Ring in Mine #3: Nephi and Jerome Chapter 40
I have been towerless for a couple of weeks. I have kept writing in the iPad but I can't proofread on the thing. I will try to get a few chapters posted over the next few days.
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Thank you, Zach, for being my sounding board and editor.
---------- Nephi & Jerome Chapter 40
The morning of the Labor Day party was chaotic. The chores had to be done before their guests arrived. Peter and Son's employed 25 men. With spouses and kids there would be over a hundred at the compound starting with breakfast. The tables were in the boys dormitories. Benny had borrowed large camping stoves. In the courtyard the ladies were frying eggs as the men flipped pancakes.
It was the last parade of the season and the last appearance of the Peter and Son's float. It had been through a lot during the summer and was ready for retirement before it looked even worse. Nephi had planned on having the whole team walk with the float. Some kids joined Nephi on the main float. Others were sitting on smaller trailers decorated in honor of "Kazoo Day, End Youth Suicide." Everyone was playing Kazoos even those in the festive lit playhouse out fitted with three decorated Christmas Trees and Holiday lights.
Lunch was burgers and hotdogs served on the patio. The littles were excited to find out the two story playhouse would find its permanent home at the compound next to the play yard. Many of the younger children ended up following the littles out to see the animals. Drake helped Kenton supervise the littles to avoid running into Jared. It had been four days and Jared had yet to even say `drop dead.'
They had all given the alpacas treats when the dinner gong rang. It was time for the games. It was more difficult avoiding Jared when everyone was together on the lawn in front of the compound.
"The next game is for the men. It will be a three legged race. Everyone will draw for their partner. If I am doing this everyone will be, no exceptions and no trading partners." Nephi had been practicing with Clark. Clark had the most developed leg muscles from his work on the farm. Sure enough Clark and Nephi both drew the same number. Jared pulled a 4 from the hat. The runners were arranging themselves numerically. Drake walked toward Jared's position in line checking his number against the others. The closer Drake got to Jared the more he suspected that Jerome had fixed it somehow.
Drake passed Jared and matched his number with the man before him, 3. Drake turned and showed his number to Jared. Jared turned to leave. Jerome was standing in his way. "It will not kill you to race together."
Horse-wrap stretched from Nephi's and Clark's ankles to crotch. Clark was providing all the support for the shared leg.
The first five teams lined up. The best two would go onto the next round. "If we have to do this let's show the old guys how it's done." Jared nodded his begrudging agreement.
"Ready! Set! Go!" Rebecca shot Jerry's cap pistol into the air and the runners were off. It was obvious which runners were fighting for dominance rather than working together. The first couple fell to the ground halfway to the finish line.
Jared and Drake hit the tape five feet before the next team. They would remain twins until at least the semi-finals. They walked to stretch their muscles.
"There is no excuse for what I did to you. A reason but no excuse." Drake opened his explanation of that terrible day. "You were right. Those guys were more than assholes, they belonged to a gang."
"I told you so." Jared answered. "What's this reason for ruining my reputation at the school?"
"I look back and there were better ways I could have handled my dilemma. Do you remember Thomas?" Jared remembered Thomas. He had been part of the group that built the float.
"Thomas joined the group around Christmas. The day before his accident a gang member caught him kissing another guy at the park. The guys took credit for pushing Thomas from the bleachers. They claimed since he was a fag he wouldn't need his balls to work. Yancy was the first to Thomas's side as he lay face down on the ground. He spread Thomas's legs enough to stomp on his balls. Yancy claims he could feel them burst."
"So what does Thomas have to do with telling the school I was gay during the pep rally?" The story mystified Jared. He was still angry
"Yancy decided as close as you and me were, we were gay. Since you wouldn't join, they gave me two options: end up like Thomas or end our friendship by outing you."
Tears flowed down Drake's face. "When I look back, I should have talked to you and an adult. We could have both come here away from the gang. I've given the police enough evidence that maybe they can put most of them away.
"Jared and Drake, it's time for your next race." Sean shouted across the crowd. Nephi and Clark were finishing their heat in last place, but you wouldn't know it from the smile on Nephi's face. They weren't more than a step or two behind the team before them. They hadn't fallen on their face. The most important was Nephi had taken part. He would have preferred running with Jerome, but to make it work he needed Clark's strength and size.
Jerome met the pair at the finish line with the wheelchair. The other runners gave their boss high-fives and bumped knuckles. When Nephi was ready to sit down Jerome produced a short blade box-knife and released them. It exhausted Nephi but he was happy.
