Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 23:19:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: Corrinne S <mdaigle@prodigy.net>
Subject: The Graschels of Guenther Street - Chapter 7

Pertinent information is posted at the beginning of
this series.  Comments are welcome at
quasito_cat@hotmail.com or quasito_cat@yahoo.com

The Graschels of Guenther Street

M.C. Gordon


Chapter Seven

     Minerva Phillips knew exactly who to recommend
when Deet approached her about it Wednesday morning
over coffee at his kitchen table.  She hadn't been in
the week before because she was out of town at her
sister's funeral and was delightfully surprised to
find that Deet had one child living with him and was
expecting another soon.

     "My niece Deidre would be perfect," she said.
"She lost her husband six months ago and her son was
recently transferred to California.  The poor dear
misses her grandchildren.  She took care of them
during the day, you see, while Gregg and Jennifer were
at work.  Without Bill or the babies she's at loose
ends with herself.  Having a man and children to worry
about again will be good for her.  She doesn't need
the money I know you'll offer because Bill left her
with a comfortable income; she needs to feel needed as
a person."

     "Miss Minnie," Deet responded, "I suddenly feel
like I've become a haven for people who need people."

     "You always were, Dieter, you just never knew it
before now."

     Minerva was the only person in the world Deet
allowed to call him by his Christian name.  He'd come
home from school one day when he was fifteen, a bloody
mess because several of his school mates had called
him a faggot and attacked him as he walked home.  It
was the first time he ever realized that the person he
was, the essence of his being, was a danger to his
life.  His parents were at the opening of a new art
gallery at the time and Minerva had taken him into her
arms and comforted him.  She'd gently cleansed his
bleeding body and told him she knew what had happened.
 She explained that her cousin Paul had gone through
the same thing and she understood.  When Eric and Dot
returned home and saw the bandages on his face and
arms, Minerva explained that she had just finished
cleaning the glass doors to the patio and Deet thought
the door was open and tried to walk through the glass.
 She had, in fact, shattered the glass door herself to
support her story.  Dieter never forgot what she did
for him that day and loved her a great deal.  There
was never a question that his parents would reject
him, but Eric would have been greatly disappointed to
think his line would end with his son so Deet and
Minerva kept his secret.

     The shrill sound of the telephone interrupted
their conversation and Deet answered.

     "Are you sitting down?" Manuel asked.

     "No," Deet answered.  "Should I be?"

     "Yes," Manuel said.  "Tell me when you're sitting
because the news I have is important."

     Deet sat and grasped Minerva's hand.  "Sitting,"
he said.

     "Jane is being released into your custody today."

     "I thought it wouldn't be until next week," Deet
responded.

     "Judge Solari had a last minute change of mind."

     "But I'm not ready!" Deet said.  "Consuela's
supposed to help me and I know she's busy today
working on Thanksgiving dinner."  He was suddenly
thrown into uncertainty.

  "Connie's going with us to the hospital," Manuel
said in a reassuring voice.  "She heard me telling
Consuela that we need to set another plate at the
table tomorrow.  That girl is going to be a lawyer
when she grows up, I just know it.  She picks up on
nuances faster than I can stop them.  Put some clothes
on.  I'll be there in about half an hour -- Dad."

     "Is there a problem?" Minerva asked when Deet put
the phone back in its holder.

     "Little Jane is coming today," he answered.
"God, Miss Minnie, what did I get myself into?"

 . . .

     "And my dad said I could stay the night,"
Concepcion Fuentes was telling Jane Doe as she was
escorted from the hospital room to the waiting car in
a wheel chair.  "Eric and my brother are waiting for
us at your new house. I know just the room you might
like.  It's on the back corner of the second floor.
It's the room I always pick when I spend the night.
It's too late to go shopping now because tomorrow's
Thanksgiving.  But Friday is the best shopping day
ever and my mom loves to go the malls.  She's gonna go
nuts helping you pick out clothes and things for your
bedroom."

     Jane eyed Connie suspiciously for she'd never
been allowed to have friends and the sparkling black
eyes of the girl walking beside her promised things
beyond her imagination.  She had only just begun to
find herself a little comfortable with Eric and this
new person was talking about holidays and shopping for
clothes.

     Jane was relieved when the car pulled into the
driveway of her new home and Eric ran to open the
door.  A boy, obviously Connie's brother, stood next
to Eric and had a friendly smile on his face.

     "I bet you two girls are planning shopping with
Mom," the dark-haired boy said.  "Hi, I'm Jorge.  If
Connie said anything bad about me, she was just
teasing."

     "She didn't say nothing about you," Jane said.

