Christmas Brothers
by Rob Warr
Chapter 3
Christmas was fast approaching and excitement was high at the orphanage. A huge tree had been hauled in and set up in the large entry hall and we'd spent hours decorating it with ornaments, tinsel, pine cones and handmade decorations, many of which were passed down from year to year as the boys grew older.
No presents were under the tree, yet, for even though we all knew Santa wasn't real, Dr. Asher insisted that gifts be passed out by Santa on Christmas morning. Of course we all knew that the jolly fat man handing out the gifts was actually our beloved Mr. Oscar, who was what you might call the chief handyman at the orphanage. His kids were grown and lived far away and he and his wife lived in a small house just up the road from the orphanage. Mrs. Oscar worked in the kitchen and was a jolly kind woman who more than matched her husband in that respect.
The banisters were festooned with live evergreen and tied on by red ribbons, and though an arduous task, with a dozen boys going at it, it took no time at all. Everywhere you looked there was some kind of decoration, and it was hard to feel anything but good cheer when you entered a room.
It was two weeks before Christmas when the Nelson's came for their second visit and this time they wanted to take a boy home for the weekend. We'd been alerted to their arrival and expected to be called into formation again so they could choose, but instead Dr. Asher took them straight to his office, leaving us to wonder what was going on.
So, imagine my surprise and confusion when I was paged to Dr. Asher's office. Charlie and I had been hanging out in the common room, and were mulling over what was happening when the page went over the PA system, which always sounded a little staticy since it was so old.
"Uh oh, what did you do now?" Charlie joked, but I could tell he was as surprised as I was.
"Heck if I know. Maybe they want me to take those folks on a tour or something," I laughed, "no one knows this place as well as I do, except maybe Simon."
"Or..." Charlie said, his face suddenly turning pale, "maybe...maybe it's you they want to take home for the weekend."
I laughed, but I could see Charlie didn't think it was that humorous, "Nah, no way. Why me?" I assured him, "you're more likely to get picked than me."
"Well, go and find out," he said pushing me up off the couch, "if it's you they want, then...I'll help you pack."
I wanted to cry right then, only thing I didn't know was if the tears would be of joy or sorrow. Charlie and I had just begun our expanded relationship and the last thing I wanted was to be separated from him. Well, if it was me they wanted to take for a test drive, I'd just be a rotten kid and they'd be glad to bring me back on Monday. Only thing was: I wasn't sure I could do that. I wasn't much of a liar, and these folks seemed so nice it would have been hard to be a bad kid.
I had pulled my shirt tails out while we were sitting and I tucked them back in on the way and took a deep breath. I'd been in Dr. Asher's office many times before, usually for good reasons, but once or twice because of my anger issues when it came to the other boys. Not that I was mean or went out of my way to get into trouble, but if someone rubbed me the wrong way I took it personally.
I gently knocked on the door, but even so the resulting sound seemed like thunder.
"Come," I heard Dr. Asher say and as I pushed open the door he rose and motioned me inside, "Zeke, please, come in and have a seat," he said motioning to a chair sandwiched between the two the Nelson's sat in.
Mrs. Nelson was dressed in a pretty red and white dress with ruffles around the sleeves and hem, and Mr. Nelson was dressed in slacks and a light blue button up shirt, but he wore no tie today. They both smiled as they greeted me and I greeted them back, using Sir and Ma'am as I'd been taught to do.
"I suppose you're wondering why you're here," Dr. Asher said, looking smug as if he knew a secret and was enjoying toying with me before revealing it.
"Yes sir," I said looking from adult to adult for some sign of that answer.
"Well, I will let Mr. and Mrs. Nelson tell you that, but first I'd like for you to tell the Nelsons a bit more about yourself. They have heard much from me about you, but I thought perhaps you could fill them in on the missing parts.
I must've looked confused because Mr. Nelson turned to me than and said, "Zeke, may I call you that?"
"Yes sir, I'd like that," I said nodding.
"Zeke, Mrs. Nelson and I were very impressed with you when we visited before Thanksgiving. So much so that it seemed all we could talk about on the drive home was how personable and intelligent you seemed. You also struck us as being kind, and when you introduced us to your best friend, Charlie, I believe was his name, we could tell that you had genuine affection for him.
