Date: Fri, 1 Jan 2016 11:45:17 -0500
From: CJ Abello <cjabello1997@gmail.com>
Subject: CJ: Autumn: Chapter 7: You're Missing

CJ: Autumn: Chapter 7: You're Missing

This is a work of fiction set in the real world. Certain living individuals
make appearances in the story; all other characters and the events in which
they all participate are the creation of the author. Any resemblance of the
fictional characters to actual individuals is purely coincidental.



Sunday, 1 September 2013 - continued

"I got it, Uncle Tommy." CJ picked up the phone so the injured cop wouldn't
have to stretch for it.

"Hello? Detective Kennedy's room." CJ scrunched up his face as he listened
to the caller.

"This is CJ, I'm the Detective's nephew. Who's calling?" The boy's face lit
up in surprise hearing the response to his question.

"No shit? Dude! He's really gonna flip! Hang on." CJ held the handset out
to the injured cop, "Uncle Tom, it's your son Bradley, for you."

"Bradley? Oh God. Oh Jesus. I... I..." Tom Kennedy's gaze rapidly shifted
between CJ's face and the phone the boy held. His fingers curled around the
edge of the white sheet covering the lower half of his body. His breathing
became ragged. The length of each breath decreased as the frequency
increased. Tears began running down his face. He was still connected to
machinery above his head, by leads attached to his chest--one of them
started to chime. CJ noticed a squiggly line on the monitor begin to move
faster. The peaks it drew rose and a new beeping sound came from somewhere
around it.

Caleb, the nurse on duty, ran in the room. "His heart rate's gone through
the roof. What happened, CJ?"

"He got a call from his son. They haven't spoken in years. When I told him
who it was, he started getting agitated." CJ was scared, his fear seeping
through in his voice. He hoped his uncle wasn't having a heart attack.

"It's okay, buddy. He's having an anxiety attack. Let me calm him down and
get his blood pressure under control.  He'll be okay in a few minutes. Go
sit on the other bed and talk to his son."

"Hello," said CJ once again into the phone.

"Dad? Dad? What's going on?"

"Hey, Bradley, this is still CJ. Your dad got kinda emotional when he heard
it was you calling."

"Is he okay? He's not having a heart attack, is he?"

"Nah, the nurse came in and says your dad is having an anxiety attack, he
should be fine in a bit."

"Shit! I got scared when I heard those strange noises. So, who are you
again? Are you the one who trashed my grandparents and that idiot priest?"

"Ouch! Not sure I'd say I trashed them, but I might have made a couple of
comments they didn't like. Sorry about that, the priest pissed me off and I
just went a little nutso. He made a comment--"

"Don't apologize, man. Father Enger is a douche. Grandpa Frank can be a
pain in the ass when he doesn't get his way. Grandma just goes along with
anything the two of them say, or she prays. You still haven't answered my
question, who are you?"

"Oh, sorry. My parents are real close friends with your dad, we came to
visit him but the rents went down to the cafeteria to get something to
eat. Uncle Tommy was real happy about talking to your mom yesterday. He was
all excited thinking you were gonna call him, but he wasn't expecting it
today. Weren't you and your brother somewhere with friends?"

"Yeah, but the weather turned nasty so we all came back. So my mother told
us dad got married this summer? I guess I have a step father? Geez that
sounds weird. Do you know this guy? What's he like?"

"Dude, of course I know Uncle JP. He's a great guy. He's from Australia and
has this great accent. The wedding was a double one. My two dads got
married at the same time--I was the best man for all four."

"Wait, your two dads?"

"Ummm, yeah, I've got two fathers also."

"You live with them?"

"Yup, moved up here from Miami in May. I wasn't getting along with my mom
and her husband." CJ thought now wasn't the time to go into a long
explanation about why he ended up living in Washington. "Hey, I understand
you and I are the same age."

"Really? You're fifteen? I turn sixteen in October. What about you?"

"Shit! You're older than me. My birthday's in December. So you gonna come
visit your dad?"

"Well, I gotta talk to him first, you know? But I hope it works out. Mom
said we could. Maybe we'll get to meet if I do?"

"Oh shit yeah, we'll definitely meet. We need to keep in touch. What are
you on?"

"Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You?"

"Facebook, Instagram, and Kik. But I'm warning you right now I'm not one of
those guys who has to post everything on line and respond to every single
post I see."

