Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2006 20:26:47 +0000 (GMT)
From: Nathan Me <nathan7new@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: James chapter 21

'James' by Nathan

New email address nathan7new@yahoo.co.uk

Please note that email addresses listed previously are no longer active and
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This story contains material of a sexual nature and describes sexual acts
between adults and children. If you find this kind of material offensive,
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My stories may contain some factual or autobiographical elements, but they
are works of fiction and any apparent similarities of my characters to real
people are not intended.

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of the author, me!

I hope you enjoy this story.


James: Chapter 21


James was sat with Sam. Sam had seemed to cling to him as they left the
police station and had sat beside him in the minibus. James had actually
fallen asleep leaning on Sam's arm. He was woken up by a sudden jolt as the
bus crossed a large crack where the drive of the house they were
approaching crossed the pavement (sidewalk). James had no clue where they
were, but everything was green and leafy. The drive up to the house was
over a hundred yards through lush lawns and flowerbeds. They obviously were
not in inner London anymore. The house was brick, but stone the colour
oatmeal cookies surrounded all the windows and doors. In some places the
stone had been eaten by the weather, giving it the appearance and texture
of a sponge. It was a big house, with many large windows on each side of
the large double wooden doors. The bus pulled up in front of the stone
steps that lead up to the doors. A stone canopy supported by huge round
columns covered the steps right out to the drive. It was imposing and
big. The little square pains of glass that made up the huge windows, the
weathered stone and the worn steps: everything about the house said it was
old. James loved it immediately.

Mrs Daniels turned in her seat to face them all. She put on a broad grin
that suggested she wanted them to think she was pleased, but secretly was
otherwise.

"Well, boys, this will be home for a few days. It's not one of ours, but we
couldn't find anywhere local to take so many of you on such short
notice. This place is a home for children run by a charity. They also have
their own school here and plenty of space for you all to enjoy yourselves
in. I think they even have a pool."

The way she spoke the word pool, James thought she was almost disgusted. It
seemed strange, watching her smile. She didn't seem happy at all. They all
got out of the minibus and started to climb the steps. By the time they got
to the top, an old man wearing a brown cardigan and beige cords had opened
the door and stood waiting for them. His hair was almost the same colour as
his cord trousers, but with a generous amount of grey showing through. His
face was round and pleasantly wrinkled. The kind of face that looks
naturally happy, even when the owner isn't smiling. Maybe it's in the
eyes. His grey blue eyes seemed, to James, to be alive, excited and almost
like those of a child at an amusement park. James immediately took to him,
without the man uttering one word.

"Mr Chester." Mrs Daniels seemed to use the same distain for his name she
had previously used when talking about the pool. James was puzzled.

"Mrs Daniels. How wonderful to see you again. Please, please, all of you,
come on in." His voice was wonderful. Every word seemed to be released from
the very edge of a laugh. There was the same excitement James had perceived
in his eyes. This man loved life and was even glad to see Mrs
Daniels. James remembered Andy had not been impressed by her presence back
at the house and wondered why.

James looked round the large hall, which seemed to go all the way up to the
roof. At the far end, opposite the doors, was a wide long staircase that
reached up between carved wooden banisters to a balcony that ran all round
the hall. He looked round to see that they had actually walked under it as
they came through the doors, and on the balcony level were large glass
doors that must have led out onto the top of the canopy over the
stairs. Around the walls on the ground level, large solid wooden doors gave
entrance to classrooms, offices and daytime residential areas of the home,
on the second level shorter, but still bigger than normal doors led to
study rooms and dormitories. Beyond that, on the top floor were more dorms,
though they couldn't be seen from down here, they were more modern. Between
them hung huge paintings of people that James thought must have lived a
very long time ago because of they way they were dressed. While he took it
all in, Mr Chester and Mrs Daniels were having what seemed like an animated
discussion. Mr Chester kept insisting there was no problem accommodating
the boys, but Mrs Daniels was asserting that he must understand it was only
temporary. She didn't consider this 'place' as appropriate for a long-term
placement. James was intrigued. He thought that if he had to go anywhere,
this would be an excellent place to spend a few years. It wasn't Hogwarts,
but it was the next best thing.

Their conversation ended, Mrs Daniels made a few comments to the boys that
James didn't catch, as he was still lost in awe. He did, however, hear Mr
Chester invite them all to follow him. His voice pulled James out of his
trance, only to pull him along as if by magic. They followed the man up
those grand stairs and right, through an arch into a long corridor. On each
side were doors almost as large as those in the hall. Half way down they
reached another open space and found another staircase leading up. At the
top was a more modern fire door with criss-cross wire in the glass. Beside
it, on a wall bracket, were a fire extinguisher and a round red fire-alarm
panel. James was saddened that the grandeur and magic of the place had been
spoiled with such modern functional stuff. Still, the excitement he
detected in Mr Chester was catching. He saw Sam smiling. He tried to
remember if he had seen Sam smile before. He wasn't sure. Sam seemed such a
sad person. Chris caught his eye. He was holding Danny's hand. They all
went through the modern door into a wide, but lower, hall. The doors here
were painted white, closer together and a more normal size. Each had a
small window, high up above the door, that let a little light into the
corridor, and each had a number and two small card holders. In most of the
holders were people's names: 'Smith and Brooks, Patterson and Cross, Adams
and Roberts."

