New York 1912 Chapter 11
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Aside from all manner of homosexual behavior, I have one additional warning. There is occasional mention of drug use characteristic of the time period. I promise that it is only incidental here and there and not constant. It was not included to proselytize but only for the sake of authenticity.
Continued upon request:
jet2larkin at Jeemale dot kom---- (reinterpret)
Billy Broome:
On the way back from Williamson and Son law office, I stopped by Jamison's and ordered a small cot and bedding for Billy. If his whereabouts were to be discovered, not having his own bed would be a black mark against custody no matter how much money I would have. Guessing at his size, I also picked up some ready-made clothes.
During this time, I did not think of the consequences involved in adopting Billy Broome and now the weight of the decision was coming down on me. Everything happened so suddenly that it obscured the many details that would require my focused attention. I admit that I acted on emotion.
Once at home, I ran a bath for Billy and pulling up a chair next to the bath, I spent time discussing with him, his difficult situation.
He stared down into the soapy water. "I know about it, I was there when they started fighting."
Then looking up at me, "I did what I always done, I went out the window and up the fire escape to the roof and ran."
He would not elaborate or volunteer more than that.
"The police have arrested your father and it doesn't look good."
He appeared to be burdened down by the weight of the horrible situation but he was impassive concerning what may happen to his father. When I asked him if he missed his father there was a long silence.
Finally he looked up and said, "I miss my mother more."
This spoke volumes about the chaotic home he had grown up in. From what little he told me, his pregnant mother suffered neglect and battery at the hands of his father and that sort of treatment may have caused her death and that of her unborn.
Billy's mood lighten a bit upon putting on his new clothes and helping me and the delivery boy move in and position his new bed.
But, Billy was different. He was quiet and subdued. I knew what it was like to go into a world of your own but I was worried. It was sobering to think that maybe Billy is carrying with him the same violent legacy of his doomed father.
~
Peter:
The one thing I didn't think of in this calamitous dilemma was Peter. At half-past six there was a knock on the door and when I opened it, a cocky Peter strode right in.
Looking and the boy sitting on the cot, Peter stopped dead in his tracks. "Who's this little twerp?"
I quickly took this potentially explosive encounter out into the hall where Billy couldn't hear. I tried to explain the situation to Peter but he wasn't having any of it.
"So how am I gonna get fucked with him around?"
I responded. "I thought you didn't like being buggered?"
"Yeah I let you do it because you wanted to do it and maybe I was doing you a favor but seein you got him, why should I fuckin bother? Ya know what, Fuck you, Edmund!"
I had to hold on to him to keep him from running out. The last thing I needed was a sullen and resentful Peter running off into the night.
"Peter, you sleep with me and he's got his cot. You'll get it, just be patient. I want you to stay the night and let things work themselves out. I don't have choice but I don't want to lose you, so please stay."
It was uncomfortable at first. I created a distraction by providing pastries and wine. Maybe Billy had a sense that getting along with Peter was very important. I can't say for sure but after a few glasses of wine, to my pleasant surprise, Peter and Billy began to warm up to each other. They were both from the gutter and that is what they had in common.
Peter lorded over Billy with a barrage of silly, verbal insults. "You got cross eyes you twerp!"
Billy responded with affectionate disobedience. "You farted!"
In defiance, Peter lifted his leg and did it again aiming buzzing fart at Billy. They both rolled on the bed, laughing.
They were at play and I stayed out of it in the hope that they would develop their own common alliance. After another glass of wine, I went to sleep on Billy's cot and let what may happen, happen.
~
The Broome Case hit all the papers. Details of the grizzly murder is described from every point of view.
A Mrs. Miller was quoted saying. "I always knew he was a killer and that poor girl."
Someone else said, "It was horrible she screamed for help and no one lifted a finger until she fell bleeding down an flight of stairs and Mr. Broome, the murder, fled out the back into the alley, I saw him with my own eyes!”
The police inspector Callahan in charge of homicide stated the young Miss Walsh had been brutally stabbed at least 25 time in the chest and lower abdomen.
The prosecutor in the case was quoted. "The accused Mr. William Broome, if found guilty, is sure to hang and if I know Judge Carrington, justice will be swift! Society must be protected from the likes of Mr. Broome."
The murder had even driven the sinking of the Titanic off the front pages. When we went to breakfast, I had to stop buying the morning paper so as not to expose him to news of the lurid murder trial being played out.
Manhattan Civil Court:
A partner in the Williamson Law firm, a Mr. Hayden addressed the Judge.
"Your Honor, I am the proxy representing the condemned man, a Mr. William Broome in authorizing the transfer of the guardianship of William Broome Jr. to a Mr. Edmund Lowell a resident of New York City, 165 West Tenth Street."
Mr. Williamson spoke representing my family and myself. As guardian, Mr. Edmund Lowell will be liable and responsible for the care, education and support of William Broome Jr. until the age of adulthood.
Billy stood in silence and watched while old men made decisions about the issues concerning his life.
Mr. Hayden signed the civil documents for Billy's father and then, I signed 3 separate copies, one for Billy's father, one for me and one for the Civil Court and just like that, it was over.
I can't remember all the wordy procedures in the court room that day but at the age of 23, I had suddenly become a parent and I knew it would change me.
The finality of the affair was exemplified when a week later, Billy's father, William Broome, was hung.
Continued upon request:
jet2larkin at Jeemale dot kom---- (reinterpret)