Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:42:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tyler Adams <tyleradamsbooks@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Paths We Chose ch 12

     Chapter 12

     Life at the Johnson house sure was a lot different than what I was
used to at home. First off, they had a list of "House Rules" that even I
was expected to follow. No swearing -- and words like "freakin'," and "that
sucks," were considered swearing! There was to be no skipping meals, no
loud music -- except maybe for a favorite song, no tossing things in the
house, and no calling each other names when you were mad at them. On top of
all that, lights out on a school night was ten o'clock, and curfew on
weekends without special permission was eleven. When they laid them all out
to me Sunday afternoon, I didn't know how I was going to survive.
     What I didn't get at the time was that the rules were tolerable
because it was all done out of respect for each other. When one of them
would get mad, they would just kind of suck it in and then when they
weren't quite so ticked off, they would try to explain things without
sounding angry. It seemed like hard work to me, but it worked for them.
     The first week flew by and I hadn't really missed my parents at
all. Saturday, afternoon, I noticed Mr. Johnson was on the phone for quite
a while, talking in hushed tones and occasionally looking at me. After he
hung the phone up, he called for me and led me outside. I felt like running
to the bathroom to get rid of lunch, dreading that I was going to be sent
home to face reality again.
     "Alex, I was just talking to your dad on the phone. He told me that
after seeing the counselor this past week, he and your mom realize they
have a lot of things to work on together, and wondered if you would mind
staying here for another week. Your dad said to make sure that you
understood that you aren't the problem, and that if you wanted to come
home, you were welcome to do so." Talking about my home as if I would
eventually end up there sent chills up my spine.
     "Actually, I was kind of hoping that I could stay here until I
graduate from school," I told him, testing the waters.
     "I don't think I could afford to feed two hungry horses like you and
Phillip for that long, Alex, but we can make it work for a while longer." I
stood still as Phil's dad tousled my hair -- totally frozen by his touch,
and hungry for more. I think he picked up on it, because he began to
massage my shoulders too. When he felt the tension beginning to leave my
muscles a minute later, he moved against me, draped his arms around my neck
from behind, and laid his cheek against the side of my head.
     "Alex, you need to know something. The things that are happening with
your parents aren't your doing. Every person has issues in life that get
messy from time to time. The trouble with those times is that when they
happen to us, they can get everyone around us messy too. I think that's
what's happening to your parents right now. You might be tempted to think
you're to blame for your mother's problems, but she knows that's not
true. She'll come to her senses after a while. Losing your brother is very
difficult thing for her to process, and it'll put a lot of stress on all of
her other relationships for a long time. You've just got to be patient
until things work themselves out, because she's not really herself right
now. Both your parents are working hard to figure things out so all of you
can be happy again. In the mean time, your dad said they were going out
this evening on a date with each other, and that you could come by the
house to pick up anything that you needed."
     "I'm good. Can I go finish my game?"
     Mr. Johnson chuckled as he mussed my hair some more, swatted my butt,
and pushed me toward the door.
     "Oh, Alex," Ed called before it disappeared. I stopped without turning
around, dreading that he had forgotten to tell me something I wouldn't want
to hear.
     "Thanks for respecting Phillip, Alex. After the first night you were
here, I was a little worried about him forgetting his promises to God, but
you've been nothing but good since then."
     I was glad he couldn't read my thoughts, because if he had, he would
have known that it was fear, not respect that kept me from further tempting
his son. On a scale of one to ten -- one being not interested, and ten
being obsessed -- I'd have to say I was at least a nine in my lust to be
alone with Phil to see what I might be able to make happen.
     "You're welcome, sir,"

     Life here has its drawbacks as well as the obvious benefit of being
away from my mom. Their names are Sam and Aaron. Plain and simple, they're
pests, continually interrupting what I'm trying to do at the worst possible
times. One day after school, I was playing a game on the Wii, and in the
middle of the round, Aaron came in and stood right in front of the TV
screen.
     "Move! I demanded of him a little too loudly. When he didn't move, I
repeated the command and pushed him out of the way with my foot before the
game time elapsed. Too late! The round was over and I was furious.
     "What d'ya freakin think you're doing, ya little jerk?" I spit at him
as he looked up at me from the floor.
     Phil's mom must have heard him hit the floor because she was now
demanding: "Alex Daniel Harper! You get in here this instant." I had no
idea she even knew my middle name. Ellen Johnson was in many ways the
nicest person that I knew, but I was learning fast that there were some
things that she did not tolerate.
     "Perhaps you would like to get acquainted with Mr. Clean?" she spoke
in clear no nonsense terms. I knew exactly who -- or rather, what she was
talking about. Phil had told me Mr. Clean was the 1½ inch wide by ½ inch
thick by one foot long wooden paddle that hung in the pantry where she
could access it in a moment's notice if the need arose, and I had just
forced the moment.
     "Don't you think for a moment that just because you're a guest in this
house that I won't do what needs to be done to keep order in this
house. Even if you are a teenager," she added crisply.
     I really doubted she'd hit me with Mr. Clean, but I wasn't taking any
chances. Aaron was watching from the doorway, so I apologized for my
outburst and even asked him to forgive me -- not that I knew what it
actually meant, but because I just knew it was the right thing to say.
     As soon as I had apologized to him, he told me why he was standing
there. "Phil said that I had to get your attention and remind you that you
have to help him clean up your room."
     "Please leave the door open, Alex. Thank you," added Mrs. Johnson.