Ring in Mine: Nephi & Jerome Chapter 4
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---------- Nephi & Jerome: Chapter 4
In the days between Christmas and New Year's Eve the shop finally finished the repairs on Nephi's car. They took the truck to the shop. Nephi demonstrated his trust in Jerome; he allowed his young friend to drive his precious car home.
They hadn't been home more than a couple of minutes when Luke's truck backed into the driveway. Luke was in his work clothes. "Luke's Moving Services" was printed on the back of his coat and on the truck.
Luke knocked on the door with a clipboard in hand. "I have a delivery for Jerome Tellerson. Will you sign for it?"
Jerome looked at Nephi. Nephi shrugged. They were both puzzled. Benny pulled up in an older black Dodge.
"That's my car. Grandma bought it for me. Dad was furious." There were tears in Jerome's eyes.
"How?" Jerome asked amazed..
Luke chuckled. "Meet Mr. Benjamin of Benjamin, Lucas and Peters. It's cold let's get everything in the garage and we will talk about it later."
A loading ramp was pulled out from under the truck and locked in place. The door was rolled open. Jerome was speechless. Everything he owned was in the truck.
"Benny drew up some official looking papers. He never claimed to be anything. But he sure looked official. We waited until your dad left for work and we pulled up."
"Flashing important enough looking papers and catching people off guard usually works. Here are the only real papers in the stack." Benny handed a folder to Nephi. "These need your signature. We need this to get Jerome registered for school."
Nephi read over the papers and signed them with a flourish and a giant smile.
Jerome's curiosity finally got the best of him. "What do they say?"
Benny smiled. "Until you are eighteen, Nephi is your legal guardian."
"Does that mean I have to call you daddy?" Jerome asked.
"Well son how does that make you feel?" Nephi asked. The kiss Nephi shared with Jerome was anything but fatherly.
There was one more snowfall on New Year's Eve. It wasn't really heavy only about six inches.
"Jerome, I'd love to stay up and ring in the New Year. But I'll be in the truck pushing snow about 4:00 A.M.. Some of my clients have big sales on New Year's Day."
"No." Jerome was adamant in his reply. "We will be in the truck at 4:00 A.M.. The snow blower has headlights. You do the parking lots and I will do the walks."
They began their celebrations in bed around nine o'clock. There was some kissing and groping. It was followed by more kissing, snuggling and sleep.
Morning came early. Nephi thought Jerome looked sharp in his Peter and Son landscaping coveralls. Nephi had stitched the patch on the front. He grabbed his camera and took a picture all dressed for the cold. With the camera sitting on the table Nephi set the timer on the camera and ran to be next to his guy. He stumbled; he was getting up when the flash went off. The second attempt Jerome yawned as the camera flashed. There was only one picture left on the roll of film. They hoped the third would be a keeper.
They rolled into the first parking lot. It was a small bakery. Jerome first worked around the lone car in the lot, blowing the snow where Nephi could push it. There were a couple of spots that had always been difficult to clear with only the truck. The two of them together made good time. Halfway through the job Bertram the owner, grateful that he wouldn't be shoveling snow, invited them in for hot chocolate and fresh fritters. It gave Jerome a chance to warm up, not that he was really chilled in his cold weather gear. After the first bite of the fritter, Jerome was in heaven.
The job went quickly. It was so much better with two. After hours dealing with snow they did the neighborhood and chapel. They were cold. Nephi decided to push the envelope and filled the large garden tub in Paula's master bathroom. The water was hot. Nephi even put some bubbles in the water. With the jets on it was soon bubble bath heaven.
Nephi called out loudly for Jerome. It took a few moments for Jerome to find Nephi. He walked into the master bath lit only by the flickering of candlelight to find Nephi lounging in a cloud of bubbles.
"Don't just stand there in the cold. It's warm and comfortable in here." Nephi watched as Jerome peeled off his thermals. Nephi enjoyed the show whistling the stripper theme. Nephi was always amazed by the size of Jerome's equipment.
Nephi pulled Jerome in for a kiss. Jerome then settled in leaning back onto Nephi's chest. Nephi reached around his boyfriend and gentle cradled Jerome's ample ball bag. Jerome rubbed against Nephi's hard member. It wasn't long before a little cream was added to the bubbles.