Jared and Drake won their heat and moved onto the final six. There wasn't time to continue their conversation. "I still love you and miss you every day." Rebecca shot the starting pistol, and they were off.
They crossed the finish line a nose earlier that the next team. Drake turned to his captive teammate and placed his lips on Jared's. Jared meant to turn away but his heart and body betrayed his mind. Jared ran his tongue across Drake's lips. Drake's tongue welcomed his missed playmate. Rebecca interrupted the kiss long enough to present them with gift certificates for dinner and a movie. Rebecca offered to cut them apart, but they remained Siamese twins.
No one saw the pair until it was time for dinner. As they carried their plates to the table, they both showed signs of being well loved. Drake was waiting on Jared hand and foot. Drake poured them both mugs of homemade root beer and delivered them to the table. When Jared wanted ice cream Drake was Johnny-on-the-spot.
Nephi said his farewells during dinner. He was hurting and exhausted. Jerome got him dressed for bed. Nephi wore only his remaining bandages. As Nephi lay in bed. Jerome knelt by the side of the bed and they prayed together. Jerome tucked his tired partner into bed. Can you lay here until I fall asleep?
After dinner everyone pitched in and cleaned up after the party. Then the team and their families said their goodbyes. Holly found Jerome sleeping on top of the covers with Nephi under them. She spread a blanket over Jerome and closed the door. It wasn't long before Jerry joined the pair under Jerome's blanket. He needed the reassurance that his daddies were both there.
The household had one day of free time before school started on Wednesday. "Boys, I hope you don't mind doing Grandma Marie's and Grandma Paula's yards this morning. I have asked Adam to go with you, just in case." As the boys left, Clark had Kenton, Drake and Kyle putting the landscaping back to rights after the party. The littles earned rewards ferreting out the remaining pieces of trash.
Marie and Paula had treats from Bertram's for the grandsons. The guys had moved onto Sister Thompson's. Except for Jared the guys worked on her backyard. Wearing ear protection and thinking about yesterday and last night with Drake, Jared didn't hear the car stop at the curb or the three guys climb out. A shove brought Jared back to the real world. With the edger idling Jared removed his headphones. He recognized the guys from the group Drake had gotten involved with.
"Hey fag, where's your lover? We have some unfinished business with him." Yancy's looked as big and stupid as Jared remembered.
Jared looked around for back up. He was alone. Yancy stepped into his path and at the press of a button a shining blade flipped out of its innocuous handle. With a click the blade locked into place. Jared heard the same click twice more behind him. He now understood how Drake had felt. He knew he was in trouble.
"We asked you a question, faggot. Don't walk away from us or it will be the last thing you do." Yancy's waved his blade around with practiced eased. Jared wondered how many guys Yancy's had carved up with his little friend.
"Where is Drake? He had a job to do at your place and we haven't seen him since."
"He came by our place. I haven't seen Drake since the police took that asshole and his little friend away. The cops said something about protective custody."
"I guess we will have to punish Drake by taking you out instead." Yancy darted forward. Jared reached out with the gardening tool in his hand. A lawn edger has a spinning six inch steel blade on the end of a long pole. The gas motor at the top was a perfect counter weight. The blades met. Yancy's blade flew onto the bushes. The blade hadn't stopped the edger. Yancy stood staring where his thumb used to be. His scream brought the team including Adam running. The other two were being more careful. They weren't too keen on joining Yancy. They darted forward and back avoiding the edger. Jared knew if they came from opposite directions he was dead.
"Drop the knives, or I will shoot!" Adam shouted. The knives hit the ground. One dashed for the car. Jared swung the edger around and slashed the rear tire. Zeke pulled the bandana from his head and used it to apply pressure to Yancy's hand. On the farm knowing first aid was important. Rafe ran into Sister Thompson's house for two baggies, filling one with ice.
Sister Thompson having seen the whole thing had already called 911. Rafe put Yancy's thumb into the smaller baggie. He buried it in the ice. Something similar had happened on the farm. They had reattached the girl's finger. Adam had the other two boys in nylon wire ties by the time the police arrived.
Zeke lost his bandana as the paramedics kept it in place as they rushed Yancy to the hospital. Time was of the essence if they were going to reattach his thumb.
When the adrenaline pumping through Jared's veins burned out, he collapsed and sat on the porch step rocking back and forth. A paramedic had wrapped a blanket around Jared's shoulders. The shock of the attack wasn't as bad as the terrible guilt Jared felt about Yancy's hand. He was replaying scenarios looking for an option that didn't end up with him dead. Jared appreciated Sister Thompson's arm around him more than the thin blanket.