"Oh, you don't suffer from Facebook diarrhea?"

"Ha! Yeah, I know some guys from my old school who had to post anything and
everything, and had to comment on most of what anyone else put up. They
looked like idiots with their names plastered all over the place. Anyway,
you need to sign up, and Kik me sometime. Wanna trade info?"

CJ watched as Caleb fussed over Bradley's dad while he talked to the boy in
Boston. He heard a request over the public address system, for Doctor
Calhoun to call an extension. The nurse left the room, saying he'd be right
back. His uncle visibly relaxed after Caleb returned and injected something
into the intravenous line.

"Hey man, looks like your dad's doing okay now. Let me give him the phone
and you can talk to him. Hope we get to meet soon, Kik me."

A smiling CJ handed the phone to the cop, kissed him on the forehead, and
walked out of the room in search of his dads. He found them and JP in the
waiting room, holding his bottle of water and the coffee and doughnuts they
had gone for. He explained what had happened and suggested to his fathers
it was time to go home.

X X X

"I can't wait for this weekend to be over, just one more day to go." Brett
finished drying himself off with the large grey towel while watching his
partner brush his teeth. After returning home, the two men had spent time
with CJ reviewing the plans for visiting Australia in late December.

"I know, right. Who would have thought we'd be complaining about having
three days off work in a row." Cleaning up the kitchen after they'd eaten
dinner, CJ said he was spending the rest of the evening with a book. He
wanted to finish reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer before the end of the
weekend. He explained it was the first book on a long reading list for his
English class.

"And we still have the meeting in Arlington to deal with tomorrow!" Walking
over to his own sink in front of the mirrored wall, he affectionately
patted his husband's furry butt cheeks.

"Watch it, Jarhead. You start playing with my butt, next thing you know
I'll have a large inflammation to deal with. I don't want us going back to
the hospital to have it taken care of."  Cesar came up behind Brett,
wrapped his arms around the man's waist, nuzzled his neck, and pressed a
growing part of his anatomy against the marine.

"No need to go to the hospital, babe. Let's get in bed; I'll make your
swelling go down."


Monday, 2 September 2013

"He's kidding, right?" Chatri looked at Cesar when he asked the question,
disbelief etched on his face. He and Cesar stood behind Brett and CJ
respectively, keeping an eye on them, as they both did barbell presses on
the incline bench.

"I'm afraid he isn't. We had a somewhat exciting weekend you could say."

"Helen told me about Detective Kennedy being shot. We went to visit him
yesterday morning at the hospital. I'm surprised neither he nor Mr. Smith
said anything about CJ being arrested."

"Watch it, Chatri! Don't go spreading rumors around. I wasn't arrested. I
was mistakenly detained and taken into custody, but never processed." CJ
had finished his set, lifted his olive Harley-Davison t-shirt to wipe the
sweat off his face, and switched places with his father.

"Same difference, you were in handcuffs in the back of a police
car. Anything else interesting happen to you this weekend, or was that
enough of a thrill?" Chatri spoke as he and Brett also switched places.

"I wish that had been all. The other nasty thing was the big accident
Friday on the three-nine- five. A friend of ours, his wife, and their kids
were in it. He and the little ones are going to be okay. His wife didn't
make it." Brett spoke as he took position behind the medical student's
head, slightly bent his knees, and placed his hands underneath the bar.

"Oh crap! That sucks. I'm sorry, guys. Geez, CJ, your summer started off
with major drama, and it's ending the same way. Got anything exciting
planned for the fall?"

"Yeah, I plan on going to school, studying, working out, and doing a little
traveling. I'm declaring my life a drama-free zone from now on."

"Yeah right, let me know how that works out for you." Chatri shut up as he
started his set.

X X X

"I apologize for not being more forthcoming in my e-mail or during our
telephone conversation.  I didn't want any records of what I planned to
discuss with you." CJ and his fathers sat in a conference room at the
Arlington Police Department Headquarters. Chief Jacobs had offered them
coffee or sodas; all three had declined. CJ was certain his dads were just
as eager as he was to find out what the man wanted to talk to them about.

"Well, Chief, here we are now. How about you tell us what's on your mind."
Brett's impatience was etched on his face.

"Right. After you left on Friday I met with the two officers involved in
the incident which brought your son here. I explained to them CJ was most
definitely a minor and there wasn't any indication he was gay at all. I
mentioned his parents were though: one a Marine, the other a business
executive. Then I shared my opinion the entire incident was manufactured by
them just to put another notch on their arrest record."

