Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2016 16:55:56 -0700
From: Tim P <privatetimm@gmail.com>
Subject: Jordan's Tale Chapter 19, Gay Stories, Adult - Youth

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contains descriptions of consensual sexual contact between male minors. It
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19 Jordan's Tale

By Tim Price

"Tim Price," I barked into the phone.

"Mr. Price, this is Paul Laret from UCSF Medical Center, you are listed as
Marianna Felix's emergency contact."

A chill runs down my spine.

"Yes," I barely get out.

"I am afraid she has been in a very serious accident."

I sucked in a breath and steeled myself, "what can you tell me, how bad is
it?"

"We don't know the extent of any internal injuries, the ER doctors are
doing a CT scan to check that, but she has broken bones in both legs and
probably her pelvis as well. Once the results are in on the CT scan we will
probably be operating."

"I'll pick up her son and get down there right as soon as I can, maybe
forty minutes. Dr. Laret, I want her to have the best doctors possible. If
it means flying someone in from back East or Rochester, I don't care, just
do it."

"It is Mr. Laret, Mr. Price and you can call me Paul, I am an MBA, not an
MD. I can assure you Marianna will get the best care in country right
here. UCSF Medical Center doesn't take a back seat to any trauma center and
Marianna is a valued member of this community."

"Thanks Paul, call me Tim and I'll be there shortly."

I hung up and my mind was racing a mile a minute. I had so many calls to
make.

"I assume you heard all that Dorothy; I have to go right now. Can you close
up my office for me and cancel all my meetings. I doubt I'll be in Monday
so clear my calendar as much as you can, maybe even for the early part of
next week."

"Don't worry, Tim, I'll take care of everything here. And don't drive too
fast to San Francisco, you aren't a doctor; the people who can help
Marianna are, you just get there safe, Jordan is going to need you safe and
calm."

My office at work had pictures of Jordan, Marianna and Marco on my
desk. Anyone who didn't know me might have assumed they were my wife and
kids, but Dorothy, being my assistant knew who everyone was, even if not
the exact nature of the relationships. I also knew she was right, I needed
to slow down my breathing and thinking and stay calm so I could get things
accomplished.

I did drive fast on the 280 Freeway, but not overly fast and not swerving
in and out. My first call went to Teresa; she was going to meet me at St
Ignatius and get Frank out of school to be with Jordan. St Ignatius itself
was my second call; I went straight to Pat, the principal, and explained I
was coming to get Jordan and why. I told him Teresa would be by soon to get
Frank as well. My third call went to Marco, or rather a text; I sent him a
`call me, 911' text and I picked up his call thirty seconds later. He
wanted to leave right then and head to San Francisco.

"Go to your last class and then come up to the hospital; Teresa, Frank and
I will be with Jordan and you can join us in the waiting room when you are
done."

I debated calling `the other Frank', Marianna's brother, but they'd had
scant contact since he moved to LA after finding out Jordan was gay. I
decided to wait until I knew more before placing a call to him. By the time
I got done with my calls and deliberations I was already exiting the 280
onto Highway 1 and then with a quick turn on Lake Merced Blvd and Sunset I
was in front of St Ignatius. I double parked on 37th St to enter the
administration building. Teresa and Frank were in the lobby; Frank
immediately came over to me and threw his arms around me and started crying
a little.

"Hey, hey, none of that," I admonished him gently, "Jordan is going to need
you as a pillar to lean on."

Frank nodded an acknowledgement as he broke apart from the hug. I greeted
Teresa and told the secretary in the office to go ahead and send for
Jordan. Oh how I was dreading this.

When Jordan came into the office he saw my first and immediately lit up
into a smile and started to say hi until he saw Teresa and Frank and he
knew something was very wrong.

"What is it," he asked, with panic creeping into his voice, "is it my
mother?"

As casually as I could, I nodded, "yeah, she has been in a traffic accident
so we are going to go to the hospital to see her."

"Is she okay?"

I couldn't lie to him and make it seem like it was nothing, but neither did
I want to make him overly concerned.

"We don't know the complete details, she has some broken bones, but we
won't know everything until we see her."

That might have been a white lie since I was implying we'd see her when we
got to the hospital, but I was pretty sure that wasn't happening. She'd
either be in surgery or casting. Jordan looked uncertain, even grim, but he
just nodded.

"You take Jordan and Frank Tim and I'll follow you to the hospital," Teresa
spoke up, galvanizing us to move.

Frank and Jordan both climbed in the backseat of my BMW and Jordan
proceeded to pepper me with questions. I sloughed off most of the questions
by being vague with what the CEO had told me, but I dropped the first hint
that we might not see her right away if they were having to set bones and
such things. That set off a period of silence. I checked my rear view
mirror and Frank had a protective arm wrapped around Jordan, Jordan has his
head lying against Frank's chest.

It was only about a ten minute drive from St Ignatius to the UCSF Medical
Center where Marianna worked and where she was now a patient. I pulled into
the parking area for the emergency center and waited for Teresa to join us
before we entered the lobby of the emergency room.

"Jordan, you stay here with Teresa and Frank while I find out what is going
on."

