Ring in Mine #3: Nephi and Jerome Chapter 46
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This chapter provides more insight into the Helpful Housewife. I really don't like the lady a lot. Somewhere down the line I hope Karma dishes up some just desserts.
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Thank you, Zach, for being my sounding board and editor.
Chapter 46
The next morning Oliver stuck his head out the door making sure Brock was nowhere in sight.
"Oliver, you have nothing to worry about. Brock is helping with the milking. We are feeding the cattle and alpacas. I told Rebecca we had an early class. She will pack us a breakfast, so we can eat on the way to school." Phil reassured Oliver.
"Jerome joined Oliver and Phil at the haystack to help throw bales of alfalfa on the utility truck. Jerome interrupted the silence, `Oliver, you aren't comfortable around Brock. Nephi can ask him not to come to the compound." "The problem isn't Brock; it's my problem and I need to figure it out. I would miss not having him here." Oliver answered.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Jerome offered.
Oliver looked toward Phil. "No, I just need time." Jerome hadn't missed the glance toward Phil.
"I suggest you talk with Nephi. He understands more than anyone else I know." Jerome finished helping with the cattle and the Alpacas.
Phil and Oliver grabbed their breakfast sandwiches and Eve. "I hope whatever your problem with Brock is, you get it straightened out soon. I am not a fan of going to school early."
Oliver wondered if everyone knew. He had to figure things out sooner rather than later.
Nephi received an early morning call from the law office who represented the Foundation asking Nephi to come to the office at 10:00. Nephi made sure they understood someone would have to help him get the wheelchair out of the back seat. Benny had mentioned a van with a wheelchair lift. It sounded expensive.
Nephi arrived early at the law office. The doctor had come through with a handicap tag so Nephi could park close. Nephi honked the horn the prearranged four times. A secretary appeared at the front door. She struggled when the wheelchair tangled in the seat belt. Nephi wondered if Benny could find a used wheelchair accessible van sooner than later.
A gentleman was waiting in the lawyer's office. When Nephi recognized him, he backed out of the room.
"Please, don't leave without listening for a moment." The man pleaded. "From your reaction you recognize me."
"You are Yancy's father."
"My name is Sam. I am Yancy's stepfather. I am a widower. My work often takes me out of town. I married my current wife to give my son Hugo a mother. It hasn't been one of the smartest things I have done in my life. Today, I am asking a favor not for me but for Hugo."
"Why ask me? Your wife and her friends have been a thorn in our sides this past year." Nephi asked.
Nephi and Sam shared the same law firm. Contacting Nephi had been their idea. Earlier in the week Sam had found Hugo hiding in a closet when he came home from work.
Hugo's stepmother had found a ten-year-old Hugo and a friend comparing the size of their penises. She had beat him with a belt until the phone rang. All evening she had ranted about not allowing her stepson to be gay. She had some scary friends. Over and over she insisted Hugo go to a reprogramming camp near Logan.
"Sounds like child abuse. Why didn't you call the police?" Nephi asked.
"It wouldn't do any good. I can't prove it, but I know she has the cops in her pocket. Detective Scott was one." The dirty officers didn't surprise Nephi.
"So, what do you want from me?" Nephi asked the distraught father.
"I have an extended business trip out of the country. I can't take Hugo and I won't leave him with his stepmother. My lawyer suggested your foundation. My wife never adopted Hugo and has no guardianship rights. Will you take him?"
Nephi paused. Hugo's father's anxiety rose as the silence persisted.
"I'll pay his expenses." The father offered.
"Samaria is a working farm. Chores build a sense of responsibility in our children. We are a Christian household and teach acceptance of all of God's children. We have a certified teacher. I don't trust your wife; Hugo should attend classes at the compound."
The relieved father knelt next to Nephi and hugged him in gratitude. "I love my son. I love him enough to put him into your care."
There were multiple papers to sign to make it official. Sam was flying out that afternoon. Hugo sat in the next room with his suitcases. Nephi insisted father and son follow him to the compound, knowing Sam would want to see any place Hugo would be staying.
Nephi distracted Hugo's attention from the pool long enough to ask the important question. "Hugo, would you prefer a room of your own or share a room?"
"Do I get to use the pool?" Hugo asked the most important question in his mind.
"Never by yourself and there must be an older family member in the pool enclosure." Nephi explained the rules. "Now about your room?"