Mrs. Nelson and I have always wanted children, but unfortunately due to a medical issue, Mrs. Nelson cannot bear a child of her own. It was only after this was confirmed by several doctors that we began considering other options, and of course adoption came to mind quickly. We discovered rather quickly that infants were hard to come by and the waiting list very long, so we then decided that perhaps adopting an older child was the way to go. At a fundraiser we met your Dr. Asher and, as they say, the rest is history.
But you probably already knew all this, if the rumor mill is as good here as in most schools," he laughed, and I nodded with a grin, "Our first visit, as you know, was successful and only solidified our desire to proceed. We were given detailed information concerning each of the boys here, and your profile stood out above all the others. And when we finally associated that file with you, and recalled our conversation, well..."
Mrs. Nelson spoke then and laughed merrily, "What my husband is trying to tell you in his rambling fashion is: we'd like to take you home with us for the weekend and get to know you better. We're already convinced you would be an excellent choice, but as Dr. Asher has reminded us, we need to make sure the choice is right, not just for us, but for you as well. Of course, the choice is yours whether you wish to visit us or consider being our son, but we are hoping that you will give us a chance."
Wow, they wanted me to give them a chance. They were leaving the decision up to me. I'd just assumed they would get whatever or whoever they wanted and that would be that. But it made sense, what if we couldn't stand each other once we were outside the orphanage?
"I...don't know what to say," I stammered, "I never thought I'd have a chance. You do know I am 12-years-old? Right?"
"Yes," Mr. Nelson chuckled, "the perfect age for a boy. Housebroken and adventurous, independent, but not so much that he doesn't need his family."
"I...don't know, I've never had a family," I said, then regretted bringing that up.
"I'm sorry," Mr. Nelson said, "I didn't mean to remind you of that, I'm simply trying to say that if you become part of our family, you will be loved and cherished and cared for. I coach little league baseball and I would love to have a son who could play on my team."
"I love baseball," I said sincerely, "but of course we don't have a real team here, but sometimes we get a game up and play as best we can with ten or twelve players."
"And I would love to have a son who can appreciate music," Mrs. Nelson said, "and if at some point you wanted to learn to play an instrument, we would encourage you to do so. I play the piano, and my husband has quite a good singing voice."
"I'm just so...so, shocked, I guess," I said, trying to process all this new information, "I guess it can't hurt to try it, but I just...I feel bad for the other boys. I really thought it would have been one of the younger boys that got picked."
"We carefully considered all the boys, even the oldest ones, but we kept coming back to you, mainly because of the way you impressed us that first day," Mrs. Nelson said.
"Thank you, ma'am, sir. I guess if you really want me to come visit, I'd be glad to," I finally agreed. How I'd explain it to Charlie, I had no idea, but I felt like I had to take this chance, even if it meant leaving him behind.
We talked a bit longer and finally Dr. Asher told me to go pack enough clothes for the weekend, but Mrs. Asher said there was no need to bring a toothbrush or anything like that because they had already stocked the bathroom with everything I'd need. Then she really shocked me by saying that she wanted to take me shopping on Saturday to buy some new clothes, which would be mine to keep no matter what the outcome of the visit.
Sort of like a bribe, I thought, but a good bribe. I never had new clothes...well, my whole life. I mean the orphanage provided us decent clothes and shoes, but they were always secondhand, donations to the orphanage from families whose kids had outgrown them. Sometimes you got some really nice secondhand stuff, but usually it was out of style and nothing to get excited about. Don't get me wrong, we were grateful for what we got, but new clothes...wow, that was mind boggling.
I thanked Dr. Asher and the Nelsons then hurried off to the dorm, but with each step I took the reality of what I was about to do pressed down on me like a five-ton weight. It wasn't just about me, it was about Charlie too. We'd just begun our...our whatever you wanted to call it, romance, friendship, love affair, and now I might be the one to break it up by letting the Nelsons adopt me. How would I tell him, what would he think? I'd begun to have second thoughts about going, but I'd already agreed, and anyway, who knew, they might not want me once they'd had me around for two whole days. I sighed and pushed open the door to my dorm and was surprised when someone spoke.