The officer talked first with two of the young men. He cut the nylon ties around their wrists. As they changed their tire, the officer turned his attention to Jared.
"What happened?" Jared leaned into Sister Thompson, his body shuddered as he cried. Sister Thompson noticed the boys pick up Yancy's knife.
"They are taking evidence from a crime scene!" Sister Thompson interrupted.
"I decide what is evidence and what is not!" The officer's attention returned to Jared. "I haven't got all day. Answer my questions here or downtown."
"Can't you see he's in shock?" Jared continued crying. Sister Thompson pulled him tighter. "This boy should have been in that ambulance."
"That's my call not yours." The officer looked at his notebook. "The boys, say their friend used the word faggot and this young man went crazy and attacked them with the lawn tool. They pulled their knives to protect themselves. I know their families and see them in church on Sunday. I am inclined to believe them." The officer read Jared his rights.
"How out of touch with reality can you be? I saw the whole thing from my window." She announced.
"You have an emotional attachment for this boy. Your testimony doesn't carry much weight. Stand up boy, you are coming with me."
Sister Thompson stood and stepped between the officer and Jared's sobbing frame. "Jared needs a doctor."
"Step out of the way or you'll be going downtown too!" She stood motionless. He turned to Adam. "Put her in cuffs Officer Fox!"
Adam was ready to tell this ranking officer he was an idiot. Sister Thompson shook her head.
"I'm off duty. If you put her in cuffs, you're on your own." The guys had filled Adam Fox in as to the identity of Sister Thompson when he had asked why they did her lawn for free. "Do you know who this is?"
"I don't give a damn who she is. No one tells me what I can and can't do." He cuffed the woman.
"Give Carver a call let him know where I will be and call Nephi. Jared will need his..." The closing door cut off the last word.
Adam wasn't about to let this asshole manhandle Jared in his fragile condition. He helped Jared to the car. "I'm getting help." Adam closed the door behind Jared.
The arresting officer rethought his actions when the female officer at prisoner check-in called his prisoner by name. "Mrs. Thompson what brings you here?"
"Obstruction of justice, I think. Not having patience with idiots for sure." Sister Thompson paused as if she was checking a list. "Would you be a dear Cindy and let Carver know where I am. Tell his secretary the code word `horseradish' and get the paramedics down here for Jared, he doesn't look good. He will not answer questions until his lawyer is here. One last thing, if you could give Leonard in the DA's office a call, he would appreciate knowing his nephew is in jail." The other officer behind the glass was already on the phone.
The guard had to help Jared to his holding cell.
"Detective Scott you know who you locked up, don't you?" Cindy asked.
The matronly woman that could step into the police station and expect her instructions carried out rattled Detective Scott. His back was to the wall; he refused to back down. "I wouldn't even care if she were the chief's mother. You don't interfere with police work when I'm on a case."
"I guess that's ok then, I guess."
The phone rang. "Holding cells." Cindy paused. "She is in a holding cell, sir. The boy doesn't look good I am calling the medics." Cindy held the phone away from her ear. "He's standing right here."
"I'll tell him sir!" Cindy turned to Detective Scott. "The Chief says to park your sorry ass on that bench and not to move until he gets here. He's giving you the benefit of doubt until he checks his sources."
"What's the big deal?"
"You really don't know do you? That was the Chief's mother you arrested. Sargent Thompson retired from the department when she married the first chief Thompson forty-five years ago."
An irritated lawyer and Margaret entered the small space. "We are here to talk with our client."
The guard went to gather Jared and rushed back. He is lying on the floor in a pool of vomit. The arresting officer went pale. The old lady had been right.
Margaret burst through the door past the guard. She was on her knees next to Jared feeling for a pulse. "I need oxygen in here. What idiot locked an emotional shock victim in a holding cell without medical attention?"
Chief Thompson passed the stretcher heading for the ambulance. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this? Where's my mother?"
"Holding cell five." Cindy announced.
The Chief turned to the officer sitting on the bench. "Mrs. Thompson told you the boy was suffering from shock and instead of listening you arrested them." He paused. Detective Scott opened his mouth to answer. "That wasn't a question. I will see you in my office at 9:00 tomorrow. You have lots of paperwork including an apology to retired Sergeant Thompson and an in depth explanation of why you allowed two boys with switchblades to drive away from a crime scene with those knives and the knife of their friend."
"These are good church going kids, not some god forsaken faggot. They are getting a bad rap. No one has proven they have done anything wrong." The officer retorted.
