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Manny Needs a Nanny - 15. The Homecoming
Rocky went to see his friend Kenny after dinner. They played some video games, but Kenny got curious.
"What did you need to talk to that guy Steve about?"
"Um. Something about a couple more of his friends."
"The gay kids?"
"Oh, you know that?"
"Yeah, the whole school does. I've heard that they say they're not boyfriends, but they went to the Valentine's Day dance last year together. I wasn't there, but other kids said, it was really weird watching them dance close."
"Wow. Well, I wanted to know if they ever tried to make him do anything, you know, gay. I like them, but wouldn't want to do anything with them like that."
"I get it. I wouldn't either. What'd Steve say?"
"He said, they've never done anything."
"That's cool. I'm really sorry about, I guess, your foster dad. Is he going to be okay?"
"Yeah. He'll be evaluated for an arm transplant. Hopefully, he'll be approved."
"That must be weird. I guess, they take an arm from a dead guy, huh?"
"Yeah. I doubt anyone would give up an arm. It's not like a kidney. I mean, you can still live with one arm, but why give one up for a stranger."
"When will he get his new arm?"
"Don't know. They have to wait for one that matches, like any other transplant."
Kenny giggled, "Yeah, it'd be funny to get a black guy's, or even a girl's arm."
"It'd be a hell of a conversation starter. Would you be half-gay with a girl’s arm?"
Kenny tried not to laugh, "Where did you get your spare arm? Oh, I got mine from the mannequin shop at the mall."
They both laughed about that. A little while later, Rocky left for home. He looked for Bass to get an update on Manny.
"Hi Bass. How was Manny today?"
"Better every day. He had his psych evaluation today. He'll probably hear the results next week. The surgeon figures, it will another couple days in the hospital before he'll be able to come home. He's been seeing an occupational therapist to get used to doing things one-handed. He said, that's coming along well, but he'll keep seeing the therapist a few times a week after he comes home."
"Well, I know, I'll help him do anything, he needs me to."
"We have to let him do as much for himself as he can. It wouldn't help him in the long run if we did everything and he can’t get the transplant, or even a prosthesis. He said, the therapist will go over some do's and don’ts with us the first time he visits here."
"Yeah, I guess, that makes sense. I hope he can get the transplant, though."
"We all do. Have homework?"
"Yeah, a little. Real school sucks. Mom gave me assignments, but not like four subjects worth every day."
"You'll get used to it. Off you go."
"K. See you later."
Friday
School was mostly uneventful. Rocky told the guys that he wasn't going to bail on them because Bobby and Paul were gay. They were all happy. Rocky may have been smaller than all of them, but they knew he'd be a formidable ally if anyone ever gave them trouble.
Bobby's curiosity couldn't be contained, "So, are you okay, telling us about the two gay men you know?"
"Yeah. I guess so. Manny, my guardian, is one. The other is, well, I guess, now just the house manager, Sebastian, or Bass. He used to be my bodyguard too, but a lot of stuff happened since my parents died to lessen the need for that."
Mark was shocked, "Why would you need a bodyguard?"
"Well, my dad was, um, involved, with a bunch of slimy characters. He figured; we should have someone watching out for us."
Paul was up next, "How did your parents die?"
"Dad and my stepmom died in a car accident. My real mom died in a bomb blast."
"That sucks dude. When did your real mom die?"
"I was just a baby, Mark. I never really knew her. Bass and the other folks at the house don't know that I know that. They all think I believe, Kelly, dad's wife, was my real mom."
Back to Paul, "If they didn't tell you, how did you find out?"
"Poking around in my dad's study. A few years ago, I found my birth certificate and some kind of custody paper for Kelly. I didn't see any point in saying anything about it, if they weren't going to tell me."
Steve asked, "Didn't that make you mad? That your father never told you the truth?"
"At first, but then I figured, what could I do about it? Can't change it, so why get upset?"
Mark queried, “How did you find out your real mother died because of a bomb?”
Rocky hesitated, not wanting to share all the details.
“I found some notes, my dad made about his search for the bomber. It included some details about the bombing itself.”