     "It's a sad day when a boy can't even trust his
own sister to spread rumors," Jorge replied.  He was
about to explain that he was just kidding when Benji
started barking inside the fence to the back yard.

     For those who understand the language of animals,
dogs have a certain bark that means trouble which is
nothing like a friendly greeting.  Benji barked at the
fence and then darted across the yard again barking
loudly, crouched down on his front legs as if
demanding, `Come here!'

     Deet tried to stop Jane but she opened the gate
and ran toward the puppy, following Eric and Jorge.

     "Shit," Jorge said, and quickly hoped none of the
adults had heard him, when he looked at a small black
kitten mewling loudly next to the body of its mother
who had apparently dragged herself through a small
hole at the bottom of the fence.  The queen had been
badly mauled and was obviously not going to survive.

     "Poor baby," Jane said as she approached the
frightened kitten, "I won't hurt you."

     Deet watched as Jane picked up the tiny thing and
cuddled it in her hands.  It started to struggle but
the girl whispered to it gently and it finally
relaxed.

     "Can I keep it?" she asked, almost afraid to.

     Remembering Dr. Tran's words that Jane needed
something to nurture, Deet agreed that she could keep
the kitten and went inside to call Dr. Whitman.

     "Put on a pair of heavy garden gloves and pick up
the queen as gently as you can," Dr. Whitman told him,
"and put her in your dog carrier.  I'll be waiting for
you at the back door of my office.  She may be lost,
Deet.  I've seen several animals from your
neighborhood in the last couple of days who show signs
of being attacked.  I think there might be a rogue
Rotweiller from what I've been told.  I've already
called Animal Control.  There was a serious outbreak
of rabies in the wild coyote population south of here
this summer and it might have spread.  You need to
bring Wolf next week for his rabies booster.  The new
pup is okay because he's had his immunization.  I need
to take a look at the kitten, so bring it with the
mother but not in the carrier."

     Dr. Whitman met them at the back door of his
small clinic.  He explained, after one look, that the
mother cat was too severely injured for him to save
and it would be best for him to put her out of her
pain.  Jane stared blankly at the cat and held the
kitten closer.

     "She were a good momma," Jane finally said,
"getting in the way to save her baby from whatever
hurt her so bad.  Wish my momma loved me that much."

     The room was silent for a moment until Dr.
Whitman spoke softly.  "My nurse will need to see the
kitten, child," he said.  "She won't hurt it, but I
need for her to weigh it and see if there any
scratches or bites."

     Jane reluctantly handed the kitten to Janis
Wilson while Dr. Whitman removed the dying mother to
another room to euthanize her.

     "Is this your kitten?" Janis asked kindly.
"We'll need a name to put on her record here."

     "Kitty doesn't have a name yet," Minerva
answered.  She had accompanied them to the
veterinarian's office and was the only one in the
small examining room with Jane, the nurse, and the
kitten.  "We only found her a short while ago."

     "I see," Janis replied, and continued her quick
check of the small animal.  "I don't see any cuts or
bites, but it's very small and seems to be
malnourished.  I think it's too young to be weaned so
Doctor will probably give you some special milk."  She
continued her work.  "Kitty's temperature is good and
I don't see any sign of intestinal parasites."  She
made a few notations on a card that still needed the
name of the animal and the owner.  "I'll go tell
Doctor the patient is ready and he'll be right with
you."

     Dr. Whitman's examination of the kitten was quick
and professional.  When he was finished he addressed
Jane.  "Well, young lady, your kitten is ready to go
home.  I gave her the first of her shots to make her
healthy and I'll have Janis set up appointments for
you to bring her back.  We keep some special milk for
little orphans like her and I'll give you a supply to
take home.  You'll have to follow the directions very
carefully.  Don't try to have her sleep in your bed
because she's too little.  She needs a warm box with a
fuzzy stuffed animal to sleep against."

     Janis returned with the carrier and the kitten
was carefully put inside.  That accomplished, Dr.
Whitman led Jane from the examining room.  "Who do I
bill this to?" he asked Deet when everything had been
totaled, including a brown fuzzy stuffed kitten Jane
saw and thought would be good for the kitten's box.

     "Put it on my bill," Deet said.  "I guess I'll
just keep a running tab here from now on."

     "I thought it was the girl's cat," Dr. Whitman
said.

     "It is," Deet replied.  "Jane's my foster
daughter.  Say, do we have to have a name for the
kitten right now?"

     "No," Dr. Whitman answered, "we can leave it
blank for the time being."

     Jane, who had been quietly whispering with Manuel
and Jorge, timidly said, "I got a name for her.  I
want to call her Miracle, `cause she the miracle
that's gonna replace my dead baby."