Hugo decided on a room by himself. Nephi assured Hugo he could change his mind later. They hadn't made it to the room before the barking of dogs echoed through the compound. "You are about to meet my son, Jerry."
The littles followed two adult pit bulls and four puppies into the compound. "Here Max!" Nephi called out. One day in July Max had appeared with a very pregnant brown pit bull. Rafe and Zeke named her Stella.
"Max, this is Hugo. He is family." Nephi turned to Hugo. "Put your hand out." Max came up and gave him a good sniff and rubbed his head against Hugo's hand. Hugo found it hard not to scratch Max on the head and gave into the temptation.
"Jerry, will you show Hugo the animals?" Nephi suggested. The taller boy ran off with the littles and the dogs. Sam stated, "His stepmother wouldn't even let him have a goldfish. Now he has animals, plural."
Hugo's room and the compound impressed Hugo's father. Nephi introduced Mary at the gate of the compound.
"It looks like you have been at the construction site." Nephi commented. Mary had her students measuring and mapping the layout of the Halloween festival.
"It's a great use of hands on geography." Mary turned to Sam. "If you send us your address, I will have Hugo write you letting you know what is happening in his life."
"There are women here?" Sam noted after Mary had moved on.
Nephi reassured the worried father there were four ladies on the staff and two straight adult men. "This is nothing like my wife described. She was so adamant it was a place of sin and iniquity."
"You may find Hugo exposed to more of Christ's teachings on love and acceptance here than in the outside world." Nephi pointed to the phrase over the gate. "Go forth and do good."
At lunch time all the boys appeared in the compound. The house movers were putting the house on its foundations and had closed the site. True to form almost everyone accepted Hugo into the family. Kenton had concerns about Yancy's little brother living at the compound. Nephi explained the situation to Kenton. Kenton had seen Hugo at school and remembered he was nothing like his step brother. Kenton offered the other bed in his bedroom to the new family member.
After lunch Jared suggested they hitch the trailer to the tractor and investigate a route for the hayrides. They had to be quick before Mary had them back in the classroom.
To appease Mary, everyone would try their hand at writing a narration for the attraction. Drake retrieved eight bales of hay with the bobcat. He put them on a trailer creating a double wide row of hay bales down the center.
The planned path wound between two corn fields. Clarke had chopped most of the west field into silage for the cattle. There was still twenty feet allowing the hayride to drive the length of the field with corn on both sides. It continued along the roads between fields and lengthwise through the forest and returned to the old house.
"How can we make this more exciting?" Drake asked. Kenton suggested having a contest in the family who could make the scariest scarecrow and put them along the cornfield alley.
Jerry, Micah and Donny were in a deep quiet conversation. Micah spoke for the group. "We need vampire's and monsters in the forest."
Hugo broke his silence. "We need to build a cemetery in the empty field with headstones."
Jerry interrupted. "And zombies..."
Donny interrupted Jerry. "with bones sticking out of the ground."
"We could use more of the dead branches to make trees." Kyle suggested.
"We should change the path and pass the irrigation pond. Remember the creature form the Black Lagoon." Jared suggested.
Jerome had caught the last of the brainstorming session. "I have two questions. How will they see at night and how much will it cost?"
Mary found her wayward class back in the classroom. They were hip deep in materials lists. Jared and Drake were calling hardware stores checking on the prices of supplies. The littles were drawing pictures of the monsters they wanted on the ride. Mary smiled. If she had assigned this applied skills project, they would have complained. She backed out unseen. Mary looked for Nephi or Jerome to share her students' excitement only to find a locked bedroom door. Mary smiled again.
Hugo was unhappy about doing chores. Besides keeping his room spotless his stepmother main rule was staying out of sight when guests were in the house. "I don't know why we have to do chores. I don't want to." He went to his room.
The teens knew what would happen. On Friday, when Jerome passed out allowances, Hugo wouldn't get any. The Foundation fed the kids and clothed them and provided the necessities, but if you wanted something extra, like treats, a special shirt or to have money when the family went out, you earned it.
Hugo learned an immediate consequence of not doing chores. He had lost his connection to the antenna system. The snowy pattern on his television was an instant concern. He went looking for Nephi.
Two ladies worked in the kitchen. Hugo's shirt pulled painfully across his shoulders reminding him of what to expect from women.
