The Apprentice
by Sahypo
Chapter 18
No one got much sleep that night, except Timmy, who basically just died to the world once his head hit the pillow, and soon Isaac was listening to his rhythmic light snoring, and felt the boy's chest expand and contract as he breathed. Isaac eventually did manage to get about two hours of rest, and would pay for the neglect to his sleep later in the day.
The boys got up and took their morning shower around 9, as Pat and Lizabeth had been up and out of the house at 8:30, to make their meeting with the Kanes. Timmy and Isaac didn't bother with anything other than underwear as they foraged in the kitchen for something to eat.
Pat and Lizabeth arrived at the IHOP just at 9, and went inside. They realized that they had not discussed how they would recognize each other, and Pat was about to call Dennis when he spotted a slight man the right age, with sandy brown hair and gold rim glasses, and the resemblance to Timmy was enough that Pat took a chance and approached the man, who was sitting on one side of a booth with what Pat assumed was his wife. They had to be the right people; who sits two on one side of a booth?
"Pardon, me are you Dennis?" Pat asked the man, who broke into a wide smile and replied
"Yes, sir! You must be Pat" as he stood and stuck his hand out for Pat to shake. "This is my wife Debbie" Dennis said,
"This is Lizabeth, my wife." Pat said, and the newcomers slid into the unoccupied side of the booth. "So, how are you this morning?" Pat asked.
"Fine, Pat, we're blessed, thanks...and you folks?" Dennis replied.
"Great, thanks...How was the drive, did you come far?" Pat asked.
"Not bad, we're not that far...Excelsior Springs." Dennis said, naming a town about twenty five minutes from the restaurant and about forty from Isaac's house.
"Oh, yes, nice town." Pat said. "I wish our son Isaac could be with us this morning, but he and Timmy are out on an errand." Pat said. "Isaac was the one who Timmy got to know and when Timmy's situation at home got out of control, Isaac took him in and had the man he was living with sign a guardianship. Timmy has been with Isaac about nine months now."
"How old is Isaac now?" Debbie asked.
"He'll be twenty in September." Lizabeth said. "He's at Technical College studying aviation mechanics."
"Dennis went to trade school too, he's a master machinist today." Debbie said, obviously proud of her husbands' skills. Lizabeth pulled up a picture that she took of Isaac with her phone recently and showed it to Debbie.
"Wow, this boy is a looker! He`s beautiful" she grinned.
"What grade is Timmy in now?" Dennis asked
"Umm, I would have to ask him, but I guess he will be in seventh this fall?" Lizabeth said.
"How does he do in school?" Debbie asked
"He's actually an excellent student, considering his past environment."
"What about your boys?" Lizabeth asked.
"One's in kindergarten this fall, and the other will be in first grade." Debbie replied.
"That must be a relief, now that both are in school."
"Yes, I can finally stop day care...it's like we got a raise." Debbie said
"You work full time, then?"
"Uh-huh, I'm General Manager of the Texas Industrial Supply store in Excelsior Springs." Debbie said.
"Oh yes, I'm familiar with TIS...we've handled litigation for them." Lizabeth said.
"Oh, are you an attorney?" Debbie asked. Lizabeth shook her head.
"No, my job is much more fun" she giggled. "I'm a paralegal and researcher. I work with the investigators digging up background dirt for the attorneys; you wouldn't believe some of the stuff we uncover on cases." Debbie was sure she would like to hear some of Lizabeth's stories some other time.
"What does you do?" Debbie asked Pat.
"I'm the marketing director in the Midwest for Intercontinental Paper. You know all the Tidy Wipe commercials? Well, I buy the air time for those, and run the distribution centers for all the supermarket chains that handle IP product."
"Wow, I have seen those on TV..." Debbie said, impressed.
"Isaac works for us now while he's in school. Part of our retirement plan is rental properties, and Isaac manages those. We are teaching him a business, so later in life he will have an independent income stream." Pat said.
"He is very lucky to have parents that can teach him those things." Dennis said.
"Isaac is a very unusual kid, too. He is 19 going on 35...he is absolutely trustworthy and a good decision maker. We didn't have any qualms when he came to us and told us he had to do something to help this kid." Pat explained.
"I was absolutely beside myself when Detective Walsh told me he had been in the situation he was in." Dennis said. "All I heard was the word "abused" and my mind just shut down. What was the situation with the person Timmy had been living with?"
Pat replied, "Isaac and Timmy can give you more details, but when Isaac told us he was taking Timmy in, the boy hadn't eaten in several days, and was wearing basically rags.."
Debbie and Dennis reacted visibly to that, and Pat continued.
"I don't think Jack, that's the man's name, ever bought food, as he basically lived to drink...and Timmy mainly only ate at school where he could get a lunch. there was abuse and neglect, Dennis, but he told us that he had never been sexually molested, or anything like that."
"Abuse is abuse, no matter what type it is" Dennis said, and everyone nodded.