He immediately started to protest, but calmed down when Teresa stepped in
to support me. That left me free to go to the front desk.

"I'm Tim Price, Paul Laret said Marianna Felix was here."

That was all I needed to say.

"Yes Mr. Price, Mr. Laret will be down immediately with an update."

I relayed that information to Jordan, Frank and Teresa. Three minutes later
a distinguished looking man in a suit approached us.

"Tim?" he inquired, "Paul Laret, let's go where we can be more
comfortable."

That worried me, but I didn't press and stilled Jordan when he started to
make a fuss.

"You must be Jordan," Paul said with a gentle smile, "I see your mother's
eyes in you."

Paul led us to a small private waiting room and we all sat on the couches
that were in there. He addressed Jordan directly once we were all settled.

"Your mom is in surgery right now to fix some of the broken bones; I'll let
the surgeon come explain more once he is done, but we did a CT scan on her
and there are no internal injuries. Her blood pressure and vitals are all
strong so there are no worries on that front. I am not sure how long it
will take to put the pins in the bones in her leg that were broken, but I'd
guess a couple of hours at most. Know that your mom is a very important
person to us here at UCSFMC and everyone is doing everything they can to
patch her up good as new. Any questions?"

Jordan had giant pools of water in his eyes, but couldn't say anything, he
just shook his head.

Paul handed Jordan one of this cards, "this has my cell phone number
Jordan, if there is anything you need or any question you have call
me. Tim, there are some papers you'll need to sign, if you want to come
with me."

I made sure Teresa could handle the boys while I was gone and then walked
out the door with Paul.

"Is it really that simple Paul?" I asked, once the door shut behind me.

"Walk with me," he instructed. "Yes and no, it is that simple. The yes is,
there are no internal injuries and she is in no real danger. The no is that
her injuries are serious and she'll have to be in bed probably at least six
weeks, maybe as long as sixteen weeks. She can either do that is a long
term care facility, or at home if she has the proper facilities, but she
won't be able to take care of Jordan very well in either case."

"Not a problem Paul, I'll get it all arranged. Thanks for everything on
this. Who can I talk to about what happened in the accident?"

"It is like I told Jordan, his mom is a valued part of our family here. I
also thought once things settled down you might want to know what
happened. Here is the card I collected from the police officer who came in
with the ambulance, a conversation with him might be interesting and here
is the same card I gave Jordan with my cell phone on it. You hit any
roadblocks, call me."

Paul had raised an eyebrow when giving me the policeman's card and that
said to me there was a bigger story. The card for the policeman listed him
as Sgt. Robert Walker, SFPD Accident Investigation. I stuffed it into my
pocket; I'd call him when I was done with Marianna's paperwork and after
I'd checked back with Teresa and the boys. Jordan looked at me expectantly
when I reentered the private waiting room.

"I was just filling out the formal admission papers," I said, raising my
hands defensively, "no updates on anything."

Jordan settled back down on the couch, leaning into Frank. Teresa caught my
eye and I nodded subtly my acknowledgement that everything was okay, there
was no reason for great concern.

"I do need to make a lot of phones call though so I'll step outside so I
don't disturb anyone. If you need me, I'll just outside since they don't
allow phones inside the hospital."

I went back to my car, pulled out my briefcase with my iPad, a yellow
notepad and started to organize myself. I wrote down `police, lawyer,
medical supply, nurses, helper, office, Stickam'. I decided `office' would
be my first call, Dorothy would be worried.

"Tim Price's office," was the chipper greeting I got.

"Dorothy, Tim here, Marianna is banged up pretty good, but nothing life
threatening."

I heard a big exhale, "oh I am so glad."

"But," I continued "I'll need at least through Wednesday cleared on my
calendar."

"Done," she replied and I knew it would be, "give my best to Marianna."

Next I dialed the police investigator

"Accident Investigation, Walker speaking."

The voice was gruff, no nonsense and efficient.

"Sgt. Walker, my name is Tim Price, I am Marianna Felix's
guardian. Mr. Laret as UCSF said you could fill me in on the circumstances
of her accident."

The gruff, no nonsense and efficient voice continued, "I can't comment on
an ongoing investigation."

I didn't have time for this, it was time for my gruff, no nonsense and
efficient voice, "Sgt, I don't mean to be a prick, but I will be if I have
to. I have a lot to do and a lot of decisions to make. I have Chief Fong's
cell phone and home phone on my cell phone. When we hang up I'll either
have what I need or my next call is to Heather."

Using the chief's first name was an extra incentive and given her
reputation as a ball buster I figured Sgt. Walker wouldn't be willing to
bring the heat down on himself too much.

"Fine," he grumbled, "I'll tell you what I can. What do you want to know?"

"Give me the circumstances of the crash."

He blew out a breath, "this is all unofficial and preliminary; we won't
know until we've seen the tape from the video cams in the area and compiled
all the witness statements, but it appears that Ms. Felix's car was
traveling westbound on Fell St with a green light when a late model
Mercedes Benz broadsided it at Masonic Ave."

"And who was the other driver?"

The policeman didn't answer right away.

"Sergeant?" I pressed him.

"It was a car driven by Supervisor Mendoza," he said finally.