He found Nephi in the office. Nephi sat at his desk pouring over a stack of papers.
"My TV doesn't work!" Hugo demanded attention.
"You earn having TV by doing your chores. Have you even tried? They aren't so bad and they help the family." Nephi suggested. Nephi pressed the remote, and the television mounted in the corner came on. The screen filled with snow. "During chores and meal times none of the televisions work unless there is a special reason like a school assignment."
Nephi turned back to his work. Defeated Hugo went back to his room and pulled out the book he was reading. He didn't need the television during chores, and he didn't need chores. He couldn't wait to tell his dad they wanted him to work. His dad had taken him away from his friends and put him in a work camp. Wasn't child labor illegal? He was a prisoner here.
Hugo looked into the compound and saw a uniformed police officer. He ran to the officer. "Help, I am being held prisoner! They say I have to work!"
"You must be Hugo. I bet you have never had to do chores before have you?" Adam asked.
"I had to keep my room clean." Hugo retorted.
"Come with me. I need to change into my work clothes. You can ride with me while I feed the cattle."
Hugo waited on the bench outside Adam's room. When Adam reappeared, he was wearing a white t-shirt, jeans, a cowboy hat and cowboy boots. Adam had never worn boots before coming to the compound. He found they were perfect for working in the muck and mud in the fields. "Let's go!"
They picked up a utility cart and Adam threw bales of hay on the back. They drove out to the non-dairy herd. It wasn't as big as it had been all summer. Clarke sold most of the steers. There was no reason to feed them all winter.
Hugo watched this cowboy policeman place a brown block on a concrete slab inside the pasture. "What's that for?" He asked.
"It is a salt lick. Cows need salt just like you and me. The brown one has vitamins and minerals in it. It helps keep the cows healthy." Adam explained.
Adam cut the twine on a bale of hay. He picked up part of the bale and put it in a manger inside the pasture. They moved down the fence line. There were two feeding stations here. Adam hopped out and took another third of the bale. Hugo looked at the remaining third. He hoped out and carried the last of the bale to the second feeding station. Adam smiled to himself. It didn't take the pair long before the cart was empty and the cows munched on the hay.
"They have grass, why do they need hay?" Hugo asked.
"Would you want to eat one thing all the time? Alfalfa has different nutrients the grass may not have. It keeps them healthy and gives them variety." Adam answered.
Adam pulled the utility cart to another covered stack of hay and loaded it with bales.
"Why didn't we take it all the first time?" Hugo asked as they left hay for the alpacas.
"The cows eat alfalfa hay. It's not good for the alpacas. This bale is special grasses." Adam explained. They checked the water sources. One looked dirty. They drained, cleaned and refilled the trough.
"I bet alpacas like clean water." Hugo enjoyed caring for the animals. He liked hanging with Adam. Adam's approving smile went a long way with this attention starved kid. Adam handed Hugo some pellets. Hugo watched Adam hold his hand out. As an alpaca nibbled the treats. Adam scratched it between the ears.
The first dinner gong rang pulling Hugo away from the softness of the alpaca fleece.
"It's time for dinner. Let's go back to the compound. Shower and you can sit by me at dinner." Adam offered. Hugo noted Adam's apartment was only three doors down from his.
Hugo dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans hoping Adam would dress the same. Adam didn't disappoint his new admirer. Hugo wished he had a set of cowboy boots like his new hero. Adam walked with his thumbs tucked into his pockets. Hugo did likewise.
Nephi hadn't arrived yet. Kenton started the conversation. "I thought you refused to do chores?"
"I didn't! I helped Adam feed the cows and alpacas." Hugo answered.
"That's chores, taking care of the animals. When everybody helps, it doesn't take long and it can be fun." Kyle explained. "And they pay us on Friday after dinner."
Nephi rolled up to the table. Hugo could see how hard it was for Nephi to stand up. "Tonight's lesson is on industry. Some say idle hands are the devil's workshop. It's about more than chores. It is about what you do during the day. If you are busy doing good, you don't have time to get into trouble." Nephi paused. "I want everyone to welcome Hugo to our family. He will stay with us while his father is on a business trip. He may be away for months."
"Where's your mother?" Donny asked. From an older family member, it would have broken the no prying rule.
"My mom is dead." Hugo looked at Donny from his place next to Adam. "Have you ever seen Snow White?"