"Right boys. These are actually the senior boys rooms, but after your
ordeal I thought you'd like a little more privacy than the larger dorms
offer. You two are the brothers, yes?" He asked Danny and Chris. They both
nodded. "And I guess you will want to share a room together, yes?" Chris
looked over as James, then down at Danny and nodded. Maybe he wanted
someone his own age, but as big brother he couldn't abandon Danny. "Well, I
got some pjs out for you, but don't worry if they are a little big. We'll
get your clothes and stuff sorted out later. I just thought you'd all like
a little rest this morning, and time to get settled." He grinned round at
the tired bunch, trying to reassure them that were safe and that everything
would be fine. It was a good try, but Danny wasn't convinced and started to
cry. It wasn't the first time, but, exhausted, it flooded out
uncontrollably. Chris threw his arms around his brother, but James noticed
the tears in his eyes too. Mr Chester stood for just a moment, long enough
for the two brothers to comfort each other, before he put a hand on each
boy's shoulder and, crouching besides them, whispered to them in a
soothing, singsong way. He comforted them and reassured them that he
understood how hard this was for them, being apart from their father, but
that here they were safe and, for now, the best medicine was sleep. He
guided them into the room and asked the others to wait a moment. Through
the open door they could see two beds nestled in the converted roof
space. The duvets were checked with various shades of orange and matched
the curtains, which were tied back in the window dormer. Everything looked
new and modern. The door must have been on a self closer, because that was
all they saw before it swung shut.

James looked across at Philip. He too had tears in his eyes. Andy was
picking his nails and Sam, well Sam had slipped his hand into James' with
James even realising. He looked back at Philip and raised his eyebrows in
an unspoken question. Philip wiped away his tears and offered a weak smile
back. From deep within, a huge yawn rumbled up and out, causing James to
stretch his mouth wide, just as Mr Chester reappeared.

"Well, I guess we know who's next then." He said with a chuckle. He led
them down a couple of doors to another where both name plates were blank
and opened it for James and by default, Sam, as he was still clinging to
James' hand. He led them in, showed them the two beds, with matching blue
duvets and curtains, wardrobes where they would hang their clothes when
they got them, desks for private studying and how to alter the radiator if
it got too hot. He told them that he wouldn't disturb them until lunch, but
that if they needed someone before then, they could find him in the office
back in the entrance hall. Toilets and showers were at the end of their
corridor and they would get a better tour that afternoon. "Any questions?
No, ok. I'll call for you at lunch time, but remember I'm here for you if
you need someone to talk to." He left and showed Philip and Andy to their
room.

James looked at Sam. He was still holding his hand. He led Sam over to one
of the beds and as Sam made no attempt to let go, he suggested they crash
out together. The young teen smiled and they curled up together on top of
the blue duvet. James watched the morning light flicker through a small gap
in the light blue curtains. The window must have been open as they moved
gently, as if stirred by a breeze, causing the light pattern to change and
twist. It was hypnotic and he drifted off into a deep sleep thinking the
light was trying to send him a message.



The morning light played gently on Tom's cheek. Magnified by the window
glass, it warmed and tickled it. Tom unconsciously rubbed his cheek to move
away whatever was tickling him. It brought him to consciousness slowly as
he realised there was nothing there to shew away. Not even the child's
hand. He wondered where James was now. What lasting damage his own actions
had caused the boy. A tear welled in the corner of his eye and he was truly
sorry. He was still Tom and he didn't know if he would ever be a better
person or not, but he knew he had a conscience, because it hurt. He decided
that today he should go to work. He needed activity and he also needed to
make sure he kept his job. Neil was understanding, but the higher up you
went, the less people and more bottom line focused the bosses became. He
stretched and got out of bed, had a shower, made some breakfast and sat
watching the morning BBC news. Two paedophiles had been arrested late the
night before. When the police raided the house, tipped off by one of the
children, they found six children imprisoned there. A spokesman said they
couldn't say too much yet, but this was an extremely grave case involving
many children over many years and further arrests were likely. The story
made him think of James. Tom wondered if James would ever tell someone what
he had done to him and whether the police would come and arrest
him. Although he had had a few run ins and telling offs by the local police
when he was a young lad, he had never been in any serious trouble and had
never been convicted of anything more serious than a speeding ticket or a
parking fine. You couldn't live in London without being fined for parking,
everyone had been at one time or another.

