away, yelling that he would be back again with a lawsuit.
He scrambled into his car and took off with screeching tires, on the way hitting a lamppost and losing a headlight...

Trudy collapsed, and started to laugh hysterically before she cried again.
Little Harry stared at her with even more concern, and slowly shook his head.
He went to me and crawled onto my lap, wanting to be held and feel safe...
Sitting together in silence, we waited for the uncontrollably crying Trudy to recover.
As a therapist, I knew what was happening, and I wasn't concerned about her mental health.
This was only an emotional outburst, and she would soon be herself again.
Still sobbing loudly, Trudy finally told us the truth about John:

"John's real father is JACK, the previous owner of your house. I never told him he has a son, and now it's too late...
"Jack is dead and buried, and he will never know that John is his own child and that I really loved him..."

At that moment, I thought I heard Jack's voice in my head, sounding sad:

"I DID know, but never told her."

Finally, I had the acknowledgment of what I already knew inwardly.
After I saw Jack in my daydream, I knew that John looked like Jack, and not like Eric...
Now, I was happy to know that John and Jack had been together regularly for the past two years, despite Eric's hatred.

Trudy seemed to feel a lot better, now that she had revealed her secret.
She rose from her chair and took another couple of tissues from the table.
She dried her eyes, looking at us apologetically...
Then, she asked us timidly:

"I never told this to anybody else. Please, could you keep it a secret from John, until he is old enough to understand the truth?"

Both little Harry and I nodded vigorously at the same time.
Of course, we would keep Trudy's revelation a secret.
She could count on us!

Trudy looked relieved, and went on:

"Now, I want to ask you for a favor. My children and I want to live in my mother's house for a couple of weeks, to evade Eric's wrath and recover from all our emotions.
"Both Mark and Marrie want to join me, but John asked me to leave him here, with you and Harry. Here, he can see his friends, he is very fond of Harry, and he thinks the world of you!
"I only hope I am not imposing too much... I know he will be in good hands here; and I am sure you can care for him properly..."

I looked at little Harry, and little Harry looked back at me.
Without using any words, both of us knew what the other thought.
Wasn't this exactly what Christian had foretold, and what my little soul mate had predicted?

We started to smile at the same time, and I told Trudy:

"Of course, you can leave John here. He will always be welcome in our house; and I will even let him have his own bedroom, with his own belongings in it.
"I will treat him as if he is my own child. You may always ask me for any help; and I am sure we can count on our little friend over here as well."

Little Harry nodded vigorously.
Of course, we could always count on him!
How could we ever be in doubt about such a self-evident thing...

Trudy rose from her chair and warmly embraced little Harry and me:

"Thank you very much, for all your help. Your generous offer takes a load off my mind. Both of you are wonderful friends, and you can always count on me as well...
"I am going to pack my belongings, and I will send John here as soon as possible."

Half an hour later, three cheerful children entered our house.
They carried a few boxes, a couple of plastic bags, two skateboards, and a wagonload of computer games.
Little Harry helped them carry everything upstairs, where they stowed it away in John's new room.
Within a few minutes, all of them were back and came into the living room.
Only, John limped a bit, and smiled at me apologetically:

"I've kicked Eric's shins a bit too forcefully, and sprained my ankle. But, I would do it again immediately.
"That son of a bitch has to keep his filthy hands off my Mom! I've already put my baseball bat in the hallway, in case he shows up again..."

John jumped up at me, trustfully letting me catch him in my arms in midair.
He hugged me almost to death, told me he loved me, and wished that I were his real father.
And, while living here, he would behave as if he was my own son...
I chuckled, tickled his ribs, and teasingly asked him:

"Are you sure you know how I would like my own son to behave?"

"Nah, that's entirely up to you, but I don't think it will be too difficult. Maybe, you could let me have some freedom at first, to experiment a bit?"

"Don't try to outwit me, son! It's difficult enough to have ONE brainiac around..."

"My Mom told me it was YOU who decided to let me have my own room here... So, having to cope with my witty brains is entirely your own fault."

"Of course... Suddenly, everything turns out to be MY fault. Thank you very much!"

Everybody started to laugh, while I put John onto his feet and again teasingly tickled his ribs.
He tried to tickle me back; but soon started to wince, because he had injured a couple of fingers as well...
With a sour face, he limped back to the others, promising to get back at me soon after his fingers had healed.

Suddenly, little Harry jumped up and raced to the front door, with a big smile on his face.
He opened the door just before the doorbell reverberated loudly through the hallway.
His strange gifts seemed to work again!
He returned, followed by Trudy, who wanted to collect her children and say farewell.
She handed John a piece of paper with her mother's phone number, and told him to call her now and then.
John offered me the paper; and I stored it in a drawer of my desk, next to Christian's business card.

