Reggie: Matt's New Friend - 15. And They All Lived Happily Ever After - Well, Most of Them

Sunday January 7

Ramona Martin gave George all the instructions about visiting Marty. She was still pretty unsure about taking him back, but she couldn't handle the loneliness with both of them gone. George decided he was tired of sleeping at whatever friend's house that would put up with him. In truth, there was nobody left with whom he hadn't worn out his welcome. Ramona had been trying to get him to come home since she told Marty she'd try to get him to visit. He relented and moved back in in November, but she hadn't been able to convince him to visit his son. Her 60-day deadline was running out on Friday, so it was visit or start the cycle of couch surfing over again. He knew he'd have maybe a week or two that people would put up with him. So, here he was, unhappily driving to the detention center.

They got to the detention center, then jumped through all the hoops necessary to reach the visitor's room. They were a little early, so they had to wait a few minutes. Marty entered the room, saw his father, and smiled. The smile would remain for about half his father's visit, which wouldn't be long at all.

"Hi dad. Thanks for coming. I missed you."

"You wouldn't have to miss me if you weren't so stupid."

"George!"

"I'm sorry, Ramona. It's how I feel. If he can't accept the consequences of his actions, I can't help it."

"It's OK, mom. He's right. I was stupid. I'm here, I'm paying those consequences. If one of them is listening to him drill it in, I can take it."

"OK. So how have you been?"

"Same old, same old, mom. Snide remarks from the other kids, the occasional need to satisfy some horny jerk. I'm surviving."

"They make you do shit like that? The guards allow it?"

"Yes, dad. The guards look the other way. There are five of us here who have raped or killed a kid. The guards hate us as much as the other prisoners. Hate doesn't stop someone from raping you though. As I know personally from both perspectives."

"I need to talk to somebody about that."

"No, dad! Don't. It'll only make things worse. The attacks have slowed down to once or twice a week. There's a new kid in the club, so they've moved on to him for the most part."

"It still shouldn't be happening."

"Yeah, well, it does. Complaining won't help. Believe me, I know that for a fact."

"Well. You can't stop me. I don't want boys fucking my son. I'll put a stop to it one way or another."

"YOU'RE NOT LISTENING TO ME!"

"Is there a problem over here? If you're aggravating the detainee sir, I'll have to ask you to leave and return him to his room."

"It's OK Officer O. I'll calm down."

"That's your only warning Mr. Martin. Another outburst and you'll be sent back to your room and your visit will be over."

"Thank you, Officer O., I understand."

The guard moves to another area of the visitor's room, but keeps an eye on the Martins.

"Please, dad. Don't do anything. The last kid whose parents complained disappeared a few days later. Nobody talked about what happened to him. There are only three places to go from here. One is the state pen when you're 18. Next is home if you've served your sentence. The last is the cemetery. Options 1 and 2 aren't open to me."

"I'm sure a hospital could be another option."

"Great. You'll get me beat so badly I'll end up a vegetable in a long-term care center. I'd prefer the cemetery."

"Marty, please don't talk like that."

"Why not, mom? It's true. When I get out of here, I'll be going to real jail. They're even harder on child molesters in those places. I'll go from being one or two guys' bitch to a dozen. From being raped once or twice a week to once or twice a day. And if I survive that, I get to live the rest of my life labeled as a sex fiend."

Marty got louder as that diatribe occurred. Officer O. came back, took Marty away and the Martin's were shown the exit.

"Aren't you glad you forced me to visit him?"

"Don't even talk to me. Let's just go home."

Things got worse for the Martins the following Monday when they received a call from their lawyer, Jim Tratter. It seems Marty being incarcerated wasn't good enough for the Harrisons. They were seeking punitive damages in the amount of $75,000. Matt is in therapy, suffered emotional distress, incurred medical bills, and experienced pain and suffering. This pissed George off even more than other boys raping Marty in jail. He knew he couldn't stop the lawsuit, but he could try to stop the abuse. Ramona thought they were getting off easy at 75k and begged him not to file a complaint. George was a stubborn bastard, so he did what he wanted to do. It took a few weeks before he was able to follow up on that threat. Ramona filed divorce papers soon thereafter.

