Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2001 18:34:00 +0000
From: Darren Talbot <davidtalbot50@hotmail.com>
Subject: gay male/ adult youth/ The Library chapter ten

the library
Chapter 10

*all disclaimers regarding the legality of this story and the fictionality
of it's contents are applicable.

____________________________________________

I touched his face, caressing his cheek with my thumb.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Josh asked.

"Maybe nothing, maybe everything...but I need more time to think than we
have. I need more time to think than today."

"But you look upset. Did I do something wrong?" Josh asked, the tears slow
running down his cheeks, over my finger.

"No, Joshy. No," I said, looking down at his little body, "Does your father
pick Christopher up from school?"

He laughed bitterly, "Yeah, right. No, I do. I walk him home."

"And when does school let out for him?"

"Three thirty. Daniel, what is it?"

"Okay," I said, grabbing my Post-It notepad and jotting down my home
address,"I want you to pick up Christopher, same as always, but then I want
you and he to go to this address. You'll find a key just under the doormat
at the..."

"What's going on?" Josh interrupted.

I looked up, taking his face in my hands, "I'm not letting either of you go
back to that bastard ever again. I swear that to you." I didn't even realize
what I was saying at the time, or that I'd made up my mind to believe Josh
over my friend of two years acquaintance, but I had. Somewhere, I had.

He leapt into my arms, his hands clasping opposite shoulders, his legs
wrapping around me. I was knocked a little bit off balance, having to take a
step back. I steadied myself and enveloped him in my arms, my hand on the
back of his head.

"I love you Daniel." He whispered against my neck.

"I love you too, Joshy." I said, slowly letting go of him and lowering him
back to the table, "But..."

"But?" He asked, his face falling some.

"But I don't know exactly what we're going to do yet. You and I have to talk
about something."

"Oh," He said, "what?"

"You've never gone to the police, you said."

"No, never. They'd take Chrissy away."

"Have the police ever come to investigate your father?"

He lowered his head, grabbing his elbows in opposite hands and hugging
himself tightly, "Yes."

"But they never found anything."

"No." He said.

There was a long pause, "Josh, you've got to help me, here. Why didn't they
ever find anything...any evidence of what he was doing to you?"

"Because I wouldn't let them."

I was hit by that so hard I couldn't think of what to say next for several
minutes. I stepped back from the table and leaned against the cart.

"What does that mean?" I asked, finally.

"They would find me all the time doing it...earning is what dad calls it.
Then he'd come pick me up the next day and take me home..but he knows where
to beat you and how to do it, Daniel. They never found any of the bruises
because they would go away very fast. And the other stuff..."

"Other stuff?" I asked.

"The movies. The tapes he made. I cleaned those all up and hid them, or
they'd do something, Daniel. They'd take Chrissy away." Josh said, his voice
rising in pitch.

I couldn't breathe, my chest was clutched so hard by this invisible force,
this horrible monster that had just come in with his words, "The...the
uh...." I swallowed hard to steady myself, "the movies?" I asked.

He nodded, weakly, "He sells them. Movies of me and him. Together. Doing
stuff. He sells them."

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. The temperature in the shop shot up by
thirty degrees. I was sweating.

"So...so you, uh....you hid all of these things so that the police wouldn't
find them and...uh..."

"So they wouldn't take Chrissy away. He's my little brother, Daniel. He's my
little...brother..." His body was convulsing with wracking sobs. He curled
into fetal position sitting up. I was horrified by that, but was also very
angry at myself because I couldn't move to him. I couldn't move at all. It
was as if I was watching this all on a movie screen while I was strapped to
a bed.

"You hate me! I know you do! God, I am such a dirty dirty boy. I fucking
hate..." he was mumbling and shouting between sobs.

When I finally could move, I walked to him and wrapped his whole body
against me. I enveloped him in my arms. I was shushing him and rubbing his
back. When his crying finally died down and he grew silent, he said "You
hate me, don't you."

"How could I hate you, Josh?"

His head came up a little, nuzzling against my neck, "Because I'm so dirty.
I'm ruined."

"Never, Josh. Never. I will never stop loving you."

He sniffled loudly and raised his head to be level with mine, "You mean it?"

I nodded and smiled as best I could. Over his shoulder I could see that my
watch read one o'clock. It was then I remembered; I had had an appointment
today at two. I'd have to cancel it.

"What?" He asked, glancing back over his own shoulder to where I was
looking.

"An appointment today. I'll have to cancel it."

"An appointment? I don't want to make you not do something, Daniel. I should
just..." He said, making as if to get out of my arms.

"No, you're not going anywhere. The book will still be old come tomorrow, or
the next day."

He looked up at me, questioning. I said, "I have an appointment to
authenticate a book today."

He still looked confused,"What?"

"Authenticate a book? what's that?"

Now it was my turn to be confused, "You've been here all this time and you
don't know what I do? What, did you think running a used bookstore was
enough to pay the bills in a town like this?" I asked.