Bobby got into the act, "So, Manny and Bass. Do you know if they, um, do stuff?"
"I imagine you mean sex stuff. I guess they do. I know this, Bass slept in Manny's room one night a while back. I have no idea what they might have done, though."
"Do you, um, think, they might be willing to talk to me, you know, about being gay?"
"I don't know, Bobby. Manny's in the hospital right now. I could ask Manny and Bass if they'd be willing. After I know when Manny's coming home, maybe you can all come over. I hope he'll be home before next Saturday, if you guys could all ask your folks about coming over then."
They all agreed, they would ask about that. Rocky gave them his address just before lunch ended. As he discussed with Steve the previous day, he got off at Steve's stop and spent some time hanging out there. He called home just before dinnertime and Patrick came to pick him up.
Seeing Bass as Rocky walked in the door, "Can we go visit Manny after dinner, Bass?"
"We could, but there really isn't much point: He'll be coming home tomorrow afternoon."
"Really? Awesome!"
"Yeah, it will be totally awesome to have him back home. I really can’t wait."
"Can I ask you something else?"
"Always."
"Well, I told you, I made a few friends. I was wondering if maybe they could come over next Saturday?"
"I don't see why not. We'll have to make sure Manny's okay with it, but I can't see why it would be a problem."
"Good. Um, two of them are gay. One of them, Bobby Panner, asked if maybe he could talk to the two of you about being gay."
"I’m proud of you for making friends with them; considering your, attitude. We'll have to talk to Manny about that. And it might also be a good idea to ask his parents if they'd have a problem with us doing that. It could get ugly if his parents weren't okay with it."
"Thanks. That makes sense. I'll tell him, and Paul too, I guess, on Monday."
"Tuesday. Monday's Labor Day. No school."
"Oh, cool. A day off already. I guess I can call them tomorrow after Manny gets home and we talk about it."
"That would be a good idea."
Saturday
Manny called Bass around eleven o'clock, saying he'd be ready to go after two. Bass asked Rocky if he'd like to go along. Dumb question; of course, he said ‘yes’. They had Patrick drive, so the rest of them could talk easier on the way home. The three of them walked into his room and saw him waiting on the bed; dressed and ready to go. Bass had brought him clean clothes the day before, knowing his release was imminent. That, and the clothes he was wearing when he was picked up by the EMTs, had hit the trash a week ago, bloodied or cut up.
"You ready to go?" Bass asked.
"Yep. Just need to wait for my temporary chauffeur. Sorry Patrick, they won't let you drive me out the door."
"Hey, I'm just happy, I'll be able to drive you at all."
"Yeah. I think you'll be doing that for a while. They said thirty days, but I have a feeling I'm not going to be comfortable driving myself. Among other things."
Rocky asked, "What other kinds of things won't you be able to do?"
"Well, for one, jerk off with my left hand."
They all looked at him; shocked.
Explaining his reasoning for the joke, Manny said, "Hey, if I can't joke about it, I'm not going to be able to handle it. So, I may say some things that will shock you. I'm only doing it as a coping mechanism. Just go with it."
"I guess, that makes some sense. I know, I definitely didn't expect that answer."
"I didn't either, Bass. It just popped into my head when Rocky asked the question. Basically, for a while, I just need to take it easy, and try to remember to not reach for things with my missing hand. I can't pick up anything heavy. I can't swim or take a bath until my follow-up visit with Dr. Ko. I’ll have to wear a protective cover when I shower. Stuff like that. Mostly, if I don't think, I should do it; don't do it."
They waited a few more minutes until an orderly arrived to escort Manny to the main entrance. Patrick pulled up the car, Bass and Rocky let Manny open the door for himself. Manny sat on the passenger side, knowing opening a door to his left would be difficult.
"So, how was your first week of school, Rocky?"
"Mostly good. Other than the fights and being called a fwuit by the bully, no real problems. Detention next week will be something new."
"A fwuit?"
"Yeah. Bruce has a lisp now, after losing a bit of his tongue. He meant fruit, obviously."
"Why would he call you that?"