"Mendoza," I exploded, "the same one who is in trouble for getting a DUI
three weeks ago?"

"The same," was the resigned answer.

"Is he in custody?"

"He was taken to the hospital to be checked for injuries and have a blood
test administered. He has an officer with him."

That must have been the message Paul was trying to send me. My next phone
call went to my lawyer. I laid out for him what was going on and what I
wanted him to do. My third call went to a medical supply company to order
the things I thought Marianna would be needing in her recovery. After
making all these calls I returned to the private waiting room, where
nothing had changed. Jordan and Frank were huddled on one couch, with
Teresa in a chair opposite them. We sat mostly in silence for another tense
ninety minutes, by which time Marco had arrived and taken up the seat on
the couch the other side of Jordan from Frank.

"Mr. Price," a doctor in scrubs asked as he entered the waiting room.

I raised my hand to identify myself.

"I am Dr. Fruchtbaum, if you'd like to step into the hall I can give you an
update."

"I am Ms. Felix's health care proxy, you can waive HIPAA and just tell us
all the latest."

"Very well, she is out of surgery and in the recovery room. We inserted
pins in two sections of her right leg, one pin in the left and three pins
in the pelvis bone. It was pretty simple actually. Her recovery may take
awhile until she is walking normally, but there is no reason to assume she
won't be as good as new when all is said and done. If you like you and her
son can sit with her in the recovery room."

I thanked Dr. Fruchtbaum for the information and everyone gave Jordan hugs
and words of encouragement over what sounded like pretty good news. I
wasn't sure if the part about a long recovery went past them or not. In any
case, Jordan and I followed a nurse down to the recovery room where they
had wheeled Marianna.

She just looked asleep to me and I've seen enough people in the hospital
that I wasn't shocked by all the things plugged into and around her, but
Jordan did look shocked. She had an IV in, a respirator, and various other
things to monitor her vitals. He started to tear up, but before he could
get himself really worked up I walked him out the curtained off area and
spoke quietly to him.

"Your mom looks great and everything looks normal," I began, "when she
comes around, what is the first thing she is going to think about?"

He looked at me as he processed the question.

"Me?"

"Correct," I answered back. "If you look all terrified and panicky, it is
going to stress her out. You have to be sunny, positive and maybe even
crack a few jokes. That is what is going to give her peace and let her
relax. Do you think you can do that?"

Jordan set his jaw and nodded. I knew he'd be able to buck up so we stepped
back inside the curtained off area with Marianna and sat there in
silence. Every few minutes a nurse would come by and glance at the monitors
to be sure Marianna's vitals were where they belonged. They all had smiles
for Jordan and me plus a few comments on how well she was doing and even
when the comments were casual ones their calm demeanor and confidence gave
Jordan more confidence about his mom.

After about twenty minutes Marianna started to stir. Jordan took her free
hand and held as she came around slowly. Jordan was standing over her
looking down, as her eyes fluttered and finally opened.

"Hey baby," she said in a sleepy voice.

"Hey," he replied with a big grin on his face, "what time do you want to
leave for the game tonight."

That got a small laugh out of Marianna, which was good. It convinced her
that Jordan was okay and not overly stressed over her injuries, even though
I knew deep down he was suffering mightily.

"Give me a few minutes to put on some make-up and do my hair," she joked
back.

She greeted me, I gave her a peck on the cheek and made my exit to let the
two of them chat. I had some more matters to get handled.

I knew what I was looking for, I just need to find the right person to help
me. I spied a nurse who I thought could probably help me. Rosario Torres
was what her name tag said.

"Nurse Torres," I addressed her, "I wonder if you could help me?"

"Yes sir," she smiled back, "If I can."

"I am Marianna Felix's guardian for all intents and purposes. I am going to
move her into my place since she can't be home in her place. I wonder if
you know where I can find some LVN's I can hire to take care of her while I
am at work and her son is at school."

"Oh, we are all so happy she is doing so well," Nurse Torres intoned, "she
is one of the best admins we have in the hospital. As to LVN's, as it
happens I have a couple of cousins who are LVN's that just arrived a few
months ago from the Philippines and haven't found work yet. I can get you
in touch with them if you like?"

"That would be perfect; here is my card, have one of them call me ASAP. I
am not sure when they are going to discharge Marianna, but I want to have
my ducks all lined up."

I crossed off nurses on my list, which was growing shorter. Out of `police,
lawyer, medical supply, nurses, helper, office and Stickam', only helper
and Stickam remained. I pulled out my iPad and sent out notifications to
the guys in the inner circle of the Stickam and explained what I
wanted. Everyone at St. Ignatius would know what had happened, but the guys
like Dylan, Matt and Ryan would be in the dark. I knew that they would be
an important source of support for Jordan and this played out.

As I was finishing up Jordan came out of the recovery area. He walked over
to me and buried his head in my chest.

"It is so hard being funny and casual with my mom. I just want to cry and
curl up into bed next to her."

"I know babe," I answered, kissing the top of his head, "but you have to
stay strong for your mom's sake so she can just work on getting better. Did
they kick you out?"

"Kinda," he answered stepping back, "they are moving her to her room, 803A
they said. We can meet them there in five minutes or so."