"Well, Isaac took Timmy on an outing one day, as he had been doing since he met Timmy, and when he dropped Timmy off at Jack's, his clothes were on the porch and Jack had written a note saying he couldn't deal with Timmy and that Isaac could take care of him, or send him to the county. Isaac wasn't about to let that happen, so he came to us, and told us he was going to do this. Turns out Jack had been terminally ill with liver cancer, and he died about two months ago, so he gave Timmy a blessing in disguise. Since Timmy was presumably his only kin, he left a few things to Timmy, and Isaac acted as executor of the estate, so all that is finished."
"He must be very angry and damaged..." Debbie thought out loud.
"Actually, Isaac has been working very hard with Timmy to help him get through things without being bitter." Lizabeth said. "You know about his mother's murder, and the solving of that case?"
Dennis and Debbie nodded.
"Timmy got up in court and read his victim impact statement, and forgave the man who did it. This kid refuses to hate...All I have ever heard from him has been his gratitude to Isaac, and how much he loves him. I have never seen this boy act bitter, or be angry. He calls Isaac his big brother. Isaac is our only child, and up to now we thought Timmy was alone as well" Lizabeth said.
"Detective Walsh told me about the court appearance" Dennis said. "That really blows me away."
"Timmy is anything but bitter. His attitude and optimism inspires all of us." Pat said.
"He came into our lives scared, and underfed, definitely under loved...He now has self confidence, is growing taller and gaining weight now, and the nightmares he used to have stopped."
"Tell us more about your boys?" Pat asked.
Dennis had a small file folder next to him, and he brought it out and put two 8.5 X 11 color printer photos of Donny and Dwayne on the table, turned so Pat and Lizabeth could see them.
"My God, look at that, Pat..." Lizabeth said
"Yeah, they look like they could be a younger Timmy" Pat observed.
"This is Donny, he's six, and Dwayne here is five" Dennis said with pride.
"They are so cute...same hair and eyes as Timmy." Lizabeth said. "You are so blessed to have them." Debbie and Dennis smiled and Debbie said
"Yes, we are. Dennis and I have been married seven years now, and our dream was to have a family, so they are the answers to our prayers."
"They sure are, Debbie" Lizabeth said
Lizabeth had taken some phone pictures of Timmy as well, and let Dennis and Debbie scroll through the images. "I'm sorry I don't have better images of him to show you" she said, but the Kanes were too engrossed in the pictures to comment on that...
"Wow, this is incredible...I'm not sure what to say or think right now..." Dennis said. He had not realized that seeing Timmy for the first time would hit him so strongly.
"Baby, are you going to be okay?" Debbie asked, as she clutched Dennis's arm. Dennis had to clear his throat before he spoke, just as the waitress showed up to take their order.
Once that business had been dispensed with and Dennis had a hot cup of coffee, he was able to continue.
"This last couple of days has been unreal...To think that...something I did when I was 16 turned into...someone's life, and I never knew it..." he had to stop, overwhelmed now that he had seen Timmy's face, his eyes...
"We heard some of the story from Detective Walsh, Dennis..." Pat said "We know this has probably got to be the craziest thing that ever happened to you, and that your lives are turned upside down right now." Dennis nodded, and after a long pause, looked up and spoke again.
"That's what I want to talk about with you and Lizabeth...I know you are adopting Timmy, and Debbie and I won't keep that from happening. This is about what is best for Timmy and what his wishes are, not ours. I will follow his wishes when it comes to parental rights and all that. The last thing I want to be is another issue in this kid's life to deal with."
"Thank you Dennis, and once you and Debbie have met Timmy, and he can decide what he wants to do, we can cross that bridge. Likewise, he may want to not continue the adoption. We don't know" Lizabeth said.
"I would like to tell him, and let him know about his brothers, if that's acceptable" Dennis proposed. "I want to ask him to consider letting us and his brothers have a relationship with him, even if he chooses to be adopted into your family."
"Of course...We have to let him know all of it. We certainly have no right to, or desire to cut Timmy off from his family. We would never do that, Dennis." Pat said.
"Thanks so much...I'm glad we can be a team and work together" Dennis said.
"Timmy deserves nothing less than that." Lizabeth said.
They finished their meals and Pat and Dennis sparred briefly over the check, and finally Lizabeth ended the stalemate by suggesting a coin toss. She then called Isaac and asked if he and Timmy were home, and told him to stay put, as they were bringing the Kanes over to the house.
Timmy and Isaac had been to Metro Police to be fingerprinted, and the process was actually a bit tedious...they had to roll their fingers on a glass sensor, and the speed of the roll was critical to the process. In order for the image to "take", it had to be done just so, and each of the boys had some fingers that required multiple attempts, but with patience the prints were in computer and the technician said all they had to do is call the courthouse clerk and give them the file numbers that he wrote down for them. Any time in the future when prints were required, they could refer to those numbers and speed up access to the database. Isaac and Timmy were almost home when Lizabeth called, and Isaac told her that they were minutes from the house.