Brett leaned forward in his chair, his face and demeanor stern. "I'm not
sure I see what relevance our sexual orientation has in this matter,
Chief." The tone of voice was one most adults would use to chastise a
child.

"Bear with me, Captain. I also mentioned who swiftly called on behalf of
your son. You have some powerful friends, CJ." The police officer settled
his gaze on the boy and spoke directly to him. "I'm not sure how you feel
about publicity. I mentioned to the two men your case would, in all
likelihood, attract plenty of it if the media got hold of the details. They
wouldn't be seen in a very good light. Lawsuits against them and the
department were a possibility, and there was a very good chance they'd lose
their jobs. I would not be supporting them in any way."

"Cut to the chase, Chief." Cesar's irritation, growing to match Brett's,
brought a smile to CJ's face. He failed in his attempt to hide it by
looking at his feet.

"They've both agreed to resign immediately. They won't seek assistance from
their union, and I won't initiate disciplinary action. I also won't provide
any sort of recommendation should they seek employment with another
department."

"So they lose their job, the whole thing disappears, and there's no
publicity?" CJ jumped back into the conversation before either one of his
dads had a chance to say a word.

"That's about it."

"Okay, that works for me. But I want copies of their letter of
resignation."

"Gentlemen? You have a decisive young man as a son. However, he is a minor;
I'd like your opinion on this."

"I think Brett and I will support our son. You have our word we won't take
any action against the individuals or the department. And we won't seek any
publicity on the matter."

X X X

The twins were once again visiting their father when CJ and his dads
stopped in for a visit in the afternoon. The teen was smothered in hugs by
the two, then dragged to the corner of the room where they'd been sprawled
out on the floor, while their grandfather sat on a chair reading to
them. The man gratefully handed the book over to CJ when the boy suggested
Angelo take a break. He'd take over the reading duties for a while.

"Doc promised I could get out of here this afternoon. They're doing some
paperwork to release me. We're going to spend the night at the house in
Falls Church. We'll pack suitcases for me and the kids, and plan on being
on the road to New Jersey early in the morning. We should be back in
Hammonton around lunchtime."

"How long do you expect to stay in Jersey?"

"I'm not sure, Cesar. The funeral will be Saturday. I'll figure out what
I'm doing afterwards."

"Whatever you decide, you let us know if we can help in some way. And as
soon as the details of the funeral service are set, call us. We'll be
there."

X X X

"CJ! My main man and miracle worker. I'll probably embarrass you again,
but, son, I'll never be able to repay you for the gift you've given me."
Potus was sitting up on his bed, animatedly talking to a couple of visiting
uniformed officers. Seeing his friends walk in, he broke into a huge smile.

"Hi, Uncle Tommy." The boy smiled, nodded at the officers as they said
their goodbyes, and went to hug the injured cop.

"Guys, I spent over two hours talking to my sons yesterday. I'm so happy,
I'm ready to get up and dance." The Detective's tone of voice was a pretty
good indicator of his high spirits.

"That's great news, Tommy!" Brett had followed his son to the cop's
bedside, grasping his arm and leaning in for a hug.

"Bet your ass, Jarhead. Listen to this: my father recounted his
confrontation with CJ to the family when they returned to Boston. Knowing
how he works, he must have tried to make me, and your son, look as bad as
possible. It backfired on him. My ex-wife wasn't buying into his
indignation at the disrespect shown by a kid obviously corrupted by a bunch
of perverted homosexualists." Tom made his already deep voice even more so,
making CJ chuckle.

"Damn! You got your father right. That's what he sounded like."

"Yeah, figured he'd still be the same. Anyway, his tirade led to my wife
e-mailing me as you know, calling me, and to my sons doing the same once
their mother told them what had happened. You guys already know she
encouraged them to get in touch with me. Talk about a gigantic change in
attitude."

"Betcha that's not gonna go well with your father when he finds out." Cesar
spoke as he backed away from the hospital bed after repeating the greeting
his son and his husband had previously done.

"Who gives a shit how he feels? I stayed away from the kids 'cause I
thought it was the best thing for them. Their mother coming around means
they won't have to deal with a nasty fight between her and me. My old man
I'll take on with no regrets. I told the boys if their grandfather gave
them shit, to let me know. I'll put the old ass in his place if I have to."