Jordan and I walked back to the private waiting room to update the
others. Everyone was relieved to hear she was doing well and had spoken to
Jordan.

"We can all probably head up to her room, she should be in it by now," I
explained.

So I led a little procession up the hall to the tower elevators to find her
room. A nurse was just coming out of it as we entered.

"Well this is quite the welcoming committee," she said by way of
acknowledgement. "Try not to stay too long, she'll still be sleepy from the
anesthetic."

We all piled into 803A, Marianna had her eyes closed, but opened them at
the commotion of five people entering her room.

"Wow, is there a party someplace?" she joked.

Jordan went to her side immediately and Frank went to his side.

"Hi, Frank, thanks for keeping Jordan company."

Frank was mute, but nodded. He looked like he could cry at any
minute. There had been a lot of stress on everyone so emotions were pretty
raw. Teresa stepped up and changed topics to redirect the conversation.

"What can I bring you from home Marianna?"

"Oh Teresa, thanks for offering; I'd love to get my travel make-up kit from
under the sink in my bathroom and my hair brushes so I can at least look
presentable."

Teresa smiled, "you look terrific already, but I'll swing by and get it."

Next Marco stepped up, gave Marianna a kiss on the cheek and they exchanged
hugs. I excused myself and said I'd be back later in the afternoon after
finishing off some errands. I gave Marco some cash and told him to be sure
he got Frank and especially Jordan fed. I was afraid Jordan wouldn't want
to leave his mom's side and I knew that she needed rest more than
anything. Teresa, after getting Jordan's keys from him, left with me.

"What did the doctor have to say Tim?" she queried me after we left the
room.

"He said that she is going to be essentially on her back for about three
months."

"Oh dear, how will she take care of herself, let alone Jordan?"

"She doesn't know it yet, and I know she is going to protest, but I am
moving her into my place. I've already got a hospital bed being delivered;
I've reached out to two practical nurses and I may engage a
cook/housekeeper too."

"You are right, she is going to protest, but it's just something she'll
have to accept. I'll help where I can and I know the ladies from the church
and St. Iggy's will help out too."

"You might want to grab some clothes from Marianna's as well. I have her
purse and wallet from the accident, but her clothes they just cut off her,
so there is nothing to wear when she gets discharged. We may have to buy
things like sweat pants that will go over her casts."

We parted on our errands and agreed to meet later back at the hospital. I
went over to my lawyer's office and hired one of the partner's to be
Marianna's advocate. I thought it wise for her to have her own lawyer for
the lawsuit, possibly multiple lawsuits, she'd have to file in order to
cover all the expenses of her care and recovery. I had my lawyer make sure
all the paperwork was up to date on me being Jordan's guardian. Even with
Marianna recovering, she was going to be incapacitated so a lot of tasks
like taking Jordan to doctors, the dentist, school issues, etc was going to
fall on me.

I finished up with my lawyer and then swung back by my condo to meet the
medical supply company that was delivering the bed, bed pans, walker,
wheelchair and all the accoutrements that Marianna would need the next few
months. They even took the existing beds in the rooms and said they'd store
them until I needed them back. I was also by this time fielding phone calls
from the St. Ignatius people. I got calls from the president, principal, VP
of campus ministry, Jordan's coaches and a lot of moms. St. Ignatius was
truly a community and even though Jordan had only been there a short time,
a lot of people knew him already from church and sports teams.

I got back to the hospital a little after 6PM and the crowd in Marianna's
had grown a little. There were colleagues from the hospital stopping by to
wish her well, Tina Barker from the baseball team and Aileen Murphy from
baseball too. She is Dillon's mom, which made me feel a little guilty, but
also made me think about Dillon and how much fun we'd had.

By 7PM the room had thinned out. Teresa went home to take care of the other
kids, I sent Marco home to give him a break and that left just Jordan,
Frank and me. At 7:15 my iPad went off indicating I had an incoming
call. Knowing that the hospital frowned on cell phones I figured they
wouldn't be any happier with live feed on a tablet, I stepped into the
bathroom in Marianna's room to answer it. I smiled when I saw who it was. I
stepped back out of the bathroom.

"It's for you," I said to Jordan, handing him the iPad.

He looked puzzled until he saw what it was, then he burst out laughing.

"Hi guys," he said and a chorus of hi's greeted him back.

One of the things I'd done earlier was send out an all points bulletin to
Jordan's Stickam crew, who were all dear friends now, including Dylan,
Ryan, and Matt. I'd also invited Jon, Madison, Bryce and Devon since I knew
they'd be worried.

"We wanna see your mom, not your ugly mug," said Dylan, taking the lead.

Jordan leaned over the bed so the camera could catch Marianna too.

"Hi Ms. F," they all said, if not in unison, than close to it.

"Oh, I look frightful boys! But hello back."

"You look terrific," Dylan said sincerely, "we are so happy you are
okay. My parents and I are going to come over and see you tomorrow."

The boys who lived in San Francisco also declared that they would be by the
hospital soon and Matt from Pasadena and Ryan from Seattle said they wished
they could be there. They all chatted on Stickam for a little over thirty
minutes until a nurse came in and busted them, then farewells were said.