They returned just minutes before Isaac's parents and the Kanes arrived, and Timmy began shucking clothes for a nude dip in the pool. "Hold on a minute, dude.. Mom and dad are bringing some people over, so that will have to wait." Isaac said, as Timmy pulled his shirt back on.
"Oh, okay' Timmy said.
At that moment, the front door opened and the four adults came into the house. Pat asked the Kanes if they wanted anything else to drink. It was decided that coffee would be good, and Lizabeth set about making some.
Pat then introduced the Kanes to Isaac and Timmy. "Isaac, Timmy, I would like you to meet Debbie and Dennis Kane. Debbie and Dennis, this is Isaac Daniels and Timmy Billings."
Dennis shook Isaac's hand and said "I have heard so much about you from your folks...pleasure to meet you, Isaac."
"Thank you, sir, likewise" Isaac replied
"Timmy, it's really awesome to see you, and finally get to meet you." Dennis said. Timmy shook Dennis's hand and a confused look crossed his face, as Dennis looked into Timmy's eyes, and brushed his hand along Timmy`s cheek. He was also confused as to why Pat had used their formal names to introduce him and Isaac to the Kanes.
"Uh, it is,...Finally?" Timmy asked. Dennis nodded.
"Timmy, honey, why don't you sit here with us at the table." Lizabeth said. "We need to talk to you..." Timmy took a seat, and Pat brought a folding chair in from the pool patio, so the five of them could sit at the table.
Lizabeth took Timmy's hands in hers and began to speak. Timmy had a look on his face that betrayed his fear that something bad was about to go down.
"Timmy, we have known for a little while that Jack wasn't your father.." Lizabeth began.
"No?...But...how did you...?" Timmy stammered.
"Blood types, Timmy. You said Jack had type O blood. Your mother was A, and you have type B. There is no way O and A parents can have a B child together. Does that make sense to you?" Lizabeth asked
Timmy nodded, then asked "Yeah,...but, why didn't you tell me?" and waited for Lizabeth to continue.
"The right conversation to talk about it hasn't come up before now, and some things have happened in the last two days that kind of go along with telling you, honey." she said, caressing Timmy's hands in hers.
"Do you remember when Detective Walsh needed your DNA sample to prove they had found your mother?" Lizabeth asked, and Timmy nodded.
"Yes" he said in a quiet voice.
"Dennis, could we show Timmy those pictures now?" Lizabeth asked. "Don't worry, honey, these are good pictures." She had read the look on his face and guessed that he was imagining something horrific.
Dennis put the photos of Donny and Dwayne on the table. Timmy looked at them and was about to say something, but stopped. A few seconds went by and he asked,
"So, who exactly are they?" looking up at the adults.
"This is our son Donny, who is six, and this is Dwayne, who is 5, Timmy." Dennis said.
Timmy continued to look at the little boys in the images, and thought out loud "hair and eyes same as mine, and they look so..." then looked up with a shocked expression on his face, and looked at Dennis for an explanation.
Dennis nodded and said "These boys are your little brothers, Timmy." Timmy looked at Dennis not comprehending what Dennis had said for a split second, then slumped back in the chair and asked
"Is this for real?" His head spun around to find Isaac, then Pat, and finally back to Lizabeth. " What's going on?" Timmy pleaded, desparately wanting to understand.
All around the table nodded. "Yes, baby, this is real...Mister Kane is your father. Detective Walsh tested his DNA too, and the test proved it." Lizabeth said.
"Oh, God, ..." Timmy said, as emotion started to climb in him. He looked up at ceiling to avoid any eye contact, closed his eyes and breathed deeply trying to calm down and keep it together. Isaac stood up and went to comfort the boy
"It's okay, little buddy. All of us are trying to process this too. I know this is a big shock. It is for me too." Isaac said, as Timmy burst into tears, wailed and sobbed.
"If I had a real dad, why did I have to live with Jack...?" Timmy wondered, as this new wound of abandonment was opened in his soul.
"Timmy, I'm so sorry..." Dennis said, as he began to break up emotionally as well.
"I never knew you were mine, or where you were...I didn't know...I was sick when I heard what you had to live through...Believe me, if I only had known and wasn't so messed up myself...God, I was only a kid...I'm so sorry..." Dennis took his glasses off and the tears flowed.
Timmy and Dennis cried, and Lizabeth got a roll of paper towels off the kitchen counter, and set them on the table. Dennis fidgeted with his glasses, and Timmy gently took them away from him and put them on the table. He took Dennis's hand and gave it a squeeze. Watching this total stranger, who wouldn't have known Timmy from Adam a week ago, collapse emotionally out of empathy for him struck Timmy very deeply. Debbie took Dennis's other hand, as Timmy's tears slowed and he regained some composure. Isaac continued to comfort his younger friend, rubbing the boy's shoulders.
"It's okay...I'm not mad or nothin'. I'm moving on and putting all of the bad stuff in the past. I just want you to tell me what happened...I want to know."
