Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 17:06:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: vealskye <vealskye@yahoo.com>
Subject: JT Part 2

Disclaimer:  The characters in this story are not
real.  I made them up.  Some of them are gay.  Some of
them might have sex.  If you are not allowed to read
this type of material, or if you will be offended by
it, leave now.

JT Part 2

Josh knew there was something wrong when he walked up
to the trailer.  The twins were sitting outside, and
they were quiet.  They were never quiet.  They were
not like him.  Some of his classmates called him a
nerd.  Some of them called him something else.  He
didn't mind being called a nerd.  He liked learning.
He didn't mind being called the other thing, either;
he knew it was true.  He just wished they wouldn't say
it so loud!  People would talk.  His parents would
find out.  His mother was one of the primary gossip
mongers in this trailer park -- she would find out!

He walked past is brother and sister without saying
anything to them.  He didn't have anything to say to
them, anyway, and they hadn't spoken to him.  Into the
trailer and into the living room, he walked.  The TV
wasn't on.  Everything was quiet.  He didn't see his
mother.  He did see his father.  His father was
pissed.

Josh didn't know what was wrong but he cringed anyway.
 He always felt his father was mean.  Never at the
twins, though.  He could never understand why the
anger and hatred only seemed to be aimed at him.  He
never gave the man any trouble, not like the twins.
The twins were always into some sort of mischief, or
worse.  Josh, sighed, resigned to yet another argument
with his dad.

"Where have you been, you little cocksucker?  You been
on your knees with that fairy Thompson boy again?
Huh, faggot?"

Oh my god, he knew, Josh thought.  How did he know?
What happened?  No one knew but him.  He had never
told anyone.

"No, I never -- I don--." Josh never got to finish what
he was going to say that evening.  He never saw his
father's fist coming.  Afterwards he would always say
the only thing he remembered was landing on the gravel
at the bottom of the stairs in front of the trailer
and looking up at his little brother.  His brother was
smirking.


Chapter 4

Jenna pulled me into a waiting room and told me
everything that Josh had told her the night before.
It really wasn't much.  He didn't know why his dad had
snapped.  He didn't remember walking, alone, on the
back road leading to the convenience store where he
had been found.  And then he stopped talking and said
not one more word.

I had plenty to say, but started by asking how the
legal system in this Podunk village had moved forward
so quickly.

"Someone bribed the judge."

My mouth fell open.  The police were notoriously
corrupt and everyone knew they were nothing more than
pawns to the elected officials.

Jenna held up her hand, stopping me from saying
anything.

"I will never be able to prove it, of course."

"Keep saying things like that aloud and you won't last
long in this town!"

She laughed.  It was infectious and I found myself
thinking that it was too bad she had appendages in the
wrong spots.

 "Come on; let's go see your new son."  New son?  Me?
That sounded totally ... weird.  I had a son.

I followed her down the hall to a private room.  She
went in first and headed straight to Josh's bed,
sitting down beside him.

"Honey, I've brought someone to see you."

Josh opened one eye and looked up at Jenna, and then
at me.

"About damn fucking time you showed up, Timmy!"


Chapter 5

"I'm sure I can find some soap in this bathroom!  And
call me Tim you impudent little hooligan!"

"Oh alright, Timmy," Josh slurred.  He had difficulty
talking with one side of his face swollen like it was.
 His father must have put the strength of three men
behind that blow for only one punch to do that much
damage, I thought.

"Joshua Thomas!  It seems you are mine now and rule
number one is that you don't call me Timmy!  Do you
understand me, you little brat?"

By then Officer Wilder was off of the bed and
advancing on me like a mother hen protecting her
chicks.

"I get to stay with you?"

"Seems so," I said, skirting both the bed and the
enraged officer.  "If you want to that is."

I managed to get myself seated on the bed before I had
a double armful of 15 year old little boy crying in my
arms.

I could feel the daggers of Jenna's stare digging into
my back as I rocked Joshua for what had to be ten full
minutes of what I hoped would be cathartic tears.

When he finally stopped sobbing and had gotten himself
under control enough to realize that his teenage
dignity was offended by not only being held, but by
crying, he pulled away, blushing.

Jenna, now returned to her side of the bed, handed my
new son a tissue, while glancing sideways at me.

Josh was the first to speak.

"So I can't call you Timmy anymore if I live with
you?"  I knew where this was going but decided to keep
myself somewhat reserved for Jenna's sake.

"Yep, that's it," I said, as Josh blew his nose, "No
snot-nosed brat is going to call me Timmy."

And for the first time since I walked in the room Josh
grinned.

"Good thing there is a box of these, then, huh?" he
said, as he threw the used tissue in my direction.


Chapter 6

"What's going on here?"

By that time Josh was giggling and I was grinning and
Jenna looked just plain confused.

"What?" I said?

"You drive all the way down here, take custody of the
boy, nearly bite my head off trying to get to him and
then talk to him like that?  What is going on here?"

"Josh and I have been talking to each other like that
since he was a little brat.  I see no reason for that
to change now that he is almost a grown-up brat."  I
went on to explain that JT and I had been teasing each
other since he was a young kid.  He had always seemed
older that his age would indicate and seemed to grasp
the nuances of my sarcasm long before anyone his age
should have been able to.

Jenna looked between the two of us and slowly shook
her head.  "Men!"

More giggles from JT.

"What are you doing dressed anyway, honey?"

"They said I get to go" -- giggle -- "home today."

"Today?  Your grandmother told me you were being
released tomorrow," I said, wondering how she had
gotten something so simple as his release date mixed
up.

The mention of his grandmother sobered Josh up very
quickly.  He looked to be on the verge of tears again.

"You saw mamaw?"

"She is the one that called me.  She told me you were
in the hospital; that your dad had beat you up.  She
also told me you were gay."

Josh's mouth dropped open.  I knew what he was
thinking.  How could I have betrayed him?  And in
front of someone else?

"I'm gay too ya know, JT."

"You are?"

I knew he had to have heard about my departure from
the family -- my mother was apparently staying with his
grandmother after all.  I guessed she was, she had
been in the car this afternoon.

"You didn't hear about me getting kicked out?  About
me kicking my parents out?  Isn't mom living with your
grandmawmaw?"

"But I didn't think you were really . . ."

"Gay.  You can say gay, honey."  Josh looked at Jenna
as if she had grown horns, or sprouted wings rather
than validating his feelings.

"It's okay Joshua, I have a cousin who is gay.  She
came out to me right after I had decided to become a
police officer.  You know what she said?"  Josh
managed to shake his head.

"She said, Jenna, I am telling you this so that you
can help me find a wife.  You've always had better
taste than I have and I need help!"

"What did you do?" Josh whispered.  I could tell he
was overwhelmed by this entire conversation, his
entire day.

"I introduced her to my roommate at the police
academy.  They had the wedding on Valentine's day -- we
all went to Vermont for the week.  My daughter was the
flower girl."

End of part two.  Comments or suggestions to
vealskye@yahoo.com