     Deet and Manuel stared at each other, the pain in
both their eyes obvious.  Deet wanted to pick Jane up
and hold her until he could feel her heartbeat but
didn't want to make any rash movement toward her.
Minerva came to the rescue and took Jane in her arms.
"Miracle's just fine, honey," she said.  "It's a
pretty name for your kitten.  Besides, it's a miracle
that kitty survived the attack that took her mother
from her."

 . . .

     "This isn't quite the welcome I had in mind,"
Deet told Jane when they had returned to his home and
he was preparing a bottle of formula for Miracle.

     Only Minerva was present because Connie convinced
Manuel that Rosa's clothes would fit Jane and Manuel,
Jorge, Connie, and Eric were going to pick up enough
things to last Jane until Friday.

     "It's okay," Jane replied quietly.

     She was still overwhelmed by the size and beauty
of the house she would be living in.  She'd asked Deet
to show her the bedroom Connie had suggested and
instantly agreed that she liked it.  They had found a
box just kitten size and she was busy lining it with
an old terry cloth towel while Deet measured some of
the formula into the tiny baby bottle the veterinarian
provided.

     "How do I feed it?" Jane asked when Deet handed
her the bottle.

     "I ... um, I don't know," he admitted and the sharp
look Jane gave him made him laugh.  "I've never fed a
baby of any kind before," he told her.  "We'll ask
Miss Minnie when she comes downstairs."

     "You never fed Eric a bottle?" she asked with one
eyebrow arched.

     "No, Jane," Deet confessed.  "I never saw him
before last week.  His mothers raised him until
recently."

     Jane's dark eyes grew round and curious.  "He had
two mommas?" she asked in amazement.  "At the same
time?  Was they, um, thespians?"

     Deet almost dropped the tray he was carrying with
three cups of hot cocoa.  "The proper word is lesbian,
Jane," he said, "and the answer is yes."

     Jane's forehead wrinkled and she gave him a
suspicious look.  "Eric's for real your son?" she
asked and Deet nodded his head in affirmation.  "You
mean one of them let you fu..." the look on Deet's face
told her immediately that there were some words she
would not be allowed to use.  "I mean, she let you do
`it' to her?"

     "It's complicated to explain," he said.  "It was
a medical procedure and I didn't have to touch her at
all."

     "Wow," Jane breathed quietly as she tried to
introduce Miracle to the now prepared box, "thespians
must know something nobody else does.  Is that in a
book somewhere?  I gots to learn to read."

     Deet was beginning to blush a bit at the child's
questions about sexuality and was greatly relieved
when Minerva joined them.

     "I put clean sheets on your bed, dear," she told
Jane.  "The others weren't dirty but they'd been there
a long time.  And I opened the windows in your bedroom
to let some fresh air in.  You'll have to see they're
closed before you go to bed because it's supposed to
get cold tonight.  It's starting to get late," she
said.  "I'd better get on home.  I invited my niece to
spend tomorrow with me and she likes cherry pies so I
have to bake one.  In fact, I think I'll bake two and
bring one over here Friday."

     Jane rushed to give her a hug and Minerva
whispered, "Don't worry about anything, little one.
You're safer here than you would be anyplace else.
Oh, and when you feed the kitten, make sure she's on
her stomach.  Elevate her head with one hand."

     Deet accompanied Minerva to the door and told her
to be careful driving home, thanking her for her
calming presence during the day.

     "Jane," he said when he returned to the kitchen
to finish his hot cocoa, "we need to talk about
tomorrow.  We're going to the Fuentes home for dinner
and there will be a lot of people there.  Manuel and
Consuela both have brothers and sisters who spend
Thanksgiving with them every year.  You'll be around a
lot of people you've never met.  The only ones Eric's
met are Jorge and his sisters.  If you think you're
going to be uncomfortable we can stay home instead."

     "Do we got to be there all day?" she asked, "
`cause Miracle has to have her bottle."

     "No, we'll go for dinner and to visit a little
while.  I'd like you to meet Jorge's mother and his
other sisters.  Manuel's always been my best friend
and they sort of became my family when my parents
died.  But it's up to you."

     "I guess it's okay," she agreed.  "Would you help
me feed Miracle?"

     Manuel dropped Jorge, Consuela, and Eric at the
Graschel house with an entire suitcase of Rosa's
clothes for Jane to borrow for a few days.  The three
quietly went upstairs to unpack and put the clothing
away in the closet and dresser when they spotted Deet
and Jane on the couch.

     Deet had fallen asleep with a book on his lap.
Jane was leaning against him, her head resting on his
chest as she slept, a small black kitten nestled in
her arms.