"Well, need any help packing?" Charlie said surprising the beejeezers out of me.
"Whaaa...how?" I asked shakily.
"It just makes sense. They didn't call you down there to ask about the weather," he chuckled, trying to hide his sadness with humor, as he often did.
"Charlie..." I said as tears slid down my cheek, "I didn't know, I had no idea. What could I do? They asked me to come visit, that's all. If you say the word I'll tell them no," I blurted out.
"Pffffftttt, you better not tell them no!" he barked, "Hell, I'd kill to get a chance to have real folks and you better not mess this up. We're friends, but friends always want the best for each other, and I want you to have a family."
"I...feel the same. In fact, I thought it might be you they'd choose..." I said wiping at my eyes.
Charlie came to me then and held me tightly, "I'll miss you, but you'll be back Monday and we can talk some more. I want to hear all about it, and if they decide to adopt you, I'll be cheering the loudest at your going- away party," he said grinning. Then he kissed me, and I broke down for real. I cried and cried, but I knew I had to hurry and I began to pack. I didn't have a real suitcase, but I had this old gym bag I'd gotten somewhere and I threw in a couple pair of pants, some underwear, socks, and shirts, and called it good. I didn't mention the part about Mrs. Nelson wanting to take me shopping for new clothes, I felt bad enough already, unworthy, and almost like a traitor.
I sniffed back the last of my tears and wiped my eyes and gave Charlie one last hug, then started out the door.
"Hey, wait for me, I'll walk ya down there, I bet by now all the boys are there waiting to say goodbye and good luck."
"Or cursing my name and hoping I'll mess up," I teased.
"Nah, we may be jealous, but we're happy for you. I promise that...and besides, you might be the first, but you won't be the last. I gotta good feeling about this adoption thing."
Charlie was right, of course. Everyone was gathered in the front hall, packed shoulder to shoulder, and when Charlie and I approached they greeted us warmly and I was slapped on the back and congratulated, and even got a few hugs from the younger boys.
I really felt like a rat when I looked into the eyes of the younger kids. How was this fair? They deserved to be adopted first, not a twelve-year-old like me.
"Boys, boys, quiet down please. The Nelsons have an announcement to make."
"We already know," some kid called out and everyone laughed.
"Boooooys..." Dr. Asher said, but you could tell he wasn't mad.
"Yes, boys we will be taking one of you home with us for the weekend, Zeke here, has impressed us and we'd like to get to know him better," she said slipping an arm around me.
I don't know why but I wanted to cry again. I'd never known a mother's touch or love, and if this was what it felt like, well...let's just say I for sure wasn't going to mess this up.
"But there's more," Mr. Nelson said, "next weekend we have arranged to have a Christmas party for all of you boys here at the orphanage. There will be tons of food, games, prizes, and gifts for everyone."
A chorus of cheers went up as the boys excitedly discussed that, and Dr. Asher had to quiet them down again.
"And..." Mr. Nelson began, "we are going to do everything in our power to promote the orphanage and to make sure prospective parents know what fine young boys are available here."
"I've already heard from two other couples who are interested," Dr. Asher threw in, "and the first of them will be joining us for the party next week."
More cheers, and this time Dr. Asher didn't try to quiet them down. Everything had been said, and it was time to hit the bricks, as Charlie liked to say. So, with more hugs and cheerful goodbyes, I turned at last to Charlie, who I'd been saving for last.
"Vanilla pudding tonight," Charlie said grinning, "I guess I'll have to eat it myself. You'll probably be eating steak or lobster," he teased.
"Whatever it is: it won't be half as good as eating dinner with you," I said, the tears forming in my eyes again.
"Yeah, just keep telling yourself that," Charlie chuckled, "Go on, get out of here, have fun, and I'll see your sorry butt Monday."
I hugged him quickly and before I could stop myself I planted a kiss on his cheek. Then I joined the Nelsons and we started out the door. I glanced back once and saw Charlie with his hand to the cheek I'd kissed and I swear he was crying.
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