Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:30:56 -0400
From: wild wing <wildwing66@hotmail.com>
Subject: Jason's Dilemma  -  Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

I opened my eyes several hours later.  The room lights were still on.
Jason's eyes were open once more and he was shivering badly.  I managed to
get him under the blankets.  I also hugged him trying to make as much body
contact as possible in an attempt to warm him up.  It was like holding a
lifeless rubber doll.  His penis remained flaccid.

I held him for some time before it occurred to me that I had failed to call
Mike.  It was three in the morning but I figured better late than never.

Mike answered after half a ring.  "I've been sick with worry sitting here
all night waiting for your call.  What happened?"

"Well, I have him," I replied.

"Thank God!" Mike wailed.

"But it's not all good.  He's in rough shape."

"What's wrong with him?" Mike demanded.

I felt bad enough forgetting to call.  I decided to ease into the truth
rather than shocking him.

"I don't know yet.  I'm going to take him to a doctor in the morning.  We
could be here a few days before we come home."

I could feel a strange mixture of anxiety and thankfulness in Mike's voice.

"Please keep me updated tomorrow."

I made a pledge to myself that I would do just that.  I put the phone down
and tried to get more sleep.  I realized that I was so full of nervous
energy that the two or three hours I'd already gotten would have to do for
now.  Jason's shivering became more pronounced and I came to the conclusion
that the problem was drug related.  About eight o'clock he slowly sat up
and reached for his pants.

I quickly put my arm over his so he couldn't pull his pants up.  "Jason
you're not going anywhere!"

"Gotta get me some greenies," he slurred in a monotone.

"No!" I stated emphatically.

His head slowly turned and he looked through me once more.

"Gotta have 'em.  I need 'em.  I got money."

He tried to reach for his pants again and I gripped him harder.  I told
myself there was no way I would allow him out of my sight for any purpose,
let alone drugs.  He struggled and began to shiver violently.

He turned his face to me once more.  There was absolutely no expression in
it yet I could see tears falling.

"Please don't beat me up," he whimpered.

Jason was in another world.  Somewhere.  I held on though I was close to
the breaking point myself.  Thankfully he gradually calmed down and finally
he lay back down on the bed.

At nine o'clock I called the gay help line and explained my problem.  They
were very sympathetic and asked that I give them twenty minutes.  Sure
enough they called back with an emergency appointment with a Doctor
Phillips in the gay village.

I managed to get Jason dressed with some of the winter clothes Mike had
given me.  I got him moving only by promising that we were going to buy
some greenies.

Doctor Phillips was wonderful.  He gave Jason an injection to stop the
shivering.  He then examined him thoroughly.  Jason was allowed to rest
quietly in the examination room as Doctor Phillips gave me his diagnosis.

"Thank goodness you found him when you did.  His body is close to the
breaking point.  He came close to overdosing."

I sat stunned, taking in every word.

"You know the body is a wonderful thing, especially for the young.  With
proper treatment he'll get over it but I'm afraid he'll be a drug addict
for the rest of his life.  I must warn you, there are often relapses."

"Where do we go from here?" I asked.

"Well as his guardian you have the right to choose.  I'm recommending
Riley's House."

"Explain please."

Doctor Phillips continued, "Riley's House is a treatment centre for drug
addicted teens.  It was originally purchased and maintained by a wealthy
couple whose gay son ran away and then OD'd on the streets of this city.
It was their way of doing penance.  It's run by the government now and
there will be no charge to you."

Doctor Phillips made a phone call confirming the reservation.  We had Jason
booked in within the hour.  I signed the papers and drove back to the Red
Lion alone.  I collapsed and was asleep within minutes.

When I awoke I immediately called Mike.  This time I felt I was on more
solid ground and I cut no corners in explaining the diagnosis and
treatment.  I wasn't sure how Mike would react.  I needn't have worried.
He thanked me over and over for finding Jason in time.

The staff at the centre from the doctors down were exemplary.  Jason was
treated with complete respect and compassion.  It was explained that he
would suffer terrible withdrawal symptoms.  I was banned from seeing him
for ten days.  I contemplated returning north for I was already into my
reserve cash.  Then I reasoned to hell with it.  Staying in Weston for
Jason was more important than money.

I spent the days reading and working on my laptop.  I did visit the zoo one
day.  I spent a long time at the wolf enclosure.  Oh yes, I found a great
new T-shirt with a realistic wolf print on the front.  Underneath was the
caption 'Run Free.'  I also purchased a new copy of his magic book.  The
staff at the hospice agreed to put both items in a spot where he would see
them as he returned to the real world.

Visiting hours at the centre were quite liberal and I decided to take full
advantage.  When the eventful day arrived I was there bright and early.  As
I strode into his room he beamed and I knew he was back!  The mandatory
hugs, tears and kisses followed.  Of course he was wearing the new T-shirt.
The nurses told me later of the difficulty they had in getting him to take
it off.