"I will not argue this here. Tomorrow 9:00 and bring your union rep." The Chief turned to deal with his unhappy mother.
"I saw them roll Jared out on a stretcher. If he dies his family may end up owning a good chunk of this city." Sister Thompson predicted.
Jared lay in the emergency room. The slow rhythmic beep of the heart monitor punctuated the steady hiss of oxygen. The Margaret joined the nurse watching the brilliant green numbers count upwards toward an acceptable blood pressure.
Jared's eyelids flickered then opened. "Why am I in the hospital?"
"What is the last thing you remember?" Margaret asked. Jared stopped to think. It sounded like a trick question.
"Marie brought out lemon bars and milk." Jared knew that couldn't be the last thing that had happened. It was obvious from the look on his face he was struggling to put the pieces together. "We went to Sister Thompson's house. I wanted to edge the lawn first so the mower would pick up the mess."
Jared's thoughtful look faded. His eyes shifted from one side to the other. Margaret knew Jared replayed the attack in his mind.
"I didn't mean to hurt anybody. Why couldn't they leave me alone? Yancy had a knife." Jared stopped talking. He closed his eyes. His fingers did a quick search over his body. They found the IV and the oxygen tubes in his nose. There was a goose egg on his head but no bandages.
"They wanted to kill Drake. I wouldn't tell them where he was. Drake must have been so afraid." Jared paused, a new thought took hold of Jared's mind and wouldn't let go. "Where's Drake? I need to know Drake is all right. Someone please call Drake."
The beeping sped up. The green numbers spiked. Jared pulled the oxygen from his face and the sensor pads from his chest. He tried to free himself from the blood pressure cuff. "I've got to talk to Drake."
Margaret picked up the phone and dialed the compound. "She's calling Drake." The nurse said trying to calm her patient. She reattached the sensors and replaced the oxygen. She continued to talk softly and caress her patient.
Margaret was silent as she listened. "They are waiting for Drake to come to the phone." Drake wasn't at the compound and no one knew where he had gone.
"I don't care if I'm not allowed here. I need to see Jared! I need to know he is all right." Jared knew the voice. His heart picked up speed. His blood pressure elevated. Drake was here!
"That's Drake, I need to see Drake!" Jared called out. Margaret stepped out and overrode the nurses' objections. Drake ran to Jared's side. Jared pulled his love close.
"May we give them some privacy?" Margaret asked. "I think the worst is over." The nurse was watching the remote monitor. The levels stabilized. She peeked between the curtains. Drake lay on the bed with Jared. Their mouths were near each other's ears. Their conversation was barely audible.
"How is he?" Chief Thompson and his mother stepped into the treatment area.
"I think he will be fine now. It was touch and go, but they have his fluids up, and his vitals are stable. Even an emotional shock can lead to serious physical conditions. We won't know the long-term effects until something shows up." Margaret explained. "I won't let that officer near him again. He trusts you. Will you take his statement?"
"Jared are you up to talking to Chief Thompson?" Margaret asked. The constant beep picked up speed as his heart reacted to the hormones and chemicals his body created triggering the fight-or-flight response.
Drake rubbed Jared's bare chest avoiding the sensor pads. "Talk with him. Chief Thompson is one of the good guys and I'll stay right here." Drake glared at the senior policeman daring the Chief to contradict him.
Chief Thompson looked at Margaret for support and there wasn't any from either women in the treatment room. Margaret handed the Chief her pocket recorder and a blank tape.
"I will try for you, Drake." Jared stammered.
Jared began his story. When Jared's internal stress became too much to handle, Drake rubbed Jared's stomach and reassured his partner until Jared was ready to continue. At the end of the story the Chief asked questions about the boys and the attack.
"I didn't even think about how badly I could hurt him. From what I had heard from Drake, Yancy hurts people for fun. I swung the edger to stop the knife." The tears began again. "I'm sorry I hurt him so bad. Will I go to jail?"
"I don't think so since you were defending yourself." The Chief opened his mouth for another question.
"Carver dear that's enough for now." Sister Thompson led her son from the treatment room. "Carver, Jared has a bull's-eye on his back. If this is gang related they won't leave any loose ends. If he stays here overnight he will need protection.
"Jared needs to feel safe. Drake can do that better than anyone else for now." Margaret advised.
"I'm surprised my brother didn't come to see me." Jared shared with Drake.
Drake chuckled. "It wasn't a full ten minutes after the call hit the company radio that Jerome appeared at the compound and threw me into his car. He knew they wouldn't let both of us in to see you. He's in the chapel getting God involved."