All the littles nodded. "Do you remember the evil queen?" The littles kept nodding. Older family members wondered where Hugo was going with his story. "The evil queen was Snow White's stepmother. What did she try to do to Snow White?"
"She poisoned Snow White with an apple." Micah answered with the rest of the littles agreeing.
"My stepmother is evil. She tried to poison me with hate. She even wanted to send me away and didn't care if they killed me." Hugo finished.
"Stepmothers aren't evil." Phil commented.
"Mine is. She's the Helpful Housewife on television." Hugo answered.
"Yancy's mom? She's a real bitch." Jared exclaimed. He looked at Hugo and apologized.
"Don't apologize, she is awful." Hugo replied. He pulled his shirt over his head. Welts from the most recent beating crisscrossed his torso. The table grew silent. "She often let Yancy `play' with me. Whatever he did had to heal before dad got home from his business trips. If I told my dad, things were worse when he left again."
Hugo didn't want pity. He wanted safety. He had scars he wasn't about to put on display for the family.
One of ladies leaned toward him. "You poor thing."
Hugo pulled away from the contact. He slid closer to Adam, his protector. Holly pulled back, somewhat hurt.
"Holly, remember his stepmother." Nephi explained Hugo's reaction.
Nephi watched Hugo from the corner of his eye. Hugo served himself the same foods Adam took. Hugo often watched Adam for behavior cues. Hero worship could be a bad thing taken to the extreme. But for now, Hugo had an adult role model.
"Rafe, before you head to the pool, would you take Adam and Hugo downstairs? I saw boots that might fit Hugo." Nephi suggested.
With only the adults minus Adam at the table Nephi filled in the group about Hugo. "He is coming with more baggage than I had expected." Nephi began.
Jerome looked at his lover. "If you had known would you have turned him away?" Jerome was a little surprised at Nephi's comment. Nephi looked into Jerome's eyes. Then Jerome understood. "You had reservations but not anymore."
Nephi nodded. Adam would be Hugo's number one adult, for now. Hugo reemerged from the basement carrying his tennis shoes and sporting a pair of cowboy boots and a hat.
"Looking good, Hugo." Jerome called out. Hugo looked up at Adam who gave him a thumbs up. The glow of Hugo's smile lit the room.
"I'm wearing board shorts and a t-shirt at the pool tonight." Adam announced.
"So am I." Hugo echoed. Adam and his shadow sauntered across the courtyard, their thumbs hooked in their pockets.
After swimming Adam and Hugo retreated to their rooms. Hugo's things were still in their suitcases. He had found his toothbrush in his suitcase when he heard a knock on his door. Hugo ignored the knocking.
"Hugo are you in here?" He sighed in relief. Adam was checking on him.
"I'm brushing my teeth! Come in!" Hugo answered with his mouth full of toothpaste.
Adam noticed the open suitcase on the bed. "Let me help you unpack." Adam offered. Hugo left the bathroom finding Adam hanging his better shirts. With his clothes put away and his suitcase on the top shelf of the closet Adam asked, "Do you pray before you go to bed?"
Hugo didn't like the question because it made him think about the answer. He remembered kneeling by the side of his bed. He wished he could remember his mother's face as she listened to his prayers. During his father's first business trip, every picture of Hugo's mother went up in flames. He couldn't remember his mother's face, but his stepmother's cold voice he couldn't forget. "I am your wife. I will not have her ghost haunting our lives."
Hugo had tried kneeling by the side of his bed and praying. Those first few months, Hugo shared a room with Yancy. Yancy made praying a dangerous activity. Hugo had resorted to praying in bed.
His stepmother insisted on prayer as a family. While Sam was at home he prayed. While he was away on his frequent business trips, the evil queen prayed.
"May the queers and faggots die of the pestilence and disease spread through their iniquity. Free us of the yoke of sin and Satan spread by those marked with the sign of Cain. Let them die in the purifying flames of thy judgement. Help the leadership of the church realize the error of allowing black men hold the Priesthood. May the Jews who crucified our Lord feel nails in their hands and live in sorrow. Take the atheists and liberals from this life and cast them into the eternal damnation they have brought upon themselves. Give our country leaders willing to take the steps to make us once again a Christian, God-fearing people."
Calling upon the Lord lost its appeal to the young boy. God answered her prayers more often than Hugo's. Prayer became a time of dread.