Around 9PM I could see Marianna fading, a nurse checking in saw it too and
chased Jordan, Frank and I away.

"Shoo now," she admonished, "Marinna needs a good sleep. You boys all do
too. Go home and comeback tomorrow."

Jordan was very reluctant to leave, but his mom was the final
authority. Frank was positive and upbeat on the short drive home. I knew he
was trying hard to relieve Jordan's stress. Even though he knew his mom was
going to be okay eventually, Jordan still seemed troubled. Marco welcomed
us home, and gave Jordan a reassuring hug and kiss. Marco had cooked up
some spaghetti for a late dinner and we watched TV for a little while in
the Great Room before Jordan announced he was pooped and turning in. Frank
went with him and Marco and I decided to turn in as well.

I was in a sound sleep when I was shaken awake. I turned to glance at the
clock and it was 1:13AM. The person shaking me was Frank.

"Timmy, I'm scared, I can't get Jordan to stop crying."

Frank must have been shaken up because he almost never calls me
`Timmy'. Marco woke up too and I told him what was going on. I went down to
Jordan's bedroom alone to see what I could do. Jordan was curled up into a
ball under his covers sobbing gently, but sobbing nonetheless. I sat on the
bed next to him and rubbed his back lightly.

"What's wrong bud, your mom will be as good as new soon."

Jordan didn't answer, but just continued to cry. I got what was worrying
Frank, Jordan wasn't even communicating. I pulled the covers off him and
scooped up his naked form and carried him back to my bedroom. When I got to
my bedroom I sat on one of the couches and cradled him and rocked slowly.

Jordan was approaching fifteen years old in a few weeks and I'd been
marveling at what a young man he'd become. Now he seemed younger and
smaller than the twelve year old Jordan I'd first met. I just rocked back
and forth until he cried himself out. Frank didn't know what to do to help
and Marco sat down next to me and rubbed Jordan's back. When the crying
seemed to subside I again broached the subject of what was wrong.

"Talk to me Jordie, what is going on inside your head? Your mom is fine."

"I... know... she... is... fine... this... time... but... what... if... something... else... happens...I'd... be... all... alone..!

The words came out between sobs and just broke my heart.

"I know your mom and I have never discussed this with you and we probably
should have, but if anything ever did happen to your mom, I'd become your
legal parent."

I didn't use the word guardian, which would have been more accurate
legally, but I wanted Jordan to know I would be more than a mere guardian.

"And you know that if anything ever happened to me, Teresa would take you
in in a heartbeat and so would the Fouts, the Matsons, the Cruttendens and
the Buchanans. The Buchanans might make you change your name to Carter or
Reagan so you fit in, but I think you'd be cute as a Reagan."

The joke about the Buchanan kids all being named for presidents got a
little smile out of Jordan. Marco reached over and took Jordan from my lap,
into his.

"Does this feel like alone to you Jordan?" He asked with his big, dark eyes
boring into Jordan's.

"No," was Jordan's feeble answer.

Frank sat down next Marco and pulled Jordan into his lap next.

"Yeah, does this... ugh... you are fat!" the 110 pound Frank teased the
heavier Jordan.

That broke down the last of Jordan's melancholy as he giggled, "I'm not
fat, you are just puny."

The four of us were all naked of course since that is how we slept, but no
one had really noticed until Jordan cracked a joke.

"Wow, I must be losing my touch. You all three had me naked in your lap and
not one of you is hard."

You could see the relief spread over Marco and Frank's faces as the regular
Jordan reappeared.

"But I am tired," Jordan yawned, "I am going to bed."

And with that he crawled into my bed.

"Works for me," Frank declared as he dove in after him.

I looked at Marco who shrugged, "looks like we have company for the night."

I got under the covers on one side next to Jordan, Marco got in on the
other side next to Frank. I turned off the bedside light and snuggled close
to Jordan. I awoke five hours later after a pretty good deep sleep and
Jordan had his head on my shoulder and one arm draped over me. I also had a
raging piss boner to take care of so I tried to gently extricate myself
from him without waking him. As I moved away his arm gripped me tighter.

"Where are you going?" was the sleepy inquiry.

"To take a piss and unless you want me to pee all over you I suggest you
ease your hold a little."

"Hmmm, sounds fun and kinky to me," was the chuckled reply.

I was happy to hear Jordan was still jovial this morning. Last night had
really worried me. Jordan always seemed so happy and secure; I guess I'd
forgotten that there might be lingering scars from his Uncle Frank's
abandonment. I'd have to ask Marianna if she wanted me to contact her
brother or not.

As I moved to the bathroom Jordan followed me and stood next to me at the
commode with a morning wood of his own. We both pushed them down and let
the stream start. It is amazing how great the release can be in the morning
as your bladder shrinks and moves away from the prostate.

"So would I really live with you if anything happened to my mom?" Jordan
asked as he shook the last drops away from his now soft penis.

"Not only would you, but you are going to. Your mom doesn't know it yet,
but she can't be on her own in your house; not for a few months
probably. I've ordered a hospital bed for the guest bedroom and I'm
interviewing two nurses who'll be with your mom while I am at work and you
are at school. The two of you will be living here full time at least three
month probably."