"Well, I made four new friends the first day after I got into that first fight. I found out Thursday, two of them are gay. So, he called the table we were sitting at for lunch the, um, fruit table. Except he didn't say fruit."
"Got it. So, how do you feel about having gay friends?"
"I was kind of nervous about it at first, Manny. But then I talked to one of the other two, and he told me, they'd never tried to make him do anything, well, gay. They're all cool, straight or not. I asked them to come over next weekend, if it's okay with you."
"Sure. I'd love to meet your friends. So far, I only know Kenny."
"Well, before school started, Kenny was really my only friend. Well, kid friend. You all are friends, too."
Rocky threw a questioning look at Bass. Bass guessed, correctly, that it had to do with Bobby's request, and nodded.
"One of them, Bobby Panner, was wondering if he could maybe talk to you guys about being gay. Bass thought, we should clear it with his parents first."
"Talking to his parents first is a good idea. I'm not sure how comfortable I'll be talking to a teenager about being gay, but I'm willing to try to help your friend."
"Cool. I don't think, he wants to ask about sex; but even if he does, it probably wouldn't be smart to indulge that."
"Definitely not."
Linda and Sandy were happy to see Manny home. Sandy was making a huge pot of beef stew for Manny's homecoming dinner. She figured something he could eat one-handed would make sense. He showed her the T-grip rocker knife, they gave him at the hospital to easily cut things with one hand.
"I appreciate the thought of making something, I can eat with one hand, but I'd like to try to be as normal as possible. I have a list of other one-handed eating aids, so hopefully, you won't be very limited in what you have to cook."
"Okay. I didn't know about those kinds of things."
"It's no problem. Unless you've had cause to run across them before, like if you were a caregiver for someone like a stroke survivor, you'd have no reason to know about them."
Rocky was curious, "Manny, would it be okay to ask you about how you would do other things?"
"Sure. As long as it's okay to ask in mixed company."
Rocky smiled, remembering Manny's joke from the hospital, "Are you going to be able to dress yourself?"
"Yes. The OT, or Occupational Therapist, gave me lots of instruction on things like that, day-to-day activities. There are some things I won't be able to do in that regard right away, like tying shoes. That will take more practice, but it can be done one-handed."
Linda observed, "You seem to be adjusting well. When Bass came home after visiting you for the first time, um, after the surgery, I think, he said, you were, an emotional train wreck."
"I think, I am adjusting well. Two main reasons: First, I have no choice, otherwise I'll keep being that train wreck. And secondly, time. You get more and more, hmmm—comfortable isn't exactly right—accepting, maybe, as time goes on."
They all continued asking Manny about how he would do things until dinner time. After eating, Manny's stump was aching, so he took some painkillers and laid down. He asked Bass to join him for a while, warning him that he would probably fall asleep in the middle of a sentence or something. They weren't talking when Manny nodded off. Just kissing, but they did discuss more intimate future options.
The next week went by fairly smoothly. Manny got frustrated when he wasn’t able to do things, but after three visits from the therapist, he was getting the hang of doing more things. Another visit with the psychiatrist helped with his mental state.
Rocky had come home Tuesday with Bobby’s home phone number. Bobby told Rocky that his parents knew, he was gay, although they thought, he wasn’t sure about it. They agreed that, after meeting Manny and Bass when they dropped him off on Saturday, they would decide if they’d allow them to discuss being gay with their son. Paul's parents knew but weren't happy about it at all. He didn't want to risk asking to talk to a couple gay men about anything. He figured he'd talk to Bobby after he talked with Manny and Bass.
Rocky spent his three-day detention in a classroom with two other boys who’d also gotten into some kind of trouble. He didn’t bother asking them what, or even talking to them. He quietly served his time doing that day’s homework assignments. The teacher monitoring them told him at the end of the last day that she couldn’t understand how such a quiet boy could get in enough trouble to get detention.
He simply told her, “By fighting back when I was picked on.”
Saturday finally arrived. All his friends, including Kenny, came over. He had invited Kenny because he was a long-time friend and so there would be an even number for video games.
Next up - "The Talk, and Manny Gets Another Welcome"
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