Trudy told me again how grateful she was.
She hugged John, little Harry, and me; and I promised her again to take good care of her son.
Mark and Marrie followed her outside to a waiting taxicab; on the way promising to send us a postcard.
We accompanied them outside, and waved until the cab disappeared around a corner.

From now on, I had two growing boys living in my house.
I hoped I would be able to cope with them properly, without making too many mistakes.
Fortunately, both of them seemed to be very easy to manage; at least, up to now.
Hopefully, they would be able to cope with ME as well...

Feeling cheerful, I told them to get John's room ready for the night.
Both of them raced upstairs, to fetch the second folding bed from the attic.
I heard them rummaging around in John's new room; and bouncing up and down onto the groaning bed.
I hoped it would survive their attacks, but decided to let them have their fun without intervening...

Now, I heard them race to the hallway closet, looking for sheets, blankets, and pillows.
Immediately, they had a vigorous pillow fight; laughing, screaming, and having lots of fun; until they were too tired and slumped down onto the bed.
Finally, two happy looking boys bounced down the stairs and tumbled into the kitchen.
They didn't see me there, so they raced towards the living room, impatiently calling for me...
Then, they saw me, looking up from cleaning the hallway floor.

They raced towards me and asked, sounding in perfect stereo:

"Do you have something to eat? We are starved!"

"Growing boys have to eat lots of food; to grow strong and be as well-built as I am?"

Both of them stared at me in disdain, as if I told them a very bad joke.
They started to moan, rubbing their stomachs and doing their utmost to look famished...

I laughed at their exaggerated hungry faces, and followed my piteous ragamuffins to the kitchen.
Suddenly, my own stomach rumbled aloud, complaining that we hadn't eaten anything since yesterday.
These poor boys... they were living here for less than an hour, and I was already neglecting them!

John jumped onto my back; while little Harry clamped onto my front.
Still laughing, I dragged my precious load towards our kitchen, trying not to overload my groaning back.
I was already preparing myself, for having to endure many more of these attacks.
They WERE growing boys, and both of them loved our romping and teasing very much.
To be honest, I loved it too!

After our arrival in the kitchen, both boys slid down onto the floor and immediately started to look for food.
John dived for the milk in the refrigerator, while little Harry took the bowls and the cereal to the table.
They seemed to be really starved, and didn't even have time for any tasty cooking.
Both of them poured themselves a glass of milk and a bowl of cereal, and hastily started to wolf it down.
In the meantime, I treated myself to a cup of fresh coffee and munched on a self-made sandwich with cheese.

After their second bowl of cereal and milk, my bottomless pits finally calmed down.
John looked at us, seemingly a bit pensive.
He stared at little Harry and me with a questioning face...
In between two mouthfuls of cereal, he asked:

"I am still curious about what that psychic medium, Christian, told you..."

Little Harry hastily put the last spoonful of cereal into his mouth, and swallowed it down in a sudden hurry.
He almost choked, and had to drink a lot of milk to wash it down.
He recovered, looking bright red and staring at us a bit apologetically.
He coughed, cleared his throat, and enthusiastically started to tell:

"After the fire, I totally forgot that I am a Prince; and I will be a Gypsy King when I am old enough. My parents are of Royal Herot... err... herot-something?
"They were our King and Queen, and I am the only Heir to the Throne!"

John almost choked on his mouthful of cereal, while he exclaimed:

"What? Really? You are a PRINCE, and of Royal Heritage?"

"Oh yeah, the word is 'heritage'... Yes, I always knew that I had an important task to fulfill on earth, but I couldn't remember what it was.
"Now, I know that my own people are waiting for me, to be their King when I am old enough to reign. The only thing is, they don't know where I am, and I don't know how to find them..."

"Goodness... I am speechless! This is the last thing I expected. So, from now on, we will have to call you 'PRINCE Harry'..."

"Don't you DARE! We have to keep this a secret from everybody else, until I am old enough and have found my own people."

John stared at our little Gypsy Prince with a look of disbelief in his eyes.
He swallowed his cereal, and slowly turned towards me, shaking his head...
Still looking as if he couln't believe his little brother, he asked me:

"Is Harry telling the truth? Or, is he making this up..."

"He is really telling the truth!"

"Oh... wow!"

Absent-mindedly, John took another spoonful of cereal and brought it to his mouth.
He chewed a few times, swallowed, and rinsed it down with some milk, still staring into space.
He seemed to be very impressed about his little brother being a Prince...

Little Harry looked at John and me with sparkling eyes.
Obviously, he was very eager to tell all his secrets to his bigger brother.
In his enthusiasm, he didn't even see that John still tried to digest the unexpected information...