Tuesday, 3 September 2013

CJ read the message and smiled.

----bruh, waitin 4 u @ walls----

"Text messages this early? Which one of our friends is making you smile
already?"

"None, Dad. It's from Harley, a guy at school. Met him the first day when
Papa dropped me off.  He started talking to me about the motorcycle; we
ended up hanging together during the week."

----u on da bike or bus?----

"How come you didn't say anything about meeting this kid? Is he your age?"
Cesar had offered to drop his son off at school, he had a meeting
nearby. He had turned onto M Street when CJ's phone had begun to chime.

----neither, SUV----

"Didn't think it was a big deal, Dad. We're in the same homeroom and also
have English together. Nice guy."

----?????----

"That's good. Glad you're already meeting people. Remember you're always
welcome to invite them home to visit. Brett and I would love to meet your
friends."

CJ was still chuckling over Harley's question marks reply when he realized
his friend and his father were both doing the same thing. "Stop being
nosey, Dad. Harley's just a kid I met.  Remember, you said it yourself:
helicopter parents aren't cool. Anyway, have a good one, I'll see you
tonight. Oh and I'll fix dinner, we ate out too much this weekend."

X X X

"CJ!" Harley's loud greeting made more than one of the students streaming
into WALLS turn their head. "Bruh! That ain't an SUV, that's a freakin'
Escalade. Sweet truck! Bet your dad gets some looks when he pulls up to the
Pentagon's parking lot in that monster. Although his bike's just as--"

"HARLEY!" CJ was on the verge of laughing his ass off, shouting made his
friend stop talking and moving. Even more students turned around to look at
them. "Down, boy. You really gotta lay off the Monsters first thing in the
morning. The SUV is my other dad's car. This one's the accountant, not the
Marine."

"You got two dads? Wow!  Really? So freakin' cool, bruh! How come you
didn't tell me that last week? How was the trip this weekend?" Harley's
mouth was off and running again; without more than a passing reference to
CJ having two fathers. "Does the accountant dad also ride? A Harley? You
wouldn't believe all that went on in town! A cop was shot, there was a big
pileup on the three-nine--"

"Stop, Harley. You gotta give me a chance to answer." CJ suspected he was
going to be interrupting Harley frequently if he was to get a word in
edgewise during their conversations.  "Yes, this dad also rides, a
twenty-ten Road King. If you like the SUV, wait until you see Papa Brett's
pickup. You'll have to come over one day after school, maybe on a Friday? I
can prolly talk the dads into taking us out for a ride the next day if you
wanna spend the night."

"Dope!"

"Anyway, we didn't go on the motorcycle trip. The cop that guy shot was my
uncle, Tom Kennedy. A friend of the family, his wife, and their kids were
in that accident. The wife died. I spent most of the weekend going back and
forth to the hospital."

X X X

Harley was relatively subdued the rest of the day. At lunchtime, a few
girls had joined them at their table as soon as they sat down. There was
little time for the friends to talk, what with the females monopolizing the
conversation, trying to outdo each other in their efforts to gain CJ's
attention. When he checked his phone there were two eerily similar text
messages from his dads: Chief of Police Benton called, the two idiots had
resigned, and copies of their resignation were in the mail. Case closed as
far as CJ was concerned.

On his way home after school, CJ made a stop at Papyrus, on the corner of N
Street and Wisconsin Avenue, in the heart of Georgetown. At the high-end
stationery shop, he bought a box of quality cards and then headed home to
write thank you notes. In short order, he took care of messages to King,
the managing partner at Holland and Knight, Colonel Edwards, Mr.  Velasco
at Senator Rubio's office, and to the senator himself. Afterwards, he
called each of the individuals to verbally express his gratitude and make
them aware of the resignation of the two officers. Hand written thank you
notes were not the norm, especially for fifteen-year-old boys; his
grandmother, Abuela Abello, had insisted he do so from an early age.  By
now it was second nature.

When both his dads arrived home, he was well on the way to finishing his
homework, and had already prepped the evening's meal.

Life was back to normal.

X X X

"Hey babe, you're not going to believe what happened to me today. I didn't
mention it during dinner 'cause we've had enough BS this past weekend
already. Didn't want CJ to get any more riled up." Cesar was in bed
already, waiting for Brett to join him. The TV was on but he had muted the
volume.

"Should I be scared?"