Hugo answered Adam's question with a shake of his head. "I had stopped praying too. But living here I realized I have much to be thankful for. I miss praying with someone. Would you mind kneeling by me while I say my evening prayers?"
Adam didn't wait for an answer. He knelt by Hugo's bed. If Adam was getting on his knees. Hugo would listen. Hugo feared Adam would say hateful things like his stepmother.
"Father, thank you for the bountiful blessings I enjoy, for Nephi and Jerome who have welcomed me into their home and family." Adam continued his list.
Hugo's ears perked up hearing his name. "Thank you for bringing Hugo into our family. Help him recognize he is a loved child of God. Help him understand we are here for him. Hugo reminds me of my little brother. Help me be the best big brother I can be. Amen."
Adam was glad he was here. Adam wanted to be his big brother. Hugo threw his arms around his kneeling hero and hugged him tight. Hugo was once again ready to pray. With Adam kneeling beside him he said his first pray in over a year.
"Father, thank you for my big brother Adam. Help me be a good little brother. Keep my dad safe." Hugo paused. He wanted to ask the Lord to punish Yancy and his stepmother. He knew Adam wouldn't approve. Hugo thought about Adam's prayer. "Bless Yancy and my stepmother. Help them understand all people are special in your eyes. Amen."
It was Adam's turn to hug his new little brother. Hugo even let Adam tuck him into bed and kiss him on the forehead. Hugo didn't care Adam was treating him like a little kid. It reminded him of his few memories of his real mother and he enjoyed the attention.
Oliver had missed Brock at dinner and at the pool. After swimming the teens headed for the theater room for a movie. Oliver watched the film, but his heart wasn't into it. He found himself drawn to Nephi's reading from the kid's room. Oliver listened to the littles' prayers. He would love their simple life.
"Oliver give us bedtime hugs." Micah asked. Oliver found the hugs did a lot for calming his mind.
"Oliver, please get the box from the kitchen table and push me to my office?" Nephi asked.
"Oliver is in trouble." The faint voice sounded like Jerry.
Oliver's calm evaporated as they crossed the compound. Nephi was quiet. Oliver maneuvered Nephi to his drafting table. "You seem distracted tonight."
Oliver wasn't sure he wanted to admit he missed Brock. How could he tell Nephi?
"Brock worked at the bakery tonight." Nephi offered. "He will be here after work."
"I don't know what you are talking about." Oliver contested.
"You haven't had a lot of experience with quality relationships. Because you feel something toward a guy, doesn't mean you're gay." Nephi explained.
"But I look at Brock and get hard." Oliver responded.
"When you look at Brock, what do you see?" Nephi asked.
"His green eyes glow, his teeth are so white they sparkle. I don't know many guys who need to shave. His five o'clock shadow makes me hard. I want to touch the hair on his chest and the hair across his stomach." It felt good to have someone to talk to. "I didn't want Brock to see the tent in my shorts. I was so embarrassed. He'll never want me near him again."
"I'm not so sure. He asked me to tell you he was working." Nephi pulled Oliver into a hug. "Don't sell yourself short. He thinks you are a cool guy and wants to hang out."
The front gate chime rang. Oliver looked up at the monitor to see Brock pulling past the camera. "What do I do?"
"Open the box." Inside Oliver found a video tape titled "They Call Me Trinity," two boxes of Cracker Jack, a bag of licorice and popcorn.
"Jerome and I like the movie. It a western comedy. Jerome already hooked the player to your TV. Hang out as friends. Go!" Nephi pushed Oliver out of the office with perfect timing. Oliver stumbled into Brock.
"Hey, Oliver." Brock helped Oliver pick up the contents of the box.
Brock read the title on the tape. "I love this film. It looks like you are planning a movie night."
"Jerome loaned me the VHS player. We can watch it in my room." Oliver offered. Oliver was a step ahead of Brock and didn't see the `thumbs up' Brock flashed to Nephi.
Jerome found Nephi watching the boy's head to Oliver's room. "You've given away the movie I rented. What are WE going to do?"
Nephi rolled back into the office. He reemerged wearing a cowboy hat. "Have you ever heard, `Save a horse. Ride a cowboy?' Come on partner. We have horses to save."
Jerome had to walk fast to keep up with Nephi's chair.