"Now you know your mom," I continued, "she is going to protest and
complain, but it is the only logical solution so I need you to back me up."

"No worries, I'll do my sad eyes and she'll wilt like lettuce on a hot
August day."

"Go wake up the Bisignani boys and we'll go to Sears before seeing your mom
this morning."

I turned on the shower and stepped in. Jordan came back from the bedroom
and joined me, followed by Marco and Frank. Marco and his mini me brother
stood shoulder to shoulder at the toilet like Jordan and I had as they too
took their morning leak. We showered, dressed and head to Sears Fine Food,
hoping there wouldn't be a bad line yet and there wasn't.

Marco and I ate like normal human beings, Frank and Jordan ate like three
normal human beings, consuming bacon, sausage, fried eggs, hash browns,
toast and a full stack of Sears famous pancakes each. We also got an order
of pancakes to go for Marianna.

She was awake and sitting up in bed with her hair nicely brushed and
make-up applied. She'd used the make-up to conceal the bruises on her face
from the accident. Other than the IV in her arm and the monitoring
equipment, she looked very much like herself. She gratefully accepted the
pancakes from Sears and ate them while Jordan and Frank talked about all
they had eaten for breakfast. Overall it was a scene that could have been
in Marianna's kitchen nook.

About an hour later Teresa showed up and she had Frank's and Jordan's
school backpacks with her.

"Good news," she smiled, "I got your weekend homework boys."

Both boys groaned and rolled their eyes.

"That was very considerate of you Teresa," Marianna gushed, knowing the
boys would be less than thrilled.

"Yeah, very considerate mom," Frank grumbled under his breath.

Marco and I left because I knew Marianna was going to have a full slate of
visitors today and Marco had schoolwork of his own to do. Teresa said she
would bring the boys by my place later. Other than Marianna being in the
hospital, it seemed like a normal Saturday. A few guys from the circle
showed up either before or after seeing Marianna. I ordered lunch in for
those who did show up and then Marco and I headed back to the hospital, but
Marco and I drove separately so he could take Jordan and Frank out to
dinner while I spoke with Marianna about the immediate future.

The Fouts family was just leaving as Marco and I arrived. We stayed and
chatted with them for a bit before they left and Dylan and I exchanged
water polo gossip and scuttlebutt. Once they were off Marco pulled Jordan
and Frank out to dinner leaving Marianna and I alone.

"How are you feeling today?" I opened.

"Tired, but good," she responded in weary voice, "they still have me on
good slugs of painkiller so that makes me sleepy too."

"Do you remember or know anything about the accident?"

She shook her head slowly, "one minute I was driving to work, the next
minute I was in the hospital with an orderly cutting off my favorite pair
of slacks. The police came by today and took a statement, but I am afraid I
wasn't much help."

"Was it a man named Walker? Serious and no sense of humor?"

Marianna laughed gently, "I'd say he was professional and efficient, but he
didn't give me a lot of information."

"So let me bring you up to speed a little. I've hired a lawyer for you from
the firm I use. If you don't like him you can find a different one
obviously, but I thought we needed to get someone working on it right away
and keeping the pressure on the police to be forthcoming with the
information."

"Why wouldn't they be," Marianna asked in a puzzled voice.

"The driver who hit you was Supervisor Mendoza," I replied flatly and let
that sink in.

After a moment the light went on for her, "the one who got a DUI last
month?"

"The same," I acknowledged, "which is why I wanted competent eyes on it
from the beginning."

"Did you see Dr. Fruchtbaum today?" I inquired, changing the topic.

"He came by a couple of times. I sent Jordan and Frank down to get lunch in
the cafeteria the second time so Paul could speak frankly. I've been so
elated about not being hurt worse, I hadn't really thought about how I am
going to manage at home once they discharge me."

"Oh well," she sighed, "I'll manage; I mean I have to, I have Jordan to
take care of. Maybe the insurance will cover a helper a couple of days a
week."

I sucked in a breath of air in anticipation of broaching my plans to her
and she noticed.

"What?" she exclaimed, "Is there something I don't know?"

"You aren't going home."

"What, what do you mean?"

"Marianna, you won't be able to do much more than get out of bed to use the
bathroom the first couple of weeks, let alone care for Jordan and your
household," I paused here before plowing ahead, "you and Jordan are moving
in with me."

"No," she protested, "Tim, we can't possibly, that is way too much, we'll
manage."

"It is a done deal, I have the hospital bed for you, I am hiring two LVNs
who are cousins of Rosario Torres' to help you while Jordan and I are out
and Jordan agrees with me it is the best solution."

"He does, does he?" a defiant Marianna rejoined, "I know you are well off
Tim, but you've already done too much for us, paying Jordan's tuition and
being there for him the way you have when my brother skipped out on him. I
can't let you do this."

She looked like her mind was made up.

"If it makes you feel better, you can pay me back out of the settlement."

"What settlement?"

"The settlement your lawyer is going to get from the City and County of San
Francisco, from Supervisor Mendoza's insurance company and possibly from
Supervisor Mendoza himself. I understand he made a bundle in his
development company. I expect the final amount to be considerable once the
dust settles.

