My Bodyguard Chapter 23
A very special thanks to Ed for editing this chapter.
This story is not true.
This is a story of love, trust, hope, and commitment. It is not a sex story. However, this story deals with love between two teenagers. If you are offended by stories involving love between two teenage boys, please do not read this story. There will be some sex scenes in this story; however, sex is not the main theme. If you are under age 18 or 21 or it is illegal to read this story where you live, don't read it.
New Web Page: http://wpstories.tripod.com/
Thank you for all your e-mails. If I have missed answering you, I am truly sorry. I have tried to answer all of them. Please continue to send me your comments.
Mark told Jeff and Sally that he would do everything he could. I was deeply touched with the scene before me. Mark, Jeff, and Sally all had tears in their eyes.
Lisa told Jeff and Sally that it was getting late and that we needed to leave and they needed to go to bed. She gave us her card and told us to call her after 9:00 AM in the morning. Mark reluctantly said good-bye and we went downstairs and caught a cab back to the hotel. It was 1:00 AM when we got to bed. Neither one of us could get to sleep. Finally I heard Mark's breathing slow down and become steady. Soon after, I also fell asleep.
I was awakened by the telephone ringing. Mark answered it.
"Hello."
"Okay, we will be there."
"That was your dad. Your mom and dad caught a flight out of Detroit last night and are in the hotel. They said that we were out when they got in. They want us to meet them in the hotel restaurant for breakfast in 30 minutes."
I felt like I had just gone to sleep. Yesterday was a long, stressful day. I got up and got dressed. Mark and I went down to the lobby and went into the restaurant. I saw my parents and we went over to join them.
"How you doing, Mark?" Dad asked.
"I'm okay, Papa Greg, but I do have a major problem," Mark replied.
"It must be a big problem to call me 'Papa Greg'. I do kind of like it. What is your problem, Mark?"
"Well, it is really two problems. Their names are Jeff and Sally."
"Your dad's kids, right?"
"That's right. I am their only relative and they have nowhere else to go, except foster care."
"That is a big problem. What are your options?"
"Two, really. Let them go into foster care and get separated, or become their guardian."
"Have you thought about the responsibly of raising two kids?"
"Yes, I keep asking myself what you would tell me. Like, they need health insurance, dental insurance, clothes, food, supervision, beds, furniture, love, and many other thing that I'm not ready to provide."
"I would need to quit school and get a full time job. I already have a commitment to Mike and we are a team, so I would drag him down also."
"I am surprised that they would even consider you to be a guardian, Mark."
"Here in Chicago they do let older brothers and sisters have guardianship if they can support them."
"GREG, quit this screwing around and let Mark off the hook!" Mom exclaimed.
"Do you have the caseworker's phone number, Mark?"
"Right here, Papa Greg."
"I'm really starting to like this 'Papa Greg' stuff. Are you going to call my wife 'Mama Amy' too?"
"Yep, If she don't mind?"
"I don't mind. As a matter of fact, I kind of like it," Mom replied.
Dad got out his cell phone and dialed a bunch of numbers.
"Hi, John. Look, you remember what we talked about a while ago?"
"Yep, that's right. Well, we have found a couple in Chicago."
"They are friendly with Michigan social services? That's great. The caseworker's name is Lisa Jones and her number is 312-555-5555. The kids' names are Jeff and Sally and their stepbrother is currently living with me. Their parents died in a accident yesterday and Mark Adams is their only living relative."
"Great, call me as soon as you get everything worked out. I know it's a Saturday but see what you can do. Don't worry, I will pay you twice your normal charge."
Dad hung up his cell phone and looked at us for about a minute before speaking.
"About a year ago, your mother and I looked into being foster parents and even adopting someone. We have been approved for both in the State of Michigan. We are both fairly young and not anywhere near ready to retire. We have not done anything about it yet because we still have Mike and we didn't know how he felt about having other kids around. Mark, we have talked about commitment before. There is no greater commitment or responsibility than having kids. Many parents don't take the responsibility seriously. I know you can relate to that, Mark. There are many kids who become parents at your age and some do well but most have overwhelming problems. If Amy and I take on this responsibility, you won't have anything to say about the way we raise them. Your responsibility will be as a brother. Amy?"
"You know I'm for it. We have already talked about this. I can't wait to meet them."
"Mike?"
"I would love to have a little brother and sister. I don't know what my sister will think."
"None of her business anyway. She will be married and starting her own family next summer. So we are all in agreement. Great, what else can we do?"
"We need to make arrangements for a double funeral and take care of the kids and my father's stuff."
"I will need to check if there was a will and call a funeral home and other things. Your mom and I will take care of that this morning. I will hire a mover to clean out the apartment and the stuff will be put into storage until a court can decide where it goes. I will call Lisa in a little bit also, after John, my lawyer, has had time to work his stuff. What are you guys going to do?"
"We need to page Captain Wright and talk about some things."