Dennis nodded and kept hold of Timmy's hand as he tried to control his emotions
"What do you know about your mom, Timmy?" Dennis asked when he was able to speak again.
"That she wasn't Snow White for sure...That she left me, and then was killed...I used to hate her because she left me there...I waited for her to come back for me...then I quit hoping anymore, like when I was six I knew she wouldn't come back at all. I hated her for a long time...Then I found out what really happened when Detective Walsh came here and talked to me, and I could finally stop hating her, forgive her. I felt so bad for all the things I thought, but at least it was over...I knew the truth" Timmy said.
"I wasn't Prince Charming either, Timmy" Dennis said, paraphrasing Timmy, who smiled ever so slightly at that. "I was very young and made some amazingly stupid choices...Getting mixed up with the wrong people and drugs was part of it, and I'm not proud of that stuff at all, Timmy. Part of growing up is owning what you do, and I had to get into trouble to learn that lesson...I was 16 and getting high was the only thing I wanted to do. I delivered newspapers and stole stuff to keep me in weed. Your mother was staying with a guy, the one who killed her, who was living on my paper route, and"
"Honey, maybe you don't want to go into the details..." Debbie said. Timmy touched her elbow to stop her. Debbie took the boy's hand as he spoke to her.
"It's okay, I can handle the truth...I know what kind of people my mom and Jack were and hung around with...I grew up with that ...Please tell me, so I don`t have a bunch of stuff in my head that ain`t real...Please" Timmy said. Debbie looked at Timmy and nodded.
Dennis continued "I was collecting money from my customers one day, and she was there alone, doing cocaine...She offered me some, and one thing led to another after we got high and, uh, sex happened...So nine months go by and she had you...I`m sure that she had um, other uh, ...partners, so I didn't make the connection that I was the one that had gotten her pregnant then at all. I saw her with you for a while, then she disappears for like a year."
Timmy listened to Dennis intently, as he filled in some things that he had wondered about all his life.
"She comes back to Larry's a year later or so, and there is no sign of you, Timmy."
"Because she left me with Jack and went back to this Larry guy" Timmy filled in, drying his eyes. Dennis nodded.
"Yeah. I didn't know it was your mother until the murder case against Larry was in the papers a few months ago, and I remembered Larry from the trailer house on my paper route, so I called Detective Walsh and told him my story, and asked him what happened to the...um, you, Timmy.
I thought you might be dead or something...I didn't know she had left you with this guy Jack, Timmy. I had no clue, and I wasn't thinking straight in those days anyway. The time between when her and me, uh, met, and when she had you bothered me after I read the story about Larry copping to the murder." Dennis finished. "I just kept putting two and two together...couldn't sleep for two weeks straight thinking about it. Finally I went to the cops and talked to Detective Walsh. When I found out they had your DNA to make the ID, I begged him to test me too...And here we are."
"God, to think a little boy peeing on a bridge got this all started" Isaac said. He then told the Kanes about little Brandon, who found the bones and kicked off the murder investigation, and the events that lead up to this moment around the dining table.
Lizabeth slipped out, and made a printout of a picture she had taken of Timmy's face on her phone, and came back to the gathering and slipped the picture into Dennis's file folder, giving Debbie a wink, who whispered "Thanks!"
Timmy asked Dennis to tell him how went from being on drugs to having a family.
Dennis told Timmy how he had gotten arrested for possession and drug use, and got locked up in Juvenile Detention for two years. This was a boot camp juvie, modeled on Marine Corps discipline, and it kicked his ass and his life into shape from day one. He challenged the GED and passed, and then started classes for CNC programming under court supervision, with frequent random drug testing. Two or three detainees would enter a small room where a staff member was seated, strip to insure they had no contraband and urinate into cups while the staffer watched. They would then dress and leave the room. There was no practical way to cheat or beat the tests. It was a difficult period in Dennis's life, but when Dennis graduated from the program with honors, the judge called him into chambers and told him that he would seal his juvenile record and expunge it if Dennis found a job and stayed clean and employed for three years. His new job included trips to TIS, where he met Debbie. The two went out a few times, decided to date seriously for a bit, and got married.
Debbie asked Isaac how he and Timmy met, and Isaac began to tell them about the hot day and the water hose, and how tiny and poorly cared for Timmy had appeared to him. He told them how he befriended Timmy and made a vow to God that he would do whatever he could to make the boy's life better in some way. He said the incident with the dropped plate made him sure he needed to help Timmy.
"I had never seen anyone act like that before. Timmy was scared out of his wits, and I had no clue that he had been kicked and beaten badly for things like this at his house." Isaac said.
Timmy told them he had gone to school for weeks in pain as his cracked ribs healed. All over a six year old who had broken a bowl. Timmy talked about the times he fled the house to escape being beaten and mistreated, and of many nights spent outside. Isaac said they should know the ugly things, so they could appreciate how much Timmy had grown and blossomed since leaving that house.