"Mom will be ticked Jerome didn't bring her too." Hearing Jared chuckle warmed Drake's worried heart.
The doctor interrupted the quiet conversation. "If I may have my patient back, I'll see if you can take him home."
Drake stepped into the hallway. "Well, I know where I stand." Drake was face-to-face with Mary. "Margaret told me how you helped Jared today."
Mary pulled Drake into a hug. Softly so only Drake could hear she warned, "You don't want to know what I'll do if you hurt my son again."
The doctor pulled Drake aside and explained what to watch for. "Stay with him for the next 24 hours. Things could go bad quickly."
The hospital aide wouldn't let Drake push Jared's wheelchair. "When Jerome shows up, you can tell him I drove the son that remembers his mother home." Mary chuckled.
There was a crowd outside the main doors. A television team was visible between the signs held by a row of protestors. Jared gripped the wheels and brought the chair to a stop. "Isn't there another way out?" Drake asked the hospital aide.
"Policy requires that we use the patient pickup loop." Drake knew Jared wouldn't handle the crowd.
"Would you at least see what is going on before we go out there?" Drake asked. The aide wasn't happy about it, but he went.
The automatic doors slid open.
"My son and his friends pulled over with car troubles. They asked for help and Jared attacked them." Yancy's mother's usually perfect homemaker appearance had been carefully adapted to epitomize a stressed mother defending her threatened young. Her familiar face was well known in households along the Wasatch Front. She had appeared in many locally produced films and commercials and now was a staple of the morning news with her Homemaking Hints segments.
"Why would this young man attack your son? Yancy is the poster boy of the ideal student, good grades, student body officer and star basketball player." The reporter held the mike to catch the answer. During the brief pause the camera scanned the anti-gay placards.
"It is well known at the high school that Jared has been envious of my son's success and physical prowess. Yancy has rejected Jared's brazen homosexual advances all year. Now this gay boy has put an end to the basketball career of the player that led his team to the state championships this year." Yancy's mom played the part of a grieving mother well.
"Jared will be leaving the hospital any minute now. We are here to listen to Yancy's attacker's side of the story. It's back to you in the studio." The reporter lowered the mike as the red light went out on the camera.
The young aide returned for his passenger to find an empty wheelchair. He wasn't happy. The TV lady would want the fifty dollars back.
Drake held Jared as they sat with Jerome and Mary in the hospital chapel. A priest promised they would be safe from the media. The brief segment of the interview that had drifted through the door while it was open had nearly undone all the good the doctors and Margaret had accomplished.
The hospital administrator stuck his head into the chapel. "Benny said I would find you here. I don't know how the news learned when you would be discharged, but I will get to the bottom of it. I have arranged transportation." He led the way through the kitchen loading dock. "This is the only entrance I can be sure no one is watching."
Before climbing into the far backseat with Drake, Nephi hugged Jared. "We are here for you." Following Nephi's directions Adam drove to one of the farm entrances onto the property.
"The media has turned this into a circus. They are protecting one of their own. The lawyers have requested we let them deal with it." The incident required Nephi step back into his role as head of the family. His increased feelings of self-worth were evident. "We may be using the back entrances for a while."
Inside the house the teens were watching channel three on the television. The crowd at the front gate were in full color. "Hurry you don't want to miss this, another one is going to try."
It was obvious when the photographer made contact with the electrified wire on the top of the fence. "They don't learn. That's the third so far." Rafe announced.
"The best one was the guy that wouldn't let go and he twitched for a good minute. We are going to splice the video together and send it to America's Funniest Videos." Zeke announced.
"We've got one wearing gloves. He's over the top. Here it comes." Rafe shouted. "He's back over the fence. Good job Max." A properly trained pit bull will love and care for family members but have little patience with a perceived threat.
Jared didn't find the spectacle at the front gate humorous in the least. He wasn't the bad guy. Drake followed Jared to their room. Sitting on the couch listening to Jared's favorite group, he lay his head on Drake's shoulder. He should be mad at Drake for dragging him into all of this, but he couldn't do it. Throughout the separation Jared's one dream was Drake would return to his side. Instead of getting angry he had glimpsed the hell that had been Drake's summer.
Phil and Ester delivered two dinner plates to Jared's room. It was impossible to ignore Ester's pregnant state. "I wonder if she is having twins." Drake's attempt to divert Jared's attention failed. Jared's thoughts were elsewhere. Jared wasn't in the mood for being around people, even family. How was he going to handle the first day of school tomorrow?