He didn't say anything, but from the look on his face, I could tell he
hadn't thought about it, "Mort taught me, and then showed me which college
to attend. That's what I do to earn my real money, Josh, " I said, picking
up the phone to call Mrs. Biederman.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Old books are extremely valuable, especially if they are first editions,
printed while the author was still alive. I don't come across many of those.
But when people buy old books or are thinking about buying old books, they
want to make sure that it's actually valuable, for one, and for two that
what they're buying is what the owner says it is, so they call someone who
knows how to authenticate books. Someone who knows how to figure out how old
paper is,who knows about different binding types and stuff."

I dialed the number from the Post-It note near the cash register. "Who
taught you how to do that?" Josh asked.

"Mort. It's what he did for a living, too...Hello? Mrs. Biederman? Oh...do
you know when she might be back in? Ah...okay. Could you please tell her
that this is Daniel Walcott and I won't be able to keep the appointment
today....Yes...yes she has the number and she's more than welcome to phone
me to reschedule at her convenience. Thank you." I said, and hung up.

"That's so cool." Josh said, almost whispering.

"Do you really think so?" I asked.

He nodded. I looked down to see the Post-It with most of my address still on
it. I quickly scrawled the rest of the address out and then took it off the
pad, handing it to Josh, who accepted it as though it was a holy relic.

"This is really where you live?"

"Yeah. I might not be able to keep you guys there long, but I won't let you
go back to your fathers house." I said, going back to the office.

"Then what are you gonna do?" Josh said, his feet thumped as he hit the
floor, and then followed me.

I went to the desk and picked up his backpack. I saw he was about to step
into the room and held up my hand to stop him, "Don't, honey...glass," and
he stopped. I also picked up my leather satchel and walked back across the
threshold, handing his back pack to him. As he shouldered into it, I went to
the last bookshelf against the far wall. For some reason, I just felt that I
might not be back to the shop for awhile.

I pulled down the false row of books. As I set them down, I saw Josh's
amazement. I smiled, then removed the shelf they had been sitting on. What I
revealed was the door of a safe. I twisted the nob around the the right the
left then the right again, spelling out the number that was etched in my
brain forever.

"What's in there?" Josh asked.

"A few of the treasures of Alexandria, he called them," I said, and laughed.
The door sprung open. I picked up my satchel.

"Huh?" Josh asked, stepping closer and craning his neck to see.

I removed first one and then the other, setting them delicately into my
satchel, "Mort had managed to save enough money to buy up a few of the books
that he authenticated. Never for just collection reasons, though. They were
books he loved. He told me," I said, my voice going deeper to mimic
him,"Daniel, you must always treasure your treasures." I laughed, as he had
that day.

"Oh! Those are old books?" Josh asked, stepping closer again, "Which ones?"

"Maybe someday I'll show you. These aren't the same ones he had, though.
These are mine. Someday, you'll have yours." I said, slinging the satchel
over my neck and shoulder, and shutting the safe door.

"I dunno that I'll ever have enough money to own really old books." He said,
shrugging some.

I put the false books back up on the shelf I'd just put back, as well, and
turned to him, just as Mort had to me, all those years ago when I'd said the
same thing, and, just as Mort had, I lightly touched the tip of Josh's nose
with my finger "All books are treasures, my young friend. All of them." And,
our faces there at the same level, Josh smiled that heartbreaking million
dollar smile of his. The room seemed to grow brighter and I felt, just for a
second, that maybe it was going to be okay.

I put my arm around Josh as we walked to the front of the shop. I locked the
front door and put up the 'closed' sign, closing the blinds.

"So what's the combination to your safe?" Josh asked.

"Ahh...a very important day." I said, turning back and putting my arm around
him again, leading us both to the back door in the office. I stopped him at
the doorway, walking in and grabbing his shoes, then walked back to him. I
knelt down and put his hands on my shoulders, picking up his small, delicate
little foot in my hand. My fingers roamed over it's soft skin for a moment,
before putting it on him. Then I shifted and caressed the other foot
lightly.

"Stop. That tickles." He said, and I could hear the grin returning to his
voice. I smiled and squeezed his other foot into it's adorable blue
Converse.

As we walked to the back door, he said "You don't own a broom? I'll sweep up
the mess I made."

"No, actually, I don't own a broom for the shop. Never needed one, reallly."

I reached for the doorknob and was opening the back door when he stopped,
forcing me to, as well.

"Daniel, what are we going to do?"

I inhaled deeply and then opened the back door. As I reached to shut off the
office light, I put my arm around his shoulder to guide him out, and said "I
don't know yet, Joshy, but I'm sure we'll figure something out."

And I hoped I was right.

___________________________________

End chapter 10
More to come!

*questions and comments welcome (I hope you guys aren't minding that there
are quite a number of chapters where no sex occurs. I realize that's not
exactly in keeping with the purpose of this site, but I think it's more
"sexy" when it happens naturally in the pace of the story, and doesn't seem
forced into each chapter. I hope you agree)