We talked and talked.  I believe we covered every hike and every canoe trip
we had ever taken, twice!  When we ran out of past trips to discuss we
turned to the future.

"Ben, I'd love to go way up north," Jason explained.  "To an area where the
wolves really run free."

I smiled through my tears.  "I promise you Jason, we'll do just that!"

We proceeded to spend many a happy hour planning our trip to wolf country
down to the tiniest detail.  We avoided talking about his family for now
and only once did he make a vague reference to his time on the street.  It
seemed the topic was taboo.

I returned every day that week.  He was my life.  A couple of days he
didn't seem himself but the doctors told me that was to be expected.  Mike
was happy getting the daily reports.  He kept telling me how much he hoped
Jason would forgive him for siding with his wife and forbidding him from
seeing me.

On Friday Jason had a surprise for me.  He asked me to make sure the door
to his room was closed first.  He lifted the covers off his body.  He had
an erection!

"You better be ready when I get out of here," he grinned.

"I'm ready now!" I laughed.  "It's too bad we can't lock the door."

During the next week I chose to bring Jason up to date with his family.  I
stressed the positive role Mike had played in finding him.  I also repeated
Mike's hope that Jason would give him another chance and allow him back
into his life.  We both cried again, and thankfully Jason agreed to meet
with his father.

The doctors told me he was progressing better than expected.  I was much
relieved to find the AIDS test came back negative.  I was told that group
therapy sessions lay ahead.  Jason had to accept that he was a lifetime
addict.  It would be two months before they would release him.

Mike was always relieved to hear my voice.  We agreed that I would come
north after two weeks and that Mike would take advantage of some sick leave
he had accumulated and take my place in Weston the following two weeks.  I
reserved a room at the Red Lion for him.

The day before I left was very special.  It was Christmas!  I bought Jason
a state of the art hikers haversack to replace the one he had lost.

"Someone stole mine while I was sleeping," Jason admitted.  "I found all my
shit tossed into an alley about a block away."

It was the only time Jason ever mentioned his life on the street.

That afternoon I explained that his father was not insisting but he was
really hoping that Jason would give him a phone call.

He thought for just a moment before he replied, "Yeah, I'd like that."

I dialed the number for him, waited until it rang and then handed the phone
to him.  He began to speak.

"Hello, Dad? ............Yeah, I guess I fucked up huh?....."

I had heard enough.  I was breaking up.  It was time for Jason to have some
quiet time with his father and I left the room.

Jason was still wiping away tears when I returned twenty minutes later.

"Everything okay?" I queried.

Jason smiled through his reddened face and declared, "Yup.  Dad said it was
the best Christmas present he ever had!  I can't wait to see him."

We both needed a good hug and we obliged.  The next day I said my goodbyes
to Jason and drove north.

I met Mike at his door and he immediately hugged me.

"I don't normally hug men," he explained, "but I'm making this an
exception."

We talked long into the evening.  Mike was thirsty for every detail.  I
left out only the sexually explicit parts of the story.

Molly acted like a frightened puppy.  She refused to leave my side and I
patted her constantly.  Mike admitted he enjoyed Molly's company and said
he'd allow Jason to get a dog if he wished.

A day later Mike left for the city and I returned to my old ways at the
cabin.  I received a couple of calls a week from Mike.  He told me that
with my permission Jason would spend his first week after being released
with me.  After that he would return to school and would live with his
father during the week and with me on weekends.  The summer had yet to be
negotiated.  I was thrilled.

Jason was much brighter and more himself when I returned two weeks later.

"I'm allowed to go on short day trips with you now if you want," he
explained.

We went to some nice restaurants where they served Jason's favorite food.
One afternoon we made a quick trip to the zoo together.  We agreed that it
would be a better world if we could let the animals go free, especially the
wolves.

Jason told me the time with his father had gone very well.  He explained
that he saw his father differently now.

"He's got a girlfriend already and she's got a gay brother that she loves
very much so that won't be a problem."

A month later Jason was released and I drove him home.  That first week
back was a dream.  We spent half the time in bed for Jason was now more of
a sex expert than I was.  Molly was not amused by the lack of attention she
got.

Jason returned to his father and his new live-in girlfriend.  The trio
loved each other's company and the relationship thrived.  School on the
other hand did not go so well.  Jason struggled mightily to catch up on his
year.  Miraculously he was able to scrape through.

The following summer Jason and I took that long planned excursion to wolf
country in the far north.  We had many an adventure there but as Dermot
Clark said in the final words of the magic book, "That's a story for
another day."

END

Thank you for reading my story.  I continue to get requests as to where my
earlier stories are.  Go to <davidsnorthern.wordpress.com> or/and do a
Nifty search for wild wing. Some have asked me to continue the story. I
might do a sequel if the demand is there. In closing let me say if you get
the opportunity to help a boy, gay or straight, do it. Lastly if you enjoy
the Nifty service donate once in a while.