"Nah. Maybe? So I stopped at the bank before coming home to get our
passports out of the safety deposit box--CJ's is still valid. Remember
Jamal? The assistant branch manager Chip introduced us to? He's acting
manager now. When he saw me, he asked for a few minutes of my time so I
went to his office with him."

"Prolly trying to make sure we don't pull our business from the bank. What
with Chip gone, you know?"

"That's what I thought. But get this: he propositioned me!"

"He what? He propositioned you? I'll kill the motherfucker!"

"Relax, Captain, you haven't even heard the best part! He told me Chip
always bragged about how close he was to us, and implied he fucked around
with us on a regular basis. Jamal wanted to make sure we knew he was
willing to do anything to keep two of the bank's best customers
happy-anything at all!"

"Motherfuckers! Both Chip and Jamal are now on my shoot on sight list! What
the fuck is wrong with these people? What'd you tell him?"

"I praised him for his interest in maintaining good client relations. It
was so damn hard not to laugh when I said it..."

"I bet. Fucker should be glad it was you he approached instead of me."

"Next time you get to talk to him. Anyway, I thanked him for his offer
while licking my lips and staring at his crotch--I swear the man had a
snake running down the leg of his pants."

"Asshole!"

"Okay. After I was done having fun with him, I looked him in the eyes,
suggested Chip may have slept with half the town--but never with us. Told
him Chip was no longer in our circle of friends.  I followed up by letting
him know if he ever so much as whispered such a proposition to either one
of us, we would make sure he was transferred to a branch in the middle of
Bumfuck, West Virginia."

"Good... was it honestly as long as a snake?"

"Asshole!"


Wednesday, 4 September 2013

When he arrived at Walls on Wednesday morning, CJ encountered several
tables with students around them near the entrance to the school. Harley
was there, waiting for him, and ready to explain. Student organizations and
sport teams would set up during lunch and after classes, handing out
information about their activities and answering questions. Involvement in
extra- curricular activities was strongly encouraged by the school's
administration.

After approaching some of the sport teams' members in the morning and again
during his lunch break, CJ decided he might be interested in trying out for
the baseball team. The games were all in the spring, and tryouts wouldn't
take place until next year. He decided to concentrate on his martial arts
training during the fall and winter. Following his encounter with the biker
at the beginning of summer, and his dads frequent admonitions concerning
overconfidence, he wanted to maintain and improve his skills.

He also spent some time talking to his Algebra teacher, Mr. Thornton, who
was trying to start a rugby club at the school. CJ promised to come to an
organizational meeting in two weeks. He knew it was wrong, but the thought
of Jae Thornton wearing tiny rugby shorts had something to do with his
interest.

In the afternoon, he stopped at the Student Government Association table,
spoke to the officers there, and placed his name on the list of those
interested in running for one of the class representative spots reserved
for new students. Elections for those would be held in mid- September.

His last stop of the day was at the Gay Straight Alliance display, where a
dark haired guy with a broad, pale face, sat next to an attractive girl
with long brown hair. They introduced themselves as Danek Nowak and Autumn
Dingell, club co-chairs. The organization held several social events
throughout the year and worked with the school administration on programs
geared towards increasing understanding and acceptance of sexual
minorities.

Their first meeting of the school year was set for the following week after
classes ended. CJ signed up and promised to be there. Harley, who had stuck
by his side the entire afternoon, also signed up.


Thursday, 5 September 2013

Celebration of the Feast of Trumpets--Rosh Hashanah--began on Wednesday at
sunset.  Thursday, some students and faculty members took time off school
to celebrate the Jewish New Year. CJ's History instructor was one of those
absent on Thursday.  The second period class had a substitute teacher who'd
didn't have the opportunity to introduce herself before an announcement was
heard over the loudspeaker in the classroom's ceiling: "CJ Abello, please
report to the Principal's office. CJ Abello to the principal's office,
please."

"Uuuhhh, someone's in trouble." The comment by one of the students made all
the others in the room laugh. CJ stood up smiling, grabbed his book bag,
and walked towards the front of the room.

"Mr. Abello, I presume?" asked the substitute, shaking her head as if in
resignation to the antics of a rowdy group

"Yes, ma'am." CJ wondered what Mrs. Edwards wanted with him.

X X X

"I understand you had an interesting weekend, CJ." Martha Edwards had
motioned for the boy to take a seat by her desk as soon as she saw him
standing in her office's doorway.