Our little Prince cleared his throat again, and went on:

"You know what Dad told you about his little brother, Joshie? After Joshie died, he immediately went back to the earth, and reincarni... err... was born again, as JACK.
"Dad and Jack are BROTHERS! That is why Dad bought Jack's former house, because Jack wanted him to live here. Jack also helped Dad to meet US and be our friend...
"In our past lives, I was Dad's little son, and you were our best friend. A grizzly bear killed all of us and we went to heaven, but now we are together again.
"Now, you are born as Jack's own son, and that makes you Dad's nephew..."

Suddenly, little Harry clasped both hands over his mouth, looking very shocked.
He turned a deep red, almost started to cry, and tried to disappear under the table...
Sounding barely audible, he stuttered:

"I... I was not allowed to tell you that. Sor... sorry... It had to be a secret, until you were old enough to understand the truth..."

He fell silent, plopped his head onto his arms, and didn't dare look up again...

John fell silent too.
He forgot to eat his next spoonful of cereal, and stared into space with a deep frown.
Now and then, he heaved a couple of sighs, as if he tried to put his baffled thoughts together.
For a split second, he looked at little Harry and me, before staring into space again.
Slowly, his expression started to change from surprise towards comprehension...
Finally, he turned towards me, and thought aloud:

"I've always suspected that Eric wasn't my real father, but I couldn't prove it. Both Mark and Marrie look like him, but I look totally different.
"I look like Jack; and Jack and I always teased each other about it, making fun of having the same nasty genes. We even had the same bad habits...
"Jack and I loved each other very much, and now I understand why. Jack was way more a real Dad to me than Eric ever was.
"Eric always picked on ME, and never on Mark or Marrie. And, Eric hated Jack, and always ridiculed him...
"I think he suspected something, but couldn't prove it."

John fell silent again.
Little Harry stared into his bowl with a blushed face, and absent-mindedly poked in it with his finger.
I thought about how to proceed from here.
Was this MY fault?
Should I have warned little Harry some more?
What would John do, when the full significance of this sudden revelation dawned on him?
What would Trudy think of us, when she heard that we had broken our promise?
She would never trust us again...

Suddenly, I heard Jack's voice in my head, sounding a bit timid:

"Please, don't blame yourself, because it isn't your fault. I forced your son to reveal the truth, because my OWN son has to know who he is. Sorry..."

Little Harry looked up from his bowl in surprise, as if he heard something.
He frowned, listened for a few seconds, and slowly shook his head.
He even started to look a bit naughty...
Had Jack told him it wasn't his fault?
I hoped so!

I reached across the table and ruffled his hair:

"You didn't do anything wrong, and it is good for John to know the truth about his father! Don't worry too much about your promise, as you are only eight years old!"

Little Harry looked up at me in surprise, but the sun returned into his eyes.
He looked at John, who was still deep in thought; and shook his head again...
He looked back at me, and I thought I saw a faint smile cross his lips...
Then, he grabbed my hand and told me with a smug face:

"The words just slipped out of my mouth, and I couldn't help it. Then, Jack told me he changed my 'flow of thoughts', because his son has to know the truth.
"But, I still don't want to be a blabbermouth! Now, I am mad at Jack, and I told him to go away and leave me alone. Next time, I want him to warn me in advance."

Again, I saw his demeanor of aristocracy, as if he kindly admonished his subject...
I started to chuckle, grinning at the thought that even our so-called spirit guides weren't infallible.
I would keep that in mind for next time!

John looked up at me with a questioning face; but I told him that I only laughed at my own thoughts.
He shook his head in disbelief, as if he thought I was a weirdo...
He rose from his chair and started to clear the table.

Working together, we put away the cereal and the milk, and washed the bowls.
We went to the living room and sat down on our couch, still feeling a little bit uneasy...
Suddenly, John jumped up and threw himself onto my lap.
With a small voice, he asked me:

"May I call you 'Dad', please? I know you are my 'uncle', but I don't like that word..."

I looked at little Harry, and little Harry looked back at me and nodded.
Again, we had a conversation without words.
We understood each other.
I kissed the top of John's head, and told his curly hair:

"You may call me 'Dad' while you are here; but, please, don't tell this to your father."

John sat up angrily; and exclaimed, with bitterness in his voice:

"Eric is NOT my father; and I wish I had known this before. My REAL father was Jack! But, now that Jack is dead, I want YOU to be my new Dad."

He threw his arms around my neck, and smothered my face with kisses.
For a long time, he stared into my eyes; while his deep brown orbs radiated pure love.
I pulled him closer, feeling happy and welcoming my new son into my life...

Then, little Harry claimed his share and joined our cuddle.