He caught a taxi to work. He couldn't face being squashed in with all those
people riding the underground. He paid the driver and crossed the open
plaza to his office block. The glass frontage opened onto an enormous
atrium with all kinds of exotic plant life disguising the elevators,
escalators and seating areas. He crossed to the foot of an escalator that
rose three floors, through the vegetation to his companies reception
area. He swiped his card to sign in and walked to Neil's office. It was
9am. A little later than his usual start time of 8am. Neil and his
secretary were discussing some meeting that afternoon, but the door was
open and Neil saw Tom approaching. He asked Shona, his secretary, to bring
them coffees and welcomed Tom back to work.

"Glad you made today. Can't run this place myself you know." They both
smiled. Neil and his three supervisors often claimed that they in actual
fact ran the company, not the senior management who spent most of the day
on the golf course, allegedly. "Julian will be disappointed. I am sure he
was hoping you wouldn't come back so he could become a supervisor."

"Yeah, like the whole team wouldn't quit."

"Now, now, Tom, don't be unkind," Neil smiled mischievously, "even if it is
true."

Shona came in with coffee and biscuits. She smiled at Tom, with whom she
frequently enjoyed a little banter, but had never yet managed to secure a
date. Tom didn't catch it, but Neil did. Once she had left Neil sipped his
coffee and said, "She makes a good cup of coffee. She'll make someone an
excellent wife, someday."  However, tom still hadn't cottoned on. "Oh, Tom,
you can be so dense sometimes."

"Uh. What?"

"Shona. She fancies you rotten."

"I'm sure she'll find better."

Neil looked over his coffee mug, assessing whether Tom should really be
back at work. Tom needed something to refocus him and Neil had spent a
couple of hours the previous evening with a friend discussing it.

"Tom, you know we talked about getting you something where you could, well,
have an opportunity to help others?"

"Yeah."

"Well I might have something. It would require a CRB (Criminal Records
Bureau) check as its working with kids, but that won't be a problem. I saw
the one you had done before you started here. No skeletons there. How do
you get on with kids?"

"Er, ok I guess." His mind flooded with images of James.

"Well, my friend works for a Christian charity that runs kids homes all
over the country. I think they have about five or six now. They tend to be
a bit better than your standard social services places as most of the money
comes from private donations rather than just state funding. Anyway, Alan
tells me that they are always looking for volunteers to help supervise
evening, weekend and frequent outing and trips. Kids can be so honest
Tom. If they detect a fraud they aren't afraid to say so to your face."

Neil watched Tom slowly sipping his coffee.

"I don't know if I'm responsible enough to work with kids, Neil." He was
really wondering if the kids would be safe with him.

"Nonsense, Tom, but it's true that looking after them shows you what
responsibility really is. Anyway. When I cam in this morning Arthur asked
about you and I told him you had needed a couple of days to refresh
yourself. He was very impressed with your teams performance this quarter
and just about gave me carte blanch on incentives so I just passed an idea
by him and after a few reservations he thinks it might be a good idea and
look good for the company too."

Tom offered a cautious, "What?" He felt like he was being set up for
something, but wasn't quite sure what for.

"Having established what an asset to the company and the bottom line you
are and reminded him that he asked us to come up with social and community
related schemes that would make the company look good, I suggested we could
release you one day a week for a couple of months to work on such a
project. He though that on day wouldn't be much use to most charities and
community groups, so if you matched it with one of your days off, he would
release you one day a week for two months."

"So I loose a day off to make you all look good."

"Yep. But the way I saw it, you were looking to do something anyway, this
was you get to do it and part of the time even get paid for it!"

"What about my work?"

"Well, come on, your team pretty much manages itself, but I thought we
might create the post of deputy in each team, by way of training people up
more effectively for management posts they may take in the future. I
thought about it when Mary went off on maternity leave. If we had had a
deputy in place, we could have just made him or her acting supervisor
instead of having to get someone in. What do you think?"

"Leigh."

"Eh?"

"Leigh. She would be ideal, She is smarter than I am and frequently comes
up with major ideas and leads before I do. She also has a good rapport with
the rest of the team. It might upset Julian, but he'll get over it."

"Yeah. I like that. She is good and although the extra money won't be that
much, I'm sure now she has bought that big house with her boy friend, it'll
be welcome."

"So I just have to pass the checks and stuff?"

"No, first you have to fill out a load of forms, then you'll have an
interview. It'll take a couple of weeks, I would think, to get you started
doing something, but I really think it'll be worth it. What do you think?
Willing to try?"

"Yeah, ok."

More to come...