They described the various outings that they had been on, working on the car, flying Rick's plane, the trip to Scott's farm, and donating Jack`s household. Timmy became animated and filled in details as the story continued, and it was well into the afternoon when they decided to break for lunch. Lizabeth and Debbie went into the kitchen to talk and prepare the food, as the boys continued to talk at the table. The discussion turned to the extended family, and health. Timmy learned that he had grandparents on both sides that were still alive, and that strokes and cancer had been somewhat common in Debbie's family, and heart disease in Dennis's side of the family tree.
"There is one thing I'm curious about" Timmy said, as Dennis waited for the question.
"Does anyone in the family have ...um, birth defects?" Timmy asked, as Debbie swiveled around to look at Timmy, dropping her conversation with Lizabeth in mid-sentence.
"Ummm, w-what kind of birth defect are you curious about?" Dennis wondered, suddenly reminded of the family "legacy" he, his father and two sons shared, but not sure this is what Timmy was referring to, so he played coy.
"Hypospadias" Timmy said, and the room went silent for a few seconds. Debbie's mouth popped open, her reaction surprising Lizabeth, Pat and Isaac.
"How does he know that?" Debbie said, but only so Lizabeth actually caught that
"All of us have that, Timmy. Your grandfather, me, and both Donny and Dwayne...are you saying..." Dennis answered before Timmy finished the question for him.
"That I have it too, yes." Timmy said.
"Oh, my God! It's the whole Kane family...well, except me and grandma..." Debbie said, causing Timmy to giggle, and the others to shake their heads in amazement.
"Well, I'll be damned..." Lizabeth said, mainly to herself
"That's incredible" Isaac said "I wonder how often this happens in all the males in a family?"
"I guess it doesn't come down through the females, since we all have different mothers" Dennis observed.
Timmy continued. "Did anybody in the family have anything else out of the ordinary?"
Dennis and Debbie looked confused, and Debbie said, "I don't think so, ten fingers and ten toes, and everything else pretty ordinary."
"I think Timmy was interested in knowing if there was a history of undescended testicles in your family." Lizabeth said.
Timmy nodded. "My left one never descended, and I had an operation a week ago to make sure nothing was inside."
"So did you find out what you needed to know?" Dennis asked.
"Yup, there was nothing in there, so I guess it never developed." Timmy said.
"Our pediatrician says it's not that unusual Timmy, there are a lot more boys born like that than one would think" Debbie said.
"Timmy, you know they make implants for those" Lizabeth said, "Have you ever thought about that?"
"Yes, I did think about getting one of those, but Isaac and I discussed it, and he said some things that made a lot of sense to me, and made me decide against it." Timmy said.
"So Isaac gives you good advice?" Dennis asked, smiling.
"Yes, I always talk to my big brother about really important things, and he always knows what to do."
"You two are very close, aren't you?"
"Yeah, we sure are" Timmy said, as Isaac nodded in agreement.
"Timmy, I can see that Isaac is very special in your life, and I'm ...uh, I'm not here to disrupt your life, and I want you to know that I won't stand in the way of your adoption by Pat and Lizabeth. I only want what's best and right for you, and I'm going to honor your wishes.
I know this is a big upset to you for me to come strolling into your life out of nowhere, and Debbie and I are still getting used to the idea that you are my son...we still have to tell Donny and Dwayne, too, Timmy. Your grandparents don't know what's happened yet either.
What I do want to ask you is if you want to have a relationship with us, and get to know your brothers and grandparents." Dennis said.
"Um, I'm ...I'm sure I do, um...I just need some time to think...I never had .."
Timmy began to cry again, as the others looked on, astonished.
"Timmy, what is it?" Lizabeth asked, as Isaac offered "He's totally overwhelmed with all this, Mom...let's give him some time to think." Timmy buried his face in Isaac's shirt and sobbed. Dennis took Timmy's hand, and Timmy squeezed his father's hand in return.
"Let's just take things one day at a time..." Lizabeth asked
"Of course...when Timmy's ready, sure." Debbie said. "Are you okay, Timmy?"
Timmy nodded, but didn't say anything. He was still choking back sobs and couldn't make intelligent noises at the moment. He was suddenly confronted by a famine of riches, and didn't know what to do. He had never had a real family in his life until Isaac made him part of his, and now he knew he had a father, brothers and grandparents...
Timmy regained his composure, and said "I need to get something" and got up from the table and went to his room. One of the possessions he brought from Jack's was a sketch pad, and he brought it to the table, with an artists pencil. Timmy had a gift of expression through drawing, and this pad had let his mind travel far from the chaos in his life, as he worked on his sketches...he tore out a blank sheet, and said
"Make me a tree" Timmy said, confusing the others. "With everybody in the family on it".
Debbie immediately grasped what Timmy wanted, and said "Lets start with the grandmas and grandpas then", and took the pencil from Timmy and drew four boxes on the sheet, and filled in Dennis and her parent's names in the boxes, and then drew trees for Dennis, his sister, and another tree for Debbie and her two siblings.