Neither was in a hurry to get out. They added hot water as necessary to keep the bubbles relaxingly warm.
Finally wrinkled like prunes they stepped into the shower and rinsed off. Nephi used a giant super fluffy towel to dry Jerome. Nephi sent Jerome to bed while he cleaned up the bathroom. By the time Nephi had the house locked for the night Jerome was asleep. Nephi looked down at the sleeping boy. He was going to miss his friend while Jerome was at school especially on the nights Nephi had school.
Jerome was quiet and nervous about going back to school. Nephi was worried and saw his boy off with a long hug. Jerome had tossed and turned all night. Nephi held him close all night.
Nephi spent the morning seeing to his snow removal equipment. Peter had drummed into his adopted grandson that four in the morning wasn't the time to be finding problems.
As Nephi changed oil, cleaned air filters and tightened bolts he pondered the future. He had two more classes at the community college and he would have his degree. He would be finishing just as Jerome finished high school. Come fall Jerome would be attending the community college. Things in the landscape business usually slowed down in September.
Nephi realized he was thinking just like his father, planning his children's lives. Maybe before he planned Jerome's life, they should talk. Just because Nephi liked what he was doing didn't mean it would be the best for Jerome.
Nephi started watching for Jerome at 3:00. Jerome didn't get out of school until 3:30. He had missed his new friend all day and now that Jerome would soon be home the anticipation was killing him.
At 4:00 Jerome's car pulled up into the driveway. At 4:05 he still hadn't come into the house. Nephi went looking for him. Jerome sat in the front seat with tears running down his face.
Nephi opened the door and gathered his love into his arms. Jerome said nothing. He leaned into Nephi's chest and cried.
"What's wrong?" Nephi asked. Jerome just cried harder. Nephi decided to try a different approach.
"Is there any way I can help?" Nephi offered.
"Hold me, please." Jerome sobbed. Nephi grabbed Jerome's backpack. Nephi hustled Jerome into the house. Nephi dropped the backpack and sat on the couch, his arm around Jerome. Nephi wanted to make it better, seeing his love in tears was tearing him apart.
Jerome cried until he fell asleep. Nephi threw a frozen pizza into the oven and tossed a salad. Jerome woke up when the timer of the pizza rang. Like most teens, filling his stomach became Jerome's main focus.
"Do you need help with your homework?" Nephi asked after dinner. Jerome shook his head and worked on his assignments. When he finished he wandered into Paula's domain looking for Nephi. A naked Nephi was filling the Jacuzzi tub. Jerome dropped his clothes and slid into the caressing bubbles with Nephi. Leaning back against Nephi's chest Jerome fell asleep.
Nephi wrapped Jerome in a fluffy white towel and carried the sleeping boy downstairs. With Jerome tucked in bed. Nephi returned to the bathroom and cleaned up.
During the night Jerome's sleep was disturbed numerous times by dreams. Nephi would pull Jerome close and sing Bread's "If". The soft tones and melody would settle Jerome back into restful slumber.
The morning came earlier than Nephi would have preferred. Jerome had finally begun sleeping soundly around three o'clock.
Jerome dressed for school in silence. He ate breakfast without a word. Jerome reminded Nephi of a convict eating his last meal. Something was bothering Jerome but he refused to talk about it.
Paula would arrive home the next day. Nephi got the upstairs looking pristine. The next project was getting Maria's house ready. When the weather got really cold Nephi had drained the water pipes and turned the heat down. He hadn't wanted to deal with frozen pipes. He closed the taps and turned on the water. With the system flushed, he lit the water heater. His last task was stocking perishables: milk, eggs, fresh vegetables and bread.
Nephi started watching for Jerome at 3:30. At 4:30 Nephi was ready to go looking for his missing partner. As Nephi climbed into his car Jerome arrived.
"I had a flat tire at school. It took time to change it." Jerome explained to Nephi.
"There is a snack on the table. I'll get your tire repaired." Nephi offered. Jerome didn't respond.
"It's an apple fritter from Bertram's Bakery" Nephi announced and Jerome's ears perked up.
Nephi carefully inspected the tire and found no punctures. What he did find was a missing valve stem. He replaced the stem and the tire held air. The implications bothered Nephi.