"Still, we can't impose."

"You forget you made me your health proxy."

"So?"

"See that device," I said pointing, "I can have them unplug that on you."

"That is the television," she pointed out.

"Precisely," I agreed in a triumphant voice, "you wouldn't last forty-eight
hours in here without a TV."

I folded my arms across my chest as if that settled the discussion once and
for all.

She just laughed and shook her head, "you really are a gem Tim Price. I
don't know what Jordan and I did to deserve you, but I light a candle for
you every Sunday."

I sat down on her bed and took her hand, "I am the lucky one Marianna. You
have no idea the joy Jordan has brought to my life and how he has changed
it."

We were in the same position when Jordan, Frank and Marco retuned from
dinner.

"You ain't hittin' on my gal are you?" Jordan challenged with the best
stern look he could manage.

"Nope, but we did make it official that we are roommates for the next few
months."

A grin broke out on Jordan's face, "and I didn't even need to use my sad
eyes on her!"

Marianna rolled her eyes, "I am getting wise to the sad eye routine."

"We need to go by your house tomorrow and move more of your clothes over
Jordan and Marianna, you can start thinking about what you want from the
house with you."

I moved off the bed and Jordan moved in. The five of us didn't talk much;
we just watched some television and enjoyed the presence of each other
until the night nurse chased us out so Marianna could go to sleep.

When we got back to my place I did a quick check with Jordan to see if he
wanted to sleep with Marco and me again tonight.

Jordan looked a little sheepish as he replied, "no, I have some stress to
burn off tonight."

Given how beat red Frank turned I didn't need to ask how he intended to
burn off that stress.

"Don't be up too late tonight, we still have church tomorrow, you two have
homework, time with your mom and we need to go get more clothes for you
from your house."

After they'd gone off to Jordan's room Marco looked at me.

"I'm feeling a little stressed myself."

I grinned back at him, "better lock the door so we don't get walked in on."

Sunday was packed with things to do, but somehow everything did get done
and Marianna and I agreed that everyone should return to their normal
weekly schedules. Jordan tried to protest, but Marianna reminded him how
important his school work was and his obligation to the freshman football
team. So Marco went back to Stanford Sunday night and come Monday morning
we started our altered routine.

Normally I left the house very early so I could get in a swim at Stanford
before I went to the office, but I had to adjust that to get Jordan to
St. Ignatius everyday around 8AM since the first bell was at 8:20AM. That
meant if I wanted to swim I'd need to use Koret at USF and then get back
home to take Jordan to school. Teresa offered to pick him up in her car
pool, but I actually was enjoying my adult in Jordan's life role.

I didn't want Marianna alone too much though so I arranged for Margarita
and Angelica Antipolo, the LVN cousins of Nurse Torres to start work on
that Monday so they could get to know Marianna and her, them. I also
arranged for the lawyer I'd hired for her to visit and go over what would
be entailed in getting a settlement for the accident. After football
practice I picked Jordan up from school and we went to the hospital to have
dinner with his mom. Sometimes Frank joined us, other days he went home. We
did this routine for a bit more than a week until the hospital had weaned
Marianna off the intra venous pain killers and finally she was discharged
from the hospital the second Saturday after her accident.

Marianna was still a little apprehensive about moving in with me, but
overall she'd come around to the notion that it was the most logical
solution. Even though she was heavily casted she still fit pretty
comfortably in the back seat of the Range Rover if she sat sideways. We'd
bought a wheelchair for her so we could move her easily and Jordan was
adept at getting it set up and helping her into it. He also got good at
helping her from the wheelchair into the hospital bed I'd put in the guest
room. Most of that Saturday was spent a lot like the previous Saturday; a
lot of visitors coming by to say hello and offer help and sympathy.

A new wrinkle occurred on Sunday afternoon; after church Teresa and Maria
came over to my condo to work on preparing the Sunday Bisignani family
dinner. Teresa insisted that it would be easy and she didn't want to miss
including Marianna in the tradition. So Teresa and Maria would work in the
kitchen with Marianna in her wheelchair nearby so they could talk and share
the newest gossip. Most of the Bisignani kids came over five-ish, except
David and Frank who came over after church so Devon Sheets could tutor them
along with Michael and Jordan. That was also when Teresa decided to include
the Best family, Russ, Amy and Michael, into the family dinner. More often
than not Devon stayed after tutoring to join us for the family meal unless
the Cruttendon's had special plans that night.

The introduction of Marianna into the household didn't really change things
all that much. Margarita and Angelica went above and beyond in their LVN
duties by cooking dinners before they left, which replaced the willy nilly
combination of take out, grilling and eating out at restaurants, which had
been my previous norm. Jordan would do his homework at the dining table
while Marianna and I watched television in the Great Room. Margarita and
Angelica were also great about getting Marianna out of the house during the
day. They took her for jaunts around the neighborhood and around Golden
Gate Park during the day when the weather was nice and also up to the roof
to sit in the sun.