Friday January 26

Reggie had been pestering his father to take him and Matt to a hockey game. He'd finally relented and tonight was the night. Reggie liked the Flyers, Matt the Penguins. It was too far for a weeknight game to Philadelphia, so it was the Lehigh Valley Phantoms playing the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Allentown that won out. Elias also invited Bruce Sr. and the foursome had a great time. The game went into overtime and the Penguins won in the shootout 4-3. Matt and his dad were happier than the Lincolns, but everybody enjoyed the night out.

The last weekend in January was a busy weekend. George made it to the detention center to lodge his complaint. The administration listened to his complaint, logged it into their system, and thanked George for bringing it to their attention. The warden had learned his lesson with the last complaint he acted upon. He didn't need another dead detainee, so he and his staff proceeded to ignore the complaint. Marty would live to suffer through the rest of his sentence. Because he got into a lot of fights, mostly for protecting himself, there was no time off for good behavior. Marty was finally released from prison after serving the entire thirteen years. He was released Friday, September 26 and committed suicide the next day. The train was not damaged in the incident. He had decided a long time before to take the cemetery route.

Epilogue

The story continues with some good news. Andrew and Audrey were married on a sunny afternoon in March. Drew and Leo acted as co-best men. While the Patersons missed out on an additional tax deduction, Laura Paterson was the first baby born after the new year in Pennsylvania, so they got some recognition and a few dollars for interviews. After paternity tests were completed, Andrew officially adopted his sons. Drew and Leslie dated throughout high school but chose separate colleges and had an amicable break-up. They did get to use the condoms Reggie gave Drew. Drew completed college and law school and is a civil trial attorney in Monroe County, PA, is married with one son. While Willie discovered he and his half-brothers weren't really half-brothers, they did get reacquainted and visited each other often. Henry was never heard from again.

Leo and Wes remained friends, both following in Leo's father's footsteps. Neither one made it through law school, however, but Leo worked as a paralegal and Wes as a corrections officer. Coincidentally, Wes was the last of the little group to see Marty alive, having been the guard to escort him out of the prison. Both were married. Leo had a son and a daughter. Wes fathered two boys. They never repeated the New Year's kiss.

Taylor and Olivia, however, not only repeated the New Year's kiss, but stayed together, marrying when they were both 22. They both have jobs in the communications industry and are childless.

Nick followed through on the idea he had about he and Al being able to communicate with his cousin, Carlo. Nick convinced his father to add Al to their cell plan and surprised Al with it on the day they first made love. Once again, the condoms Reggie provided were of use. Neither Carlo nor Fillipo got to watch. Nick and Al remained together for a number of years, but political differences of opinion drew them apart. Neither one ever married.

The story of our main protagonists continued for a while as well. Unfortunately, they did not have a completely happy ending. Three years later, Bruce let it slip to the wrong person that Reggie was involved in Jerry's death. Reggie testified against the three other boys who were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. That got him an involuntary manslaughter conviction and served three years of a five-year sentence. Bruce had still been seeing Candace at the time, but she swiftly ended the relationship. Matt forgave his brother for the mistake. He suspected the fact was a ticking time bomb that would explode sooner or later. Fortunately, Reggie wasn't in the same prison as Marty. Reggie's anger would probably have meant an earlier death for Marty and a longer sentence for Reggie. Matt stuck by Reggie for the entire time, visiting Reggie every weekend. He used part of the $40,000 settlement from the Martins to buy a used car when he turned 17. It ended up being fortuitous the following year when he needed transportation to visit Reggie.

Reggie was paroled with time off for good behavior. He was never able to obtain a well-paying job. Matt made enough money for them to struggle to eke out a living. Three years after Reggie's parole, his parents were killed in an auto accident. The driver of the other vehicle, a delivery truck, was found at fault and the large corporation he drove for settled the lawsuit for $750,000. Between that and splitting his inheritance with Candy, he and Matt no longer needed to struggle. They married a year after Reggie's parents died, and after they both turned 21. Three years later they adopted their first and only child, a son they named Jerry.

THE END