Sitting together on the couch watching television Jerome didn't want to talk about school at all. Nephi worried but wasn't sure what he should do except be there for Jerome.
The next morning Jerome dragged his feet. He didn't want to go to school. Around 2:30 Nephi took the truck to Jerome's school. It took some time to locate Jerome's car. Nephi was disappointed to find all four tires missing their valve stems. He quickly replaced the stems and used the compressor on the truck to inflate the tires. Nephi turned when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Keep your hands where I can see them." The officer standing behind him said.
Each high school in the district had a police officer assigned to the school full time. "Before you handcuff me there is an envelope on the front seat of the truck. It is my guardianship papers for Jerome Tellerson. This is his car. He came home last night upset. Someone had removed the valve stem from one of his tires. I decided to check up on his car before he got out of school." Nephi held out his hand revealing the four broken valve stems he had found. "He is having a rough time right now. He didn't need to come out to his car and find four flat tires."
"Jerome Tellerson?" The officer pondered for a moment. "He's the student everyone is talking about. Someone announced he is gay. Nobody deserves that. Why did you bring his guardianship papers with you?"
"I was going to file them with the front office so they know who to contact in case of an emergency." Nephi offered.
Nephi was instructed to move his truck to the visitor's lot before he went into the office. Nephi walked up to the counter in the office.
"How may I help you?" A student office aide asked.
"I need to update guardianship information for Jerome Tellerson. He is a senior here." Nephi responded.
Nephi waited until the records clerk had time for him. The last bell of the day rang. Finally an officious woman came out of a back office.
"You're here about Jerome Tellerson? What is your relationship to Jerome?" She demanded. "Are you his boyfriend? He is underage. I should call the police."
Nephi looked at the name on the office of this bitter woman. "Ms. Brown, I am the one that found him frozen in the snow when his father took him into the mountains and left him to die. I am the one that took him into my home and showed him the same kindness I would show to anyone and most importantly I and my adopted grandmother are now his guardians." Nephi struggled with self-control. "Make the changes on his records of his new address. Keep in mind these records are confidential. Nephi pointed out the court signed documents supporting that."
She copied the papers and returned them to Nephi. As he stepped out of the office the student office aide confronted him.
"You must be Nephi. It's just terrible what they are doing to him. Can you believe his dad stood at the pulpit last Sunday and told everyone his son was going to hell for being gay?" The aide asked. "I'm worried about him. Someone painted faggot on his locker today."
Nephi now understood Jerome's behavior. He needed to find his boy. Exiting the front doors of the school was like stepping into the evening news. There were the flashing lights on police cars and ambulances. Nephi had a sick feeling in his stomach. In the middle of the circus was Jerome's car wrapped around a concrete pole. There was no Jerome, but two gurneys were being loaded into separate ambulances.
The officer from earlier put his hand on Nephi's shoulder. "What you told me earlier was bothering me. I decided to keep my eyes open. I couldn't get there fast enough."
The officer spoke quietly with one of paramedics. There was a lot of head shaking.
"They won't let you ride with him. Get your truck and follow the ambulance. Be sure the hospital knows you are his guardian." The officer suggested.
Nephi quickly fell behind the ambulance. He had to deal with traffic; the ambulance didn't. When he finally arrived at the emergency room there was no sign of Jerome and no one was being helpful. He finally found someone who would listen long enough for Nephi to present his guardianship papers.
He had expected to be taken to Jerome, instead he found himself filling out admission paperwork. He was finally shown to an empty curtained cubical.
"The patient is in radiology. He should be back soon." The nurse informed Nephi.
Half an hour later there was still no sign of Jerome nor had anyone attempted to keep Nephi informed. He picked up the phone.
"Hi Paula, I apologize I wasn't there to meet you. So much has happened I need to tell you about. I need a favor; would you call Benny and see if his lawyer friend could meet me at the hospital?" Nephi paused listening. "It's the one on 33rd. A nurse is coming in I need to go."
The orderly asked Nephi why he was sitting in the empty space. "I need to get it ready for the next patient." She had just started her shift and wasn't sure where Jerome had been misplaced. "You will have to ask at the nurse's station."
"He was moved into intensive care. The doctor is waiting for his family." He was told.
"I am his legal guardian. They copied the paperwork in admissions." Nephi insisted.