"That's definitely an understatement, ma'am. Not a very pleasant weekend at
all. I've had enough excitement to last me for a long while."

"Ray told me about your detention by the Arlington Police Department
officers. And we heard about Detective Kennedy's shooting during the
evening news on the TV. I'm pleased both events seem to have been resolved
in a satisfactory manner."

"Yes, ma'am. Uncle Tom is recovering well and should be home sometime
today. The two cops who hassled me have resigned from the police force. But
we also had another bad thing happen this weekend. The wife of a friend of
my parents died in the big accident on the Interstate on Friday. We're
going to her funeral on Saturday."

"I'm so sorry, CJ. That's a horrible thing to happen on top of everything
else your family had to deal with."

"Thank you, ma'am. At least her kids survived and her husband just had some
bruises and a broken leg."

"I called you in to make sure you were doing well and to maybe discuss the
StandUp Foundation presentation you previously mentioned to me."

"Oh good. Are you going to ask Ben to do it for us?"

"I already have, and he's already agreed. We've worked out the details, but
you get to play a part in this. I wanted to make you aware of what we have
planned. We agreed to a school-wide event on..."

X X X

"Hey, babe, just thought of something. Do you wanna invite Ben to stay with
us when he comes into town?" Brett was in bed reading while Cesar was next
to him, on his laptop paying bills.

"I don't think so. You heard what CJ said, he's bringing someone with him
to participate in the program at Walls."

"Yeah, forgot about that. Guess it would be rude to invite Ben and leave
the other guy at a hotel. Maybe we should do some remodeling in the
basement. We could give CJ his own space down there? That way we'd have two
guest rooms again."

"Something to think about. Hell, we could turn the two bedrooms on the
second floor into three and have even more room. I think I'll e-mail my
brother and see if he has any ideas. How 'bout you put the book away and
scoot over here, Jarhead. I'm done paying bills and I think I deserve a
reward from you."

"Did you have anything in mind, you horndog?"

"I'm certain something will come up."


Saturday, 7 September 2013

At 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, a group of ten men stood in front of the
Georgetown townhouse, all of them at some point stretched their arms above
their heads and yawned, while waiting for their bus to arrive. Cesar and
Brett had chartered a luxury motor coach to transport them to Hammonton,
New Jersey. They thought of renting a limo for the two of them and CJ, but
decided to go with something large enough for the gang to travel
together. The cost wasn't all that much more. They were all dressed
comfortably in t-shirts, shorts or sweatpants, and wore sneakers or
flip-flops. Each carried a garment bag in one hand, a pair of dress shoes
in the other.

Instead of the usual rows of bench seats, the bus had comfortable leather
upholstered chairs and couches, a small kitchen area, and a good sized
restroom. The early departure would allow them to arrive with plenty of
time to spare for the 10:30 church service.

"Does anyone want anything to eat now, or should I put it all away for
later?" Danno had insisted on providing food for the group, there would be
no need to stop at a restaurant during the three-plus hour drive.

"What did you bring, Uncle Danno?" While the majority of the adults were
already snuggling into their selected spot, ready to fall asleep again, CJ
was-as usual-ready to eat something.

"Not entirely sure what the guys at the restaurant packed, buddy. Look
through it and help yourself, I know for sure there's bagels and
muffins. The cooler I know has juices, milk and water."

"Kay, I'll grab a muffin and some milk. Leave it there. I'll make sure it's
stored once I'm done."

X X X

Just outside town, the driver stopped for a few minutes so the men could
use the restroom and change clothes without the constant swaying of the
bus. Traffic headed to the shore this late summer weekend had been
relatively light and they had made good time.

At the small church they all sat together near the back. It had been full
of relatives and family friends, and the procession to the cemetery had
been long. As the casket was lowered into the ground, Adriano stood up from
his wheel chair with the help of his older brother. The silence of the
hallowed grounds was broken by the sobs of many of those in attendance, and
by Adriano's softly spoken words.

"Our time together was much too short, I didn't say I love you nearly
enough. But I did, and I always will. I promise to look after our children,
make sure they never forget you, and I'll rejoice in them for the both of
us. Life will go on, time will pass, but I'll never be whole again. I'll
always know you're missing."

----------

Copyright 2015 CJ Abello
Edited by: Mann Ramblings

I'd enjoy hearing what you think. Please email me at:
cjabello1997@gmail.com

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