"Dennis's sister doesn't have kids. She and her husband live in Oregon. My brother has two boys in college, he was the oldest of the three of us. My older sister has two girls, who are ten and twelve now. Then there is Donny, Dwayne, and now Timmy..." she said, as she drew boxes and names on the paper.
"So you have two brothers, and four cousins, two aunts and an uncle" pointing out all the relationships to Timmy. "So what do you think about all this...still too much?" Debbie asked.
"It is a lot for one afternoon, yeah...but Isaac?" Timmy said, as Isaac responded
"Yes?"
"You told me that everything would be okay and it would all work out, the night I came to live to with you...I'm sorry now that I couldn't really believe you right then, but I trusted you, and you were right...I just couldn't have imagined all this" looking at the map of his relatives in front of him.
"I know, big guy, it's a lot for all of us...but you're never going to be without love in this world, that's for sure." Isaac said, giving his little buddy a hug from behind, pinning him into the chair.
"Well, let's go one step at a time, we still have to tell the boys, and our parents of course...Once Dennis and I get that done, lets get together and plan a BBQ or something?" Debbie suggested.
"Oh, that sounds great" Pat said, and Lizabeth offered to help Debbie put it together.
"I guess its settled then!" Dennis laughed.
Debbie called Robin to apologize for being gone so long leaving Donny and Dwayne with her, but she said it was no problem, the boys had been skinny dipping in the hot tub, and were now running around the house in their briefs, and at times not in their briefs...Debbie rolled her eyes in embarrassment, even if Robin couldn't see that over the phone, and said she had a bombshell to lay on her when they got back.
"Dennis, we really need to go collect your other spawn, you know" making everyone laugh.
Everyone stood and Dennis and Debbie took turns giving Timmy long hugs, and he and the Kanes had red eyes when they said their last goodbyes and left.
Timmy asked Lizabeth to draw him a tree of the Daniels family, and the two of them sat at the table and Timmy took another sheet out of the sketch pad.
Isaac and Pat decided to have a beer together in the pool, and left the kitchen to change.
Melanie had been moving in next door, and she and some coworkers had just finished and the furniture truck left a bit before the Kanes left.
The Kanes arrived at Robin's house, and Debbie got out and said she would send the kids home, and be there after she told Robin. Dennis drove down the street and parked at their house. Robin answered the door, and they found their children again in the hot tub, without clothing. Since the kids were very young, the tub was turned down to just over body temperature, and not the 104 degrees that hot tubs usually operated at. Robin's oldest son was nine, and together with Robin keeping an eye on them, they were pretty safe. They mainly jumped in and out of the water and ran around in the fenced back yard. They lived on the end of a cul-de-sac, a home Robin and Doug had bought specifically because there was no traffic in front, and maximum privacy in back. The housing development backed on woods, and the boys would explore back there, the worst dangers being poison ivy and ticks. No one would see or be bothered by naked kids in their back yard.
"Donny, Dwayne! Time to get dressed and so see Daddy! Poor Robin's all tired out!" the Kane brothers groaned and whined, but got dressed, and soon were ready for the walk down the street, even though Dwayne's' shirt was on inside out and backwards. Robin's boys, 9 and 7, were both uncircumcised, and not self conscious in the least. Debbie had seen them in the buff almost as many times as Robin or Doug, and the four boys were often nude at the Kane house as well. Only Randy, being the oldest, had ever questioned the Kanes boys looking a bit different than him and his seven year old brother Ricky. Robin had explained it to them, and the kids went off and had a show and tell among themselves and that had been all that was ever mentioned about their two friends' birth difference.
Debbie confided in her friend once her sons had left the house, and Robin's boys were out of earshot.
"Robin, last night Dennis told me that he had gotten a girl pregnant before I met him when he was 16."
"Oh, my God, did she keep the baby?" Robin asked.
"Yeah, she did". Debbie said.
"So why didn't Dennis ever tell you this before? I'd be royally frikkin' pissed!" Robin said.
"He never knew it...She was evidently pretty fast, and she never said anything to him after it happened. He thought it was some other guys kid all this time."
"So is she going after Dennis now for support or something?" Robin wondered.
"Oh, no, it's wilder than that, Robin. You remember that cold case murder in the city they solved a few months back? The one where they found those bones down by the river?"
"No, not really, I don't follow the news that much" Robin admitted.
"Well, Dennis had this paper route back then, and she lived on his route with the guy that killed her about two years after she had the baby. She had left the baby with someone else by that time. The guy dumped the body, down by the river."
"Jesus...Okay, so then what happened?" Robin asked, eager for details.
"So Dennis reads about this and things start coming back to him, right? So he finds out from the cops that the baby, who is 12 now, had helped them figure out who the remains were with his DNA...and Dennis can't stop thinking he might be the father...so he gives the cops his DNA. We found out yesterday that this kid is Dennis's son, Robin."