We went on to tell them about Chicago's plan to put student patrols in their schools and their offer for us to come this summer. We finished our breakfast and went back to our rooms. We paged Captain Wright and he said that he was done with us. He just wanted to meet us. He said that he wanted to visit us after the holidays for a few days and would call us before he came. Mark then called his mom and told her everything going on. He said that she was quite supportive. Mark and I were still really tired and we both cuddled up on the bed and fell asleep.
We were awakened by a knock at our door. I looked at the clock and it read 12:30. I opened the door and Mom and Dad came in.
"Let's go, guys. We need to go to social services. Lisa is waiting for us."
We went downstairs and caught a cab. We arrived at social services and we led our parents to Lisa's office. Lisa was real excited to see us.
"Nice to meet you, Greg and Amy. I got a call from John and a caseworker in Michigan and I have all the necessary paperwork completed. I just need you to sign. The kids will be here in a few minutes. You can take them and pick up the clothes and toys and stuff from the apartment. I will go with you."
"I have made arrangements for all the rest of the stuff to be put in storage until a judge can decide what to do with it. I found out that Mark's father didn't have a will so if it ends up going to Mark, we will have it moved to our house. There will be a graveside service tomorrow. I have taken care of all those arrangements."
"That's great. Just sign this paperwork and we will be all set."
Mom and Dad signed the custody papers and became Jeff and Sally's guardians. Lisa explained adoption procedures. Dad said he would have his lawyer look into it.
"You don't know how happy I am to be able to place these kids. We have more kids in the system right now than we can handle," Lisa said.
Jeff and Sally were led into the room and saw Mark. They shouted, ran, and hugged him tight.
"Who are they?" Sally asked.
"Mike's and your new parents. I live with them too," Mark responded.
"You mean we get to stay together?" Jeff asked.
"That's right," Mark responded.
Mom was crying and I could see tears in my dad's eyes too. Jeff walked up to my dad.
"What should I call you?"
"Mark calls us 'Papa Greg,' and 'Mama Amy'. You can call us the same if you like."
"Nice to meet you, Papa Greg."
Jeff threw his arms around my dad, and tears came dripping down his cheek. Sally slowly went over to my mom and opened up her arms. She is so cute. Mom picked her up and held her tight. I'm not sure who was happier, my parents or the kids. Mark and I couldn't help it. We were crying too. We all joined it a group hug.
After about ten minutes, Lisa led us out to her car. We all climbed in. It was very cramped but it also felt right. We went to Mark's dad's apartment. We all went inside and packed up the kids' things. We put them in the trunk and went back to the hotel. My parents had gotten a double, so the kids' stuff was put in their room. Dad got additional tickets for the kids to fly home tomorrow. We all went out to a nice restaurant for dinner. I was hungry. I had not eaten since breakfast. One thing I had noticed was Sally had not been more than 2 feet away from my mom ever since they met. Most of the time they were holding hands. Also, Jeff had attached himself to Mark. I felt good about that. I didn't mind sharing him one bit.
At dinner, Jeff started asking Dad about 100 questions.
"What about school?"
"You will be going to school in Michigan."
"Don't I get to say good-bye to my friends?"
"You can call them tonight or tomorrow."
"But there are some I only see at school."
"Tell your other friends to say good-bye for you. You will make new friends."
"What about my books?"
"We will send them back to the school."
"I'm in Cub Scouts. Can I be in Cub Scouts in Michigan too?"
"Yes."
"Where am I going to sleep?"
"You will have your own room."
"Really? I have never had my own room."
It went on and on like that. Dad remained very patient throughout. I couldn't blame Jeff. His whole life has been turned upside down. Sally seemed comfortable just holding my mom's hand. I couldn't imagine what these two were going through. I guess that they were lucky, not sitting in a group home for a few weeks.
We went back to the hotel and went to bed. We both fell fast asleep.
The next day we got up and showered together. It was a long, hard, shower. Then we got dressed in our suits and packed all our other stuff. We checked out of the hotel and had breakfast. We then went to the funeral. It was just a graveside service and some of Mark's dad's friends from work were there, along with some of his common-law wife's friends. It was a short ceremony. Jeff and Sally cried their eyes out, and we took turns comforting them. Right after, we all needed to go to the airport. We are flying back into MBS international and my folks are flying into Metro in Detroit. When we got there, my dad helped us to find our gate. It is a good thing he was there. I would have gotten lost.
The flight back was almost as much fun as the flight there. I was so glad when we landed back home. We got in Mark's truck and paid for the long-term parking. On the way home we stopped for dinner. Then we headed home. It had been a long weekend and we still had homework to do. Mark called his mom to let her know that he had gotten home safely.
About two hours later Mom and Dad got home with Jeff and Sally. Mark and I both pitched in, getting them settled in. Mom said that she was going to take them to get registered for school tomorrow. They really liked their new rooms and we showed them around the house. Jeff's eyes got real big when he saw the gym Mark had set up downstairs in the basement. He begged Mark to show him how to use all the equipment. Mark promised that he would.
We went to sleep that night with a full house. Who knows what new adventures tomorrow will bring us?