"We just changed shifts. We weren't told." She apologized and gave Nephi Jerome's location. When he arrived he had to go through the whole guardianship thing with a new set of staff.
The doctor came out of Jerome's room. "Are you here for Jerome Tellerson?" The doctor asked. Nephi nodded.
"We are waiting on his parents." The doctor announced. Nephi already had the guardianship papers in hand.
"His parents kicked him to the curb in the blizzard before Christmas. I am his guardian. What is going on with Jerome?"
"Our biggest concerns are Jerome's head injuries. What we have been able to piece together from the paramedics is something was thrown through the window of his car knocking him unconscious. He slumped over the wheel with his foot on the accelerator. More damage happened when he hit into a pole. He has a couple of broken ribs from the steering wheel." The radiologist has passed the films to the neurologist. We are just waiting to hear from him.
They let Nephi sit with the unconscious Jerome. The neurologist arrived and said they needed to relieve the pressure in Jerome's skull before it caused more damage. They had just rolled Jerome to the operating room when Paula, Benny and a man Nephi hadn't met yet arrived.
Nephi looked up into Paula's worried face and his tears began to flow. Paula was there, he didn't have to be the adult. Paula held her hand out to the young man she thought of as her family. She pulled Nephi into her arms.
Sitting in a small waiting room, Nephi finally cried himself out.
"Benny told me about Jerome. Do you love him?" Paula asked. Nephi nodded.
"Does he love you or is this a bit of hero worship?" She asked.
"I hope he loves me, but I don't know for sure. We haven't done anything for two reasons: he isn't 18 and I want him to love me- not just the person who saved his life." Nephi answered. Paula hugged her boy.
"Nephi, this is Luke's cousin Leonard Lewis; he's a lawyer. I need you to tell him everything you know about Jerome's accident." Benny explained.
Nephi started with the magazine found under Jerome's mattress and his father taking him into the hills above the avenues during the blizzard. When Nephi told of the missing valve stem he began blaming himself.
"I shouldn't have let him go back to school." Nephi sobbed.
"Nephi, this isn't your fault." Paula said trying to ease Nephi's pain.
He continued explaining the events of his afternoon, the four missing valve stems and the school security officer. Eventually Nephi got to the end of what he knew.
A breathless young man burst into the waiting room. Nephi gasped. His heart skipped a beat or two . Had it had all been a nightmare? Then he noticed the differences. This boy was younger.
"Are you Nephi? Have you seen my brother?" The young man burst out.
"Jerome is in surgery. The doctors are hopeful. Someone threw a brick through Jerome's window hitting him in the head and then the accident happened. The doctors say there might be brain damage." Nephi explained. "Who are you?"
"Jared." The young man began sobbing in silence. Nephi resumed his role as adult and pulled Jerome's brother to his chest letting him cry. Nephi thought it humorous in the scriptures just like Nephi, the brother of Jared was one of God's chosen.
"It's my fault. It was my magazine under Jerome's mattress. I wasn't home to take the blame." He sobbed. "Bishop is supposed to set the example. Last Sunday after the speakers, dad took the pulpit and preached about the evils of being homosexual. He quoted scriptures and told how in the time of Moses men who lay with men were cast into the desert to die. He said sometimes they were stoned to death."
The young man had to stop and breathe. He was hyperventilating. "Dad practically bragged about throwing Jerome out of his family leaving Jerome's survival in the hands of the almighty. He threatened anyone that took a queer into their homes would bring the Lord's judgement upon their souls."
"His fate that night was in the hands of the almighty. We often are called to do His works." Benny explained about Nephi finding Jerome.
"Jerome and I talked yesterday while we changed his tire at school. Nephi, you are his hero. Jerome seemed happy about everything except how they were treating him at school." Jared said.
"I think I have heard enough to get started. It is time I move heaven and earth and get to the bottom of this." Leonard was angry; somebody's head would roll.
"Leonard is with the District Attorney's office. If anyone can do something it will be him." Benny reassured Nephi.
"Paula take them to the cafeteria and feed them so when Jerome comes out of surgery they can be here with him." Benny suggested. When the elevator doors closed Benny picked up the hospital courtesy phone.
"I need to speak with Doctor Ryerson." Benny paused. "This is Benny his accountant."