"Oh, my God, no way!" Robin said in amazement.
"Way, Robin...We met him today...that's why I had you keep the boys...Thanks for being a great friend, lady..." The two friends hugged and Robin said
"Oh I love your boys, they're never any problem to take care of, you know that. So, what is this boy like? What does Dennis think?"
"Terrific kid...very mature, thoughtful, polite...looks just like our boys, just identical. It really freaked us out when we saw him. He was recently rescued from a really bad homelife by the people he lives with now, who are just awesome, caring people...Dennis and I are pretty freaked by the whole thing, but we are really happy about this, too. I wanted you to be the first we told. Donny and Dwayne don't even know yet..."
"Wow, this is so major...so what's next? Is he coming to live with you?"
"Oh, its way too soon to say...Dennis and I will support whatever he wants to do. We won't cross that bridge until then...One step at a time...probably tell the rest of the family, and then have a big get together BBQ or something like that. You guys will be coming of course"
"How could I miss something like that, Debbie?" Robin giggled. "You bet we'll be there!"
Once back at the Kane home, Dennis and Debbie cuddled with their little boys on the couch.
"Boys, we have something to tell you. Listen really close now" Dennis said, looking down at each one, making sure that they were paying attention.
"Up until now, there has been Mommy, Daddy and the two of you, right?" the boys nodded. "Sometimes things happen that we don't know about for a long time, then one day, we find out about them. Yesterday, Mommy and Daddy found out something we never knew before."
"Deb, is that file in the house, or did I leave it in the car?" Dennis asked.
"Ummm, I'll go find it, honey" Debbie said as she went to get it, and came back with the folder, handing it to Dennis. She reclaimed her position on the other end of the couch.
"Daddy, is something going to happen to Dwayne and me?" Donny asked in a worried voice.
"No, baby, no. Nothing is going to happen to you or Dwayne, honey. This is a good thing, okay?" Donny nodded his head and smiled.
Dennis took Timmy's picture out of the file and laid it on the coffee table, and then Donny's picture and the one for Dwayne. The boys looked at them for a while, and Dwayne said "Who's that, Daddy?" pointing at the picture with his tiny finger.
"Doesn't he look a lot like you and Donny?" Dennis asked his youngest son.
Dwayne shrugged, and didn't say anything, but the wheels were spinning now for Donny.
"Why does he look like you and me and Dwayne, Daddy?" the six year old wondered.
"Because there are three brothers in this family, and not two anymore, Donny. This is Timmy and he is your older brother..." Dennis explained.
"Is he my brother too?" Dwayne worried.
"Yes, that's how it works!" Debbie and Dennis both laughed at the five year old's notion.
"If he's our brother, how come you guys didn't know about him?" Donny asked, clearly confused.
"Because sometimes Daddies don't know that they are Daddies at the time, baby." Dennis tried to explain.
"But Mommies always know they have babies..." Donny said, looking at his mother.
"Yes, Donny, they do...but Timmy had a different mother, honey, not Mommy" Debbie said.
Donny was now completely confused. "Daddy, do you have another woman?" he blurted out, causing Dennis and Debbie to crack up laughing.
"No, Sweety. Daddy met Timmy's mother way before he met me, baby." Debbie said.
"So didya used to be married to Timmy's mommy?"
"No, son. I only met her one time."
"Oh." The wheels continued turning in Donny's head. Dennis and Debbie looked at each other, and Dennis said
"I think he's about ready for the talk." Debbie nodded. Dennis had been dreading the day he would have to talk to his sons about sex, but the more than time approached, the less frightening the task seemed to be. At the moment, he was now more concerned with how the boys would take the news of having a brother they had never seen or met, and Dwayne hadn't said much of anything during Donny's questions.
"Dwayne, whatcha thinking,' honey?"
Dwayne looked at his Daddy and asked "Is Timmy gonna live here with us?"
"Right now, we don't know, little buddy. Timmy has to figure out what he wants to do, too. He just found out about us today himself. He might want to stay with the people he lives with too."
"Okay" Dwayne said, accepting that. "Can I go play?"
"Sure" Dennis said, and Dwayne jumped off the couch and headed for his room.
Donny remained on the couch between his parents "How old is he, Daddy?"
"He's 12, Donny."
"That's old, isn't it?" the boy asked.
"I guess when you're six, 12 does seem old, doesn't it" Dennis said. Donny nodded.
"Would he have to stay in our room too?" Donny asked. The house was a small two bedroom that Dennis and Debbie could afford. Their parents had given them a small stake to use as a down payment, as a wedding gift seven years ago. They were doing well now financially, but they had always known once Dwayne was born, that there would be a move to larger quarters in their future.
Donny and his parents talked about Timmy for a few more minutes, then he too wanted to play.