One of the things that did change with Marianna and Jordan living with me
full time was me getting exposed to Jordan's other friends and classmates
besides Frank and the cadre of gay kids that used my condo as a
refuge. During the week friends from school would come over including a
Wednesday group of freshman study buddies that included Frank, two boys off
the football team, a water polo player, a boy from the drama club, two of
Jordan's baseball buddies and a boy who was in the orchestra. Overall they
were a very eclectic group, but they all exhibited the same traits I'd seen
in other St. Ignatius boys; they were unfailingly polite, had good social
graces and were bright. Despite the differences, some jocks, some not, I
didn't see the divide I saw from other schools between those groups.

I got to know these new boys better. The baseball players, Adam and Luke I
knew already, along with Nate Murphy, Dillon and Tommy's older brother, who
was playing football too; Payton from the football team I'd met since he
was the starting quarterback, but the others were new to me. Lance Biggins,
the boy from drama might have been the most interesting. Despite the name
"biggins" he was quite small, only around 5'1" or so and quite slight, I'd
guess barely 100 pounds, but he had an outsized personality. He was the
comedian of the group and I guessed probably of any group he was in. He had
a razor sharp quick wit, but his quips were never unkind or cutting so he
was immensely popular.

We were two weeks into the routine, three weeks after Marianna's accident
when I got a phone call from my real estate lawyer. I'd been so wrapped up
with the accident and in my new routine that I'd let my attention on the
property on Conn Valley Road in St. Helena slip. I was afraid he was going
to tell me we'd lost the property, instead he told me the seller was
sweetening the deal. For the original asking price of $15.9 million the
owner was willing to throw in the remaining fifteen hundred acres of
vineyard that he owned, but wasn't part of the property the first time we'd
looked at it.

"Buy it," I decided instantly.

"Should I counter lower?" John my real estate lawyer asked.

"Talk to the realtor in Napa, the price sounds fair to me, but if she
thinks we can get it all at a better price, then follow her
recommendation."

That was how I'd suddenly become a wine maker with a sixteen hundred fifty
acre vineyard and winery. We settled on a final price of $15.6 million. I
knew I wouldn't be able to devote much time to it right now so I hired a
manager for the vineyard who'd live in the barn with the apartment in the
loft. His job would be to hire workers and take care of the vines and then
sell the grapes to other wineries until I was ready to really operate a
winery of my own.

He was young, just 25 years old, but he had his masters in oenology from UC
Davis and Lance, that was his name, Lance Rutherford; had grown up in
St. Helena and a wine making family. It was after his great, great
grandfather, Thomas Rutherford, that the area known as Rutherford was named
and I knew Lance was anxious to prove himself a worthy successor to the
family name. He and his new bride Susie moved into the barn loft and went
to work.

The fall rolled on with our new living arrangement. Marianna was able to
make Jordan's football games with the assistance of her nurses and then for
the varsity games it seemed like the whole freshman football team wanted to
take turns wheeling her around J.B. Murphy Field. Several of the moms from
the football team and baseball team came over during the week to keep
Marianna company a few hours. Even so I knew Marianna was bored and
restless, which prompted a call from me to Paul Laret.

"Tim, nice to hear from you, how is Marianna doing?" he greeted me.

"She is doing okay, but I think boredom is starting to wear on her which is
why I called. How are you guys getting on without her? Are there tasks for
work she could be doing at home?"

"It is an interesting idea; I don't see why she couldn't be working
remotely. She can't do everything she used to do here, but there is
probably a lot she could be helping us with."

Paul came over that afternoon to visit and present the idea of her doing
some work from home as his idea. Marianna was not only thrilled with the
idea of doing something besides sitting around watching TV or reading, I
think she was also relieved to know the hospital still regarded her well
and that her job was still there.

So Marianna began to resume part of her normal work life and recovered and
grew stronger by the day. We had a massive Thanksgiving celebration in my
condo that taxed even its vastness. Besides the Bisignani clan and the Best
family, my parents flew up for the long weekend as well. It was a hectic
four days of feasting, football and family time.

The week after Thanksgiving Marianna got her casts all removed and she told
me she thought she was ready to return home. I convinced her to stay on
though December and see how physical therapy went. It was good that she
decided to stay because walking and standing were a lot harder than she'd
anticipated. She tired quickly. But doing physical therapy at the hospital
convinced her she could return to work, even if she wasn't quite ready to
move home yet. December 10th was her first day back in her office since the
accident thirteen weeks earlier.

Margarita and Angelica had been absolutely amazing workers for the whole
time of Marianna's recovery and they'd become more than just hired help to
all of us. I was sad to be releasing them and even though I paid them for
the entire month of December, I still felt guilty. My guilt turned to
relief however when they were both able to get hired at San Francisco
General Hospital, partly on the very strong recommendation of Marianna.

2007 was ending on what seemed a happy note for everyone. Marco had done
well at Stanford his first semester, Frank and Jordan were doing well at St
Ignatius, Michael Best had joined David at Sts, Peter & Paul School when
Russ and Amy decided he'd be happier there than the San Francisco Day
School and work was going well for me too. Cisco continued to grow
exponentially so not only did my stock increase in value every year, but
the steady dividends threw more cash at me than I knew what to do with so I
plowed some back into the stock and some into buying more land in the Napa
Valley as the real estate slowdown was starting to turn into a real estate
crash. I was looking forward to what 2008 would bring our way.