Soon it was time for the evening meal, and tonight it was pot luck, and all the leftovers and odds and ends went together. After dinner, Dwayne wanted to play in the shower, and Debbie told him to put his clothes in the washer, and that she was setting a ten minute timer for him. She and Dennis would each take a shower later with one of the boys to make sure their hair was washed and they went to bed clean. But for now, the child would be content to play in the water and Debbie went to go set the temperature for him. She left the door open so she could hear what Dwayne was doing.
Now, it was Debbie and Dennis in the kitchen with Donny, and Donny then asked the classic question of all ages...
"Mom, how do you gets a baby?" Debbie and Dennis looked at each other and Debbie said,
"Well, let's see here," as she thought how she would put this..."It takes a Mommy to make an egg, and a Daddy to fertilize the egg."
"Egg, like a bird?" Donny asked.
"No, honey. This egg is so small you can't see it with your eye...and it has no shell."
"Ewww..." Donny said, "So is it all icky and runny?"
"No, remember, baby, this egg is super super super tiny. So, once a month, Mommy makes an egg in her body. If Daddy fertilizes that egg, Mommy gets pregnant"
"And if he don't?" Donny asked. He was catching on quickly.
"Then Mommy's body gets rid of the egg, and she makes another one the next month."
"How does Daddy f- f- " Donny struggled and Debbie finished "Fertilize the egg?" Donny nodded.
"Daddy has something the egg needs to get started and grow into a baby."
"Okay, but how does he..." Donny pressed. Now he was getting to the meat of the issue, and having seen simulated sex on evening TV, he was aware that something people did physically caused babies to happen. Normally, Dennis and Debbie would only put on things that they considered educational, like nature shows, and light hearted fare, but there had been times the boys watched TV and selected their own shows, of course. Donny had also heard things at school from other children, and was beginning to let Dennis and Debbie know in his own way that it was time to talk to him.
"Mommy makes eggs, and Daddy also makes things, too, big guy." Dennis said. Daddies make something called sperm, and it takes one sperm to make the egg grow."
"So where does that come from?" the child asked.
"Under your winkie, there's two round things inside a soft wrinkly place?" Debbie suggested. Donny nodded that he understood.
"You mean my balls, Mommy."
Dennis covered his face in his hand and turned away, blushing crimson and trying hard not to laugh, as he didn't want to distract Donny, or miss any other gems he came up with.
"Yes, baby, your um, balls are where boys make sperm." Debbie replied, struggling to keep a straight face.
"So how does the sp- sperm? get into the mommy?" Donny asked
"You're up, Dennis!" Debbie said with a huge grin, and went to check on Dwayne. He was talking to his toys and making up conversations, totally immersed in an imaginary place. Seeing that he was in no danger, she returned to the kitchen table.
"Uh, well, Donny, that is why boys have winkies...Mommies have a place that the winkie goes when she wants to have a baby, and the sperm comes out of the... balls and down the winkie and out the end, and into the mommy's place where the winkie goes..."
Donny considered this and asked "You mean that stuff comes out where I pee?"
"Yes, but not at the same time, Donny." Dennis said.
"Oh...So how does the winkie get in there?"
"Mommy and Daddy put it there." Dennis said.
"No, I mean isn't it all squishy and stuff?' Donny wondered, as it hit Dennis that Donny was really asking about erections.
"Donny, when you wake up sometimes, and your winkie is bigger and stiff and you almost can't pee in the mornings?" This was pretty consistent with the two boys. Almost every morning, the nude boys would march to the toilet with their short erect, thick curved members leading the way.
"Yeah"
"That's how the winkie is when it goes in the mommy."
"Oh" Donny considered this, then asked
"Umm...Can I go play now?" his curiosities satisfied for now.
"Sure, big guy. Go see what your brother is doing." Dennis said, giving the child a kiss on the cheek as he got up from the table and began to take his clothes off. "You put those in the washer, not on the floor, little buddy!"
"I am, Daddy!" the child replied, and Dennis cracked open his evening beer.
Debbie and Dennis sat for a minute together and held hands and looked at each other. "This is not going to be boring, is it?" Debbie asked.
"No chance in hell" Dennis said as they chuckled and Debbie got up to look in on the boys. The timer had gone off, and the boys had dried somewhat and were in their room.
She approached the open doorway, and heard Donny tell Dwayne "You won't believe what Daddy said people do with these".
Debbie peeked around the edge of the door frame, and saw the boys sitting on the floor naked, surrounded by toys, and Donny was pointing to Dwayne's penis.
"What do they do?" Dwayne asked, looking down at his male organ.
"It gets all stiff in the morning when you have to pee and you put it in a girl and she has a baby."
"Ewww, that's so gross!" Dwayne said, and his brother agreed "I'm never doing that, girls are totally gross!" Donny declared.
Debbie smiled to herself and went back to the kitchen, careful to make sure the boys didn't hear her. The brothers were at the age where outside influence and time was marching rapidly towards their eventual maturation, and Donny had been surprised to learn that his penis had a reproductive purpose, and not just something that made urination convenient. This revelation would shortly begin to initiate changes in the young boy's life, and awaken a new